When Mick Abel, then the Phillies’ No. 8 prospect, made his major league debut in May, it was just for a spot start.
But he impressed enough in those six scoreless innings that the Phillies decided to give him a chance in the rotation two weeks later. After a tough 2024 season, Abel was a bit of a revelation for the Phillies early on as their fifth starter.
And while he was ultimately sent back to triple A in July to reset after some struggles with command, his turnaround continued to impact the major league club when he was traded to the Minnesota Twins as part of the package for Jhoan Duran.
Of the players yet to make their major league debuts, who could be the Abel of 2026? Let’s take a look at the Phillies’ pitching prospects who are the most likely to make a major league impact next season.
Andrew Painter
Plenty of ink has been devoted to the subject of Painter’s major league debut since at least 2023, when he was under consideration for the Phillies’ rotation at age 19.
A ligament sprain and subsequent Tommy John elbow surgery delayed that timeline. But once he returned to the mound in 2025, it was expected he would figure into the Phillies’ plans by the summer.
That didn’t happen, either.
The Phillies were pleased with the quality of Painter’s stuff and his velocity. But command is typically the last thing that returns to a pitcher after Tommy John surgery, and that’s what Painter struggled with the most in 2025. He had a 5.40 ERA and issued 3.9 walks per nine innings at triple-A Lehigh Valley, and the call-up never arrived.
“I think everybody was excited about getting him back,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said in September. “I think at the end of the day you look back on it, you say, ‘First time going through this, it usually takes two years for a guy to come back [from Tommy John].’ I think we can all look back and think, ‘Man, [we] probably should have expected this.’”
Given that he remains healthy, next season should be different. Painter will have a normal offseason and spring for the first time since 2023. He will again enter camp in contention for a rotation spot, and this time he isn’t a teenager; he’ll turn 23 in April.
There figures to be a place for him, too. Ranger Suárez is likely to command a big contract as one of the top left-handers on the free-agent market, and unless the Phillies outbid pitching-starved teams or make a splash elsewhere, that would leave an opportunity for Painter to break camp with the team.
“We’re optimistic that with a regular offseason training program and getting ready to come in the season, that he’ll be able to regain that [command],” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said.
Jean Cabrera
At the general managers’ meetings last month, Dombrowski pointed to the 24-year-old Cabrera as the Phillies’ current minor league starting pitching depth beyond Painter.
“You never have enough starting pitching,” he said. “And really, for us, after you get past Painter, now you’re talking about Cabrera, [who] would be one of those guys. But we don’t have a lot of starting pitching, so that’s something we’re going to be cognizant of.”
Cabrera spent the 2025 season with double-A Reading, where he posted a 3.81 ERA and 1.23 WHIP over a career-high 137 innings. The right-hander allowed just 0.72 home runs per nine innings. Cabrera has been on the Phillies’ 40-man roster since 2024, when he was added as protection from the Rule 5 draft.
Cabrera was consistent in terms of workload last season. He made 26 starts and none was shorter than 4⅓ innings. In the event of an injury or if a spot start is needed, Cabrera provides the Phillies with crucial starting depth.
Alex McFarlane
McFarlane was added to the Phillies’ 40-man roster last month ahead of the Rule 5 draft, signaling the team’s faith in the 24-year-old righty.
Like Painter, McFarlane is coming off his first full season back after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023. He had a stronger second half, with a 2.54 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in his last 39 innings compared to a 7.02 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in his first 41 innings.
That improvement also came with a move to the bullpen in August. McFarlane was promoted from high-A Jersey Shore to double-A Reading in September to finish out the year.
With a fastball that can touch 100 mph, McFarlane could be possible bullpen depth for the Phillies in 2026.
Griff McGarry
It’s possible that McGarry could find himself in a new organization come Dec. 11, as he was left unprotected in the Rule 5 draft for the second year in a row.
Another team can pay the Phillies $100,000 to select McGarry, but he must remain on that team’s 26-man roster for the entire season or be offered back for $50,000. Last December, the Twins selected right-hander Eiberson Castellano from the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft, but he was returned in March. (Castellano elected free agency at the end of the season.)
McGarry built a solid foundation for 2026 with a bounceback 2025 season. The 26-year-old righty won the Phillies’ Paul Owens Award, an internal honor for their top minor league pitcher, after posting a 3.44 ERA in 83⅔ innings.
McGarry has struggled with command throughout his minor league career and was moved to the bullpen in 2024. Last year, though, the Phillies moved him back to a starting role. He cut his walks from 10.2 per nine innings in 2024 to 5.3 per nine in 2025.
“Heading into this year, early in the spring, they kind of made it known to me that I’d be back in a starting role,” McGarry said in September. “I think I definitely am capable of doing both. And I love starting; I love relieving. So it’s kind of wherever the Phillies want me, I’m willing to perform.”
McGarry spent most of the season at double-A Reading, but he finished the year on a high note with a final start back up in triple A.
“I think in years past in triple A, I’ve had my ups and downs there,” he said. “It’s good to really finish there and kind of finish the season how I wanted to, with a successful start.”
Names to know, but unlikely for this year
Moises Chace was a deadline acquisition from the Baltimore Orioles in 2024 and had an intriguing fastball that missed a lot of bats. But the 22-year-old right-hander underwent Tommy John surgery in 2025 and is still rehabbing.
Since the Phillies drafted right-hander Gage Wood out of Arkansas — going the college pitcher route in the first round for the first time since Aaron Nola in 2014 — questions have swirled about how soon he could arrive in the majors.
But don’t bank on Wood following the breakneck trajectory of Pottstown’s Trey Yesavage, who went from starting games in single A to the World Series with the Blue Jays in four months. The Phillies plan to build him up as a starter, but Wood is likely to be on an innings limit in 2026, according to Dombrowski.
Wood didn’t experience a full starter’s workload in his college career. He pitched 37⅔ innings for Arkansas in 2025, missing almost two months due to a shoulder impingement. In his two college seasons before that, Wood was primarily a reliever for the Razorbacks.
