Come and gone in Clearwater

The 2026 baseball season has come and gone for the Clearwater Threshers, and it truly was another one for the books. The Threshers made the postseason for their fourth straight season, finished with more All-Stars than any other Florida State League team, and compiled the second-best overall record in the league. Including rehab assignments, 97 different players played in at least one game for the Clearwater Threshers in 2026, with 21 earning a promotion to a higher level. Between those who left and those who finished the season in Clearwater, we will see a completely different Threshers’ roster come Opening Day at BayCare Ballpark on April Second. Let’s take a look at some Threshers from last season who will likely be on to higher levels in the Phillies minor league system when baseball returns in 2027:

INF/OF Nolan Beltran

While Nolan Beltran wasn’t technically on Clearwater’s Opening Day roster, he rejoined the Threshers during their first home series of the season and became an instrumental player for the Threshers due to his strong bat and solid defense all around the field. After playing shortstop in each of the 35 games he played for the Threshers in an injury-riddled 2025 campaign, Beltran became one of the first Threshers to stray from his natural position in April, getting consistent starts at left field, third base, and first base throughout his 98 games in Clearwater. His play was unaffected by the constant position changes, compiling his second-fewest errors over the course of his fifth minor league season and setting career-highs across the board in his longest professional season to date. His 60 RBIs finished tied for second on the Threshers with the third most games played among position players. Whether at the top or in the middle of the order, Beltran could always be counted on as an impact bat and an exceptional defender regardless of his position. He will turn 22 before the start of the 2027 season and could continue to rise in his third year in full-season baseball.

RHP Tegan Cain

After debuting with 2.0 scoreless innings before suffering a serious injury, Tegan Cain returned to the Phillies’ farm in a big way in 2026, beginning his professional career with a scoreless streak that spanned over 8.0 innings in seven relief appearances from August 2024 until mid-May 2026 between Clearwater and the FCL. By the time he was called up less than three months later, Cain had developed into a key late reliever who finished the season fourth on the Threshers with four saves in five chances. In 30 games between three levels, Cain punched out at least one batter in 28 appearances, including 14 strikeouts in his final 8.0 innings with the Threshers this past July. He had a walk ratio of almost three-to-one between the FCL, Clearwater and Jersey Shore in his first full season, walking just ten batters with 36 strikeouts in 23.2 innings with the Threshers. The 2024 13th-rounder has an unorthodox delivery that produces a mid-90s fastