6/23/25 : Under The Radar Names to Note

Not many folks outside of the Phillies Player Development group knew of blossoming talent like Otto Kemp and Aroon Escobar before they bloomed or the underlying positives of Mick Abel’s struggles last season but in a shameless showing of self promotion I can attest that I wrote about such things before they became the commonly discussed items of today. When you truly watch, listen and review the daily grind of player development you can ascertain positive steps occurring that less attentive folks do not note until the numbers pop and all of a sudden a player is a “prospect”.

That being said and with a full blown official second half of the minor league season now upon us here are a couple names that folks will likely be chatting up as the season continues to progress.

Two relievers who’ve always been noted for high spin and movement with their sliders/curves are Saul Teran (Jersey Shore) and Jose Peña Jr (Clearwater). I first saw each perform a couple years ago on the backfields in Complex League action where the results didn’t necessarily flash but the talent each possess did. The swing and miss breaking pitches that Saul and Jose both have were always evident however inconsistent - the question was whether each could harness the command to throw them for quality strikes and also back off a bit on their fastballs (both had high effort mid to upper nineties heat at times) to generate more longevity, movement and impact.

Jose has a power curve/slider that is a swing and miss pitch - it is an out maker that compliments a 92-96 mph fastball. The PD pitching staff is very good at reinforcing the needed areas of work focus but it’s ultimately up to the players to embrace and deliver. I remember Jose often being frustrated as a teenager as to why he wasn’t being promoted (he spent three summers in the FCL) albeit the results didn’t warrant it at the time. He’s a highly energetic young man who wears his emotions on his sleeve. Our discussions were about how I saw big league talent in him but that he would need to be more dedicated, patient and willing to be coached for it to come out. A couple off-seasons ago he began to train in the Dominican with a personal trainer, the maturity that process helped deliver is becoming more evident by this year’s results at the ripe old age of twenty one 🤓.  He’s not only throwing strikes but quality ones and has become capable of handling the pressures of back end game situations. Great to see him developing the way he has  - I truly believe in what I told him a few years back and again just yesterday via text.

Saul has always thrown strikes for most of his brief career, the twenty three year old Venezuelan is a no worries bubble gum blowing pitcher who relishes in pitching in high impact portions of games. He’s battled some nagging injuries the last couple of seasons which have produced stints on the IL but when he’s been able to pitch he’s one that won’t ever turn away opportunities - a true “gamer” in that regard. His slider in my view compares to the sharp breaking one that former Phillies hurler Francisco Morales threw. The difference between the two pitchers is that Francisco struggled to throw strikes, Saul has had struggles not in throwing strikes but rather quality ones. Saul has performed especially well this season by throwing a great deal of quality strikes - he has often darted the edges of the plate with his slider and has more easily popped the four seam fastball with it approaching the mid nineties but with far greater movement, he has also shown the ability to flash a sinker in the mix. His personality has shined thru more as well, he enjoys playing and it’s evident. Saul is a slender built young man but has worked to add strength. He has had very good success at both Clearwater and Jersey Shore this summer, it’s well within his reach to bump up at least one more notch before season’s end. Good stuff!

Two young fellas to keep an eye on - just sayin.

Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️

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