Phillies MLR 4/7-4/12/26: Dante Nori has a monster week

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (9-6)

Pitching Highlights:

Jean Cabrera – 1 GS, 3.1 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Zack Wheeler – 1 GS, 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, BB, 6 K, HBP
Alan Rangel – 1 GS, 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 K
Connor Gillispie – 1 GS, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, BB, 6 K
Griff McGarry – 2 G, 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Kyle Backhus – 2 G, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 K
Seth Johnson – 2 G, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K

Hitting Highlights:

Felix Reyes – 10 for 25, 4 R, 2 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 5 K, CS
Garrett Stubbs – 1 for 11, 3 R, 2B, RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, SB
Bryan De La Cruz – 5 for 23, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K
Caleb Ricketts – 4 for 19, 3 R, 2 2B, HR, 5 RBI, BB, 7 K

Zack Wheeler with another, and much better results, rehab start. The velocity is still down which is only mildly concerning if we don’t see an uptick in his next few starts. His next will be with Reading on Tuesday. Jean Cabrera, the only pitching prospect even remotely ready for a big league debut, struggled quite a bit last week.

Felix Reyes remains the Phillies best non-prospect, prospect. He is a finished product at this point and doesn’t have a standout tool outside of his power. Could he be doing better than Adolis Garcia? I am not one to make snap judgments but…

Reading Fightin Phils (4-5)

Pitching Highlights:

Braydon Tucker – 2 GS, 9 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 14 K
Luke Russo – 1 GS, 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K
Adam Seminaris – 1 GS, 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, BB, 8 K
Charles King – 1 GS, 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, BB, 6 K
Alex McFarlane – 3 G, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 4 K
Andrew Baker – 2 G, 2.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Jack Dallas – 2 G, 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 4 K, HBP

Hitting Highlights:

Dante Nori – 9 for 22, 3 R, 2 2B, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 5 K, 3 CS
Carson DeMartini – 4 for 19, 3 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 7 K
Aroon Escobar – 7 for 23, 1 R, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, BB, 3 K, SB
Alex Binelas – 4 for 13, 4 R, 2B, 3 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 4 K
Bryson Ware – 7 for 21, 3 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 0 BB, 6 K, SB
Bryan Rincon – 4 for 21, 2 R, 3B, 5 BB, 6 K, 4 SB

The Fightins got some notable pitching and hitting performances as the bats awoken in a big way. Dante Nori mashed his first of the season (he had all of 4 last season) and is OPSing 1.185 in 24 plate appearances so far.

Alex McFarlane might already be showing he is already above the competition at AA and could see a promotion by midseason. It wouldn’t shock me if he keeps this up here (and in AAA) he will reach the majors VERY quickly.

Jersey Shore BlueClaws (5-3)

Pitching Highlights:

Sam Highfill – 2 GS, 8 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 7 K, HBP
Mavis Graves – 1 GS, 3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, BB, 5 K
Reese Dutton – 1 G, 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 5 K, HBP
Ryan Degges – 1 GS, 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, BB, 6 K, HBP
Luke Gabrysh – 1 GS, 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K
Ryan Dromboski – 1 GS, 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K

Hitting Highlights:

Devin Saltiban – 6 for 23, 7 R, 2B, 2 3B, RBI, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 SB
John Spikerman – 2 for 8, R, 2 RBI, BB, K
Brady Day – 4 for 17, 2 R, 3 2B, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K, 2 SB
Luke Davis – 4 for 12, R, 2B, 3 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K, SB
Luis Caicuto – 3 for 8, 3 R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, K
Kodey Shojinaga – 4 for 15, R, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 6 BB, 3 K

Luke Gabyrsh with an early contender for best pitching stat line for the season. He has given up just 5 hits and 1 earned run through his first two starts (7 IP) with 1 walk to 13 strikeouts. The offense behind the excellent pitching performances this week isn’t a whole lot to write home about. Notable is John Spikerman playing two whole games. He is now only 60 games away from matching his total from 2025. Spikerman is the Phillies 3rd round pick from 2024 who had mild buzz around him post-draft.

Clearwater Threshers (5-4)

Pitching Highlights:

Brad Pacheco – 2 G, 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
Tanner Gresham – 1 GS, 3 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 ER, BB, 5 K, HBP
Gage Wood – 1 GS, 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, BB, 8 K
Sean Youngerman – 1 G, 3.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, BB, 4 K
Cody Bowker – 1 GS, 3 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, HBP
Zuher Yousuf – 1 GS, 4 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, BB, 2 K

Hitting Highlights:

Alirio Ferrebus – 3 for 10, R, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, K
Will Vierling – 5 for 20, 7 K, SB
Jonathan Hogart – 4 for 12, 2 R, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 K, SB
Jaeden Calderon – 5 for 18, R, 2 BB, 6 K, 2 SB
Griffin Burkholder – 0 for 8, 3 K
Nolan Beltran – 3 for 10, R, BB, K, SB

This is Gage Wood’s world, we are just living in it. The 1st Round Pick has been as advertised in 2026 so far. His fastball has been unhittable for Low-A hitters. Not sure Wood will make it to the draft before he gets a promotion to High-A. Besides from having one of the best names in the minors, Alirio Ferrebus is sporting a .350/.435/.450 line with 5 RBIs, 3 walks and 3 strikeouts in 23 plate appearances. The catcher would be a welcome addition to the Phillies top prospects. Though we said this about Eduardo Tait before he was traded. So outside of trading for a top player at their position, lets hope Ferrebus builds up the hype.