10 Phillies to Watch in 2026 Spring Training

The Super Bowl has come and gone, and the Phillies are finally starting some baseball. Pitchers and catchers report on Wednesday, and we finally get some baseball back in our lives that’s not a frustrating off-season. We get to actually hear the sound of a ball slapping the inside of a glove, the crack of a bat, the roar of a Clearwater crowd, and the sweet, sweet voice of John Kruk on color commentary.

With it being the start of Spring Training, one thing that always gets discussed is ‘who are the players we should be looking at?’ Everyone’s going to have personal favorites to look at, and there will be some players everyone agrees to look at. However, here are the 10 Phillies that I believe we should be looking at while in Clearwater this spring.

1. Justin Crawford

Crawford is the Phillies #3-ranked prospect and far and away the most likely, barring injury, top prospect to be on the Phillies 2026 Opening Day roster at the end of March, more likely than not positioned out in center field. Crawford has produced at every level of the Minor Leagues since being drafted, leading to a career slashline of .322/385/446 with an .831 career OPS with elite speed, baserunning ability, and stellar defense.

Crawford isn’t a perfect player; however, there are questions of whether he actually can produce at the major league level due to having an abnormally high ground ball rate and the unfortunate history of Phillies prospect the last 15+ years. But all signs are pointing to Crawford, the Phillies’ 2022 first-round selection, will finally get his chance in the Show and have an everyday slot in the lineup.

2. Andrew Painter

The former 2021 first-round selection for the Phillies has had a very up-and-down career so far, without even throwing a major league pitch yet. He was drafted out of high school in the first-round, had a 1.56 ERA across three levels of the minors in 2022, was a legitimate candidate to be in the starting rotation out of Spring Training in 2023, and then during said Spring Training gets an elbow injury that requires Tommy John surgery losing his 2023 and 2024 seasons, returning in 2025 but due to still recovery from surgery and the usual difficulty of Triple-A pitching development, pitched to a 5.49 ERA.

Now, he enters 2026 Spring Training another season removed from surgery, a clear opening in the Phillies rotation, and the full trust of Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies organization as a whole. The question surrounding Painter is still his health and his ability to pitch, and it seems that the Phillies are more willing to accept if he’s not ready to be in the majors compared to last year. However, Painter is a very talented prospect on a team with a need for a talented pitcher, and the only person that’s gonna stop him from being in Philly on Opening Day is Painter.

3. Aidan Miller

The final member of the Phillies’ top prospect trio, and now the #1-ranked prospect of the three. Miller has a much more difficult road to the majors compared to Crawford or Painter. No infield position at the Major League level is truly open, so barring injury to one of the Phillies’ infielders on the left side of the plate (the side Miller plays), Miller will almost undoubtedly be in Triple-A to start the season.

That doesn’t even mean that players like Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott are better than Miller. I think you can make a very valid argument that Miller is a better bat to have in the lineup, even with no at-bats at the Major League level yet, compared to Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott. However, Bohm has only one year left and is owed $10 million, and both Bohm and Stott have been serviceable enough to help guide the Phillies to 2 National League East division titles, 4 postseason appearances, and a National League pennant. Unless one of those two gets injured, or Miller smacks the ball so well there’s no way not to have him on the roster, he won’t be in Philly. But he is the Phillies’ #1 prospect and will be on this team soon, maybe even at some point this season, and that warrants looking at him during the Spring.

4. Aaron Nola

Nola is coming off his worst season as a Major Leaguer, by a long shot. He had a several-month stint on the injured list, and did not pitch well at all when on the mound, outside of 4-5 starts, plus a good appearance in the NLDS. With the loss of Ranger Suarez and the questions surrounding Zack Wheeler, Andrew Painter, and Taijuan Walker, it is imperative that Nola returns to some level of what he has been in the past. Especially the level he’s been in even years, which he historically has pitched very well in.

We will also get to see Nola perform at a higher level since he will represent Italy in the World Baseball Classic. If he performs well during the WBC, there is going to be a lot more confidence in him come Opening Day. If he struggles? His battle becomes a lot more uphill.

5. Bryson Stott

Stott is one of the most intriguing players to watch this spring. The reason is that he has so much to gain but also so much to lose. He will be the starting second baseman on Opening Day, barring injury. However, he has lost the trust of the organization to be an everyday player. Stott has not performed well against left-handed pitching, and this year will consistently be platooned with Edmundo Sosa, who is amazing against lefties.

Now, a teammate of Stott used to not be very good against left-handed pitching, but then, with the help of hitting coach Kevin Long, put together probably the greatest power-hitting season for a left-handed hitter against left-handed pitching of all time. That teammate is Kyle Schwarber. Schwarber has developed phenomenally against lefties over the course of his Phillies tenure. Stott has had very good stretches against right-handed pitching in the past, is one of the best defending second basemen in baseball, and has upper-echelon baserunning ability. If he can develop his left-handed hitting prowess, Stott could make a very strong case come next spring that he deserves an extension. And that development will be looked at first this spring.

