Phils' teen catching prospect using ABS challenge experience to his advantage

CLEARWATER, Fla. – One of the storylines of Spring Training has been the implementation of the ABS challenge system in select ballparks across Arizona and Florida. But those in the Sunshine State might be a little more familiar with the tech than their southwestern counterparts. The Florida State League first used ABS in 2022, meaning many prospects from organizations with affiliates on that Single-A circuit already have in-game experience with it. This is not just a singular spring experiment. It’s quickly becoming part of their development story.

Phillies catcher Eduardo Tait is one such prospect, and as one of the three players (pitcher, hitter, catcher) allowed to challenge any ball-strike call, he’s part of a new generation of backstops learning and growing with a defensive tool that could be a separator for his position someday at the game’s top level.

“I definitely think of it as a skill,” Phillies director of player development Luke Murton said. “From a professional baseball standpoint, we’ll probably track specific catchers’ right and wrong calls and then the leverage of games.”

Every team takes to challenging differently.

During regular-season play in the FSL and Triple-A (where it’s also been used in recent years), some clubs forbid their pitchers from using a challenge because hurlers think every close call is a strike. Some tell their players to save challenges for the late innings, when leverage is much higher. Rules have been generally more lax in Spring Training as more veteran players are getting the hang of the challenge. That was never more evident than on March 2 when Trea Turner challenged the very first pitch of the game by former teammate Max Scherzer.

“I do think we're all going to get to a point where we are going to set some rules and have some different ideas of how to set the rules,” Murton said. “We have not set anything in stone yet, but I think it could go to, say, the hitters' metrics -- how well they're seeing the ball, how well they're not, and then honestly, when they have challenged, were they successful or were they not successful.”

No matter the rules, the more comfortable players get with the system at every level, the higher the likelihood it comes to the Major League regular season. And challenging could become almost as important as framing in evaluating future MLB catchers in the Minor Leagues. Those who know the zone extremely well give their teams another advantage.

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Enter Tait.

Signed for only $90,000 out of Panama in January 2023, the left-handed-hitting catcher has shot up the ranks, not only climbing to No. 4 on the Phillies list entering 2025 but also up to No. 92 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100. That jump has been in part due to his plus power as a career .497 slugger in two Minor League seasons but also his general defensive growth. Tait’s receiving has improved enough, particularly in framing, over those two years since signing that evaluators feel better about his long-term future behind the plate.

He’s still only 18 (and will be until Aug. 27) and could grow further still defensively. But he’s also at least three years away from the Majors, and by his current ETA date of 2028, ABS challenges could very well be a part of everyday life in the bigs.

With Tait likely to return to the Florida State League (where he played 28 games last year) to begin 2025, he could soak up valuable ABS challenge experience that could give him a leg up on others in the competition to take over catching duties in Philly.

“He's a very smart kid,” Murton said. “Every time I talk to him about the hitting or the catching side, he’s been very in tune and has a very strong understanding of what's going on and why it's going on. So I foresee him being pretty good at the challenge system.”

Camp standout I: Gabriel Rincones Jr.

At 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds, the Phillies’ No. 10 prospect generally stands out anytime he takes to the diamond, but he’s gone to a new level as a non-roster invitee this spring. Entering Monday, Rincones was tied with Alec Bohm for the team lead with three homers this spring. In fact, three of his five total hits have gone over the fence.

That’s notable because the left-handed slugger has generally been a hit-first, power-second type in the Minor Leagues despite his size. That started to change a bit last year with Double-A Reading (which plays in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks for that level) as he cut his ground-ball rate by eight points despite missing time with a torn thumb ligament, and Murton sees this spring’s performance as a carryover from that work.

“I think with him, it's just a matter of understanding what pitches he can -- not just hit hard -- but hit hard in the air,” said the Phils exec. “I think he's learning that and understanding different counts and how pitchers are going to attack him. He just has more experience.”

Camp standout II: Casey Steward

The 2023 19th-rounder out of Division II Washburn University had a solid first full season last year all things considered, finishing with a 3.42 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 101 strikeouts in 102 2/3 innings between Single-A and High-A. His fastball sat 92-95 mph with around 12 inches of armside run, while his low-80s slider broke the opposite way with equal sweep.

But this spring, Steward has shown a velocity bump of about 2 mph across those two offerings in live throwing sessions, according to Murton. Standing 6-foot-5, the Wichita native gave the Phillies hope he could add a little extra heat when they first drafted him, but with this latest improvement, he’s even more in their sights now. Case in point: he was named to the Phils’ Spring Breakout roster.

“I think from a delivery standpoint, he's a little bit improved,” Murton said. “It's a little easier, a little freer. I think the intent in the zone has been better, even this year than it was last year. He had a great offseason. He worked extremely hard. He's already a great athlete for how big he is. I think it's a culmination of different factors.”

Breakout prospect: Devin Saltiban

The Phillies’ No. 9 prospect is very much on the radar, but there are always levels to the radar.

Selected in the third round of the 2023 Draft, Saltiban entered the Philadelphia pipeline through the Hawaii high-school ranks via a stop in the MLB Draft League. Murton cautioned that the Phils knew Saltiban would be a long-term project, given he didn’t face much velocity back home and then only got a small taste for it in the ’23 MLB Draft League, facing 94+ mph only four times (per Synergy Sports). By comparison, Statcast had him seeing 226 such pitches in the Florida State League last year. The gulf showed; Saltiban batted just .196 with two homers against 94+ last year.

Even with that introduction to velocity, the 5-foot-9 second baseman managed to slug 17 homers in just 97 games, finishing third in the FSL. More exposure to heat could mean perhaps even more power in Saltiban’s second full season, and considering he’s also a plus runner, that would make for an awfully intriguing middle-infield prospect.

“He could be one of those guys, in my opinion, that goes out and hits 20 home runs and plays 120 games,” Murton said, “and makes his way to the Top 100.”