Coming up Next in Clearwater

Every minor league season features a whirlwind of roster turnover, especially in the final two months of the season. After the MLB draft, things really pick up with players getting call-ups to make room for some of the newest talent at the lower levels. Fortunately, many of the newest Phillies make their organizational and professional debuts at BayCare Ballpark with the Clearwater Threshers. By the time the postseason began, the Threshers had a completely different roster from opening day that featured many selections from the 2026 draft and some deadline acquisitions after a busy trade deadline in Philadelphia. The Phillies loaded up on young talent, some of whom have already debuted with the Threshers. Here is a look at some of the most exciting young prospects who finished the 2026 season in Clearwater.

INF Tyler Spangler

For the third consecutive season, the Phillies' first-round draft pick skipped the Florida Complex League and went right up to the Threshers to begin his professional career. This year, the pick was Tyler Spangler, a high school infielder taken 36th overall and the first infielder the Phillies drafted in the first round since Aidan Miller in 2023. Both had injury concerns, missing significant time in their final high school seasons due to back injuries, but both belted go-ahead home runs for their first long ball as pros. Spangler's first broke a 9-9 tie to help the Threshers clinch their final series win of the season, and he finished his rookie campaign with five hits in the final six games of 2026.

The Phillies were more cautious with Spangler than they have been in recent memory, likely due to his injury that kept him out of the 2025 high school baseball season. His final high school season ended with Spangler being named the Metro Player of the Year by the San Francisco Chronicle, which led many pundits to consider Spangler one of the best high school bats available in the 2026 MLB Draft. With his recent injury, he made just three starts in the field at shortstop, his primary position, but did not commit an error in those three starts at short, turned a double play, and ended his first nine games as a professional with a perfect fielding percentage. Spangler had two extra-base hits and six RBIs in his first taste of professional baseball, showcasing flashes of the talent that convinced the Phillies to make him their first-round pick. His toughness and raw talent should have fans excited to see him back in Thresherville in 2027.

RHP Manuel Colon

Much of the Phillies' trade deadline return in 2026 went immediately to the major leagues, but one of the youngest players traded this past July quietly had a solid debut with the Clearwater Threshers. The Phillies traded big-league reliever Nolan Hoffman to the Kansas City Royals for 19-year-old Manuel Colon, who had spent most of his three-year minor league career with the Royals Dominican Summer League before debuting with the Threshers in their first series in August. Colon is a bit undersized for a typical pitcher, but despite his smaller frame, Colon can throw his fastball over 95 miles per hour consistently, and that heater leads a four-pitch arsenal for the young right-hander.

Colon's solid pitch mix led a host of promising signs in his first eight games in the Phillies' organization. He won three games in eight appearances after he failed to allow a run or a hit in his first two outings out of the Threshers bullpen. He had also topped his career high in innings pitched before the trade, and Colon has been taking on an increased workload since his professional debut back in 2024. Colon made four saves in 22 outings with the Royals organization between April and July, so the Phillies may use him as a late reliever and/or closer going forward. He can still add some more muscle and grow into his smaller frame, and the pitching coaches throughout the Phillies minor league system have added velocity to pitchers at every level. Threshers pitchers added an average of 2 miles per hour to their fastballs throughout the course of last season, so it may not be long before we see Manuel Colon firing fastballs at 100 miles per hour or more.

OF Will Gasparino

If you don't remember who Will Gasparino was, let us remind you about game two of the FSL Division Series: The 6'6 fifth-rounder out of UCLA went 2-for-4 at home in the 2026 postseason, including a go-ahead two-run triple in the sixth inning of game two of the series. Although the result did not go the Threshers' way, Gasparino finished a debut that began at the end of July, a rarity for a just-drafted player, and confirmed a five-tool talent for the Phillies.

From his first game with the Threshers, it was easy to see why Gasparino was one of the first Phillies from the 2026 Draft Class to make his debut. In his professional debut, Gasparino hit a grand slam over 110 miles per hour for his first hit as a pro. He added four more RBIs in the next 19 games, tying for second among 2026 draftees for the most games played from the most recent draft class. He stole five bases and combined for eight RBIs with two homers and a .769 OPS. Gasparino showed aggression at the plate and on the basepaths, so his strikeout and caught-stealing numbers are certainly something that the Phillies would like to improve in Clearwater. But that is to be expected from a rookie, even one like Gasparino, who spent time at two of the nation's top baseball schools in Texas and UCLA. With his advanced skills and the Phillies still building an outfield platoon at the big-league level, Gasparino may be a fast riser from the Threshers to the higher levels in the 2027 season.

C Macon Winslow

Drafted in the round right after Will Gasparino, Macon Winslow played more games than any Phillies catcher drafted this decade in their draft season. Winslow's skill behind the plate for both the NCAA runner-up UNC Tar Heels and the Threshers in 2026 prompted a move to first base from Will Vierling, who had not played in the field besides catcher since he was drafted by the Phillies. Winslow became the Threshers' starting catcher for their two playoff games in 2026, and he led his draft class with seven extra-base hits (tied with second-rounder Caden Bogenpohl) in his first nineteen games as a professional. He was also second among the Phillies draft class in RBIs (16) and total bases (29) in his first stint as a professional.

Winslow had already played and started close to the maximum possible number of games for the Tar Heels before the Phillies drafted him in the sixth round of this past year's draft. His ability to immediately make an impact behind the plate with both teams was remarkable, as he led the Tar Heels to a runner-up finish in the College World Series for the third time in school history after transferring to UNC in 2025. With another crop of new pitchers with the Threshers, Winslow established a great rapport with his new pitching staff and earned a consistent spot from the get-go as part of the first three members of the 2026 Draft Class (including Bogenpohl and Gasparino) to join the Threshers at the end of July. It is clear that Winslow has the tools to be a professional catcher, and he will hone his skills here in Clearwater on the road to the show.

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