6. Adolis Garcia

Garcia was brought in during December on a $10 million contract to replace Nick Castellanos in right field. Garcia and the Phillies are hoping he returns to a similar level that he was in 2023, which led him to an ALCS MVP and a World Series title with the Texas Rangers. 2 seasons later, he got non-tendered and has been nowhere near his 2023 level of production. A major reason to suspect he can return to that level is the fact that the Rangers’ ballpark is one of the least hitter-friendly parks in the league. Citizens Bank Park is quite the opposite. So seeing how he adjusts to being on a new team and how his basic hitting abilities look will be important. Especially since that right field slot is now a $30 million spot since Castellanos more than likely will be off the team, but even if he isn’t, the Phillies spent an extra $10 million on an already expensive position for better right field play.

7. Zack Wheeler

Almost undoubtedly, Wheeler will not be throwing a single in-game pitch during Spring Training. However, that does not mean he is not a very important player to look at while the spring rolls along. The former ace of the staff is coming off a majority Cy Young caliber season, until a blood clot ended his season prematurely, which required surgery for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. That is an injury that has historically derailed many careers, including prominent ones. While it is unrealistic to believe, at least for 2026, that Wheeler will be at Cy Young level, Spring Training will be a very good time to see how well he is recovering, and how early we can project a return to the roster.

8. Gabriel Rincones Jr.

Rincones became one of the most well-known prospects in the system and beloved by Dombrowski and the Phillies front office because of how well he performed last year when he received a non-roster invite to Spring Training. He compiled a very solid season at the Triple-A level; however, has flaws that require a little more seasoning in the minors. The main issue is his putrid inability to hit left-handed pitching, a common flaw in several left-handed Phillies hitters on the roster.

However, Rincones is on the 40-man roster, and the Phillies do lack a bench bat in the outfield, assuming the front office follows through with what they’ve said and gets rid of Castellanos before Opening Day. Rinconces is going to get a chance to play this spring, and if he performs well again, at minimum, the Phillies will be a lot more open to bringing him up during the season, or maybe even have him on the Opening Day roster in some capacity. But most of this will be determined by how he continues to develop hitting-wise, especially against lefties.

9. Caleb Ricketts

Most fans are going to see the name Caleb Ricketts and are going to have this reaction… who, understandably. Ricketts is a 25-year-old catcher who spent most of last season at Double-A Reading. He is a non-roster invitee, so he won’t be on the Opening Day roster as the backup catcher, and the most common question asked about him will be when he will be sent back to Minor League camp.

The reason I have Ricketts on this list, and it’s not to stretch it out to 10 players, is that I genuinely believe it is worth looking at a player like Ricketts. The Phillies have an issue at the moment at back up catcher, one, neither catcher has a Minor League option left, so they will have to be put on waivers and very likely could get scooped up by another team. Two, Garret Stubbs are Rafael Marchan is solid options for the backup catcher position; both have upside, but both have big flaws. So it’s worth looking at a player like Ricketts, who, while almost undoubtedly won’t sniff the Majors this season, could continue his development and make an argument to the front office that he should get looked at in the future. And that look starts in the Spring as a non-roster invitee. Also, it’s just fun to look at players the average fan doesn’t know about; it’s part of what makes Spring Training enjoyable.

10. Bryce Harper

Harper is going to start Spring Training with the Phillies before heading to the World Baseball Classic, and the question while he is in Clearwater is whether he is healthy or not. Since his elbow injury in 2022, which forced him to get Tommy John surgery, and with the fact that he is, of course, getting older, Harper has continuously been struggling more and more with nagging injuries. Most of these haven’t affected his ability to be on the field, but it’s clear that they’ve affected his play. It is very important to this Phillies team that Harper comes into camp and stays throughout its entirety, healthy.

The second question to look at, and this one will be looked at outside of Clearwater, Florida: How does Harper perform in the World Baseball Classic? It is no secret that the biggest issue plaguing Harper’s ability to perform at the elite level we fans know he can is the fact that, due to not having satisfactory protection behind him in the lineup, he gets an unbearably low percentage of balls to hit, and that was on full display last year. It seemed almost every time Harper was up to bat he was reaching for a below the strike zone curve ball that bloops to the left side for an out because he got nothing to hit the entire at bat and is just trying to make something happen. However, with the World Baseball Classic, Harper is going to have elite hitters surrounding him, which means he most likely will get a much higher percentage of balls in the strike zone to hit. It’s going to be very fun to watch Harper rep the Red, White, and Blue, but if he can do that and perform because of actually having hittable pitches thrown at him, it will be very beneficial I think for this Phillies team, especially the front office to realize what they need to do for Harper to get back to the ‘elite’ territory that is now in question.

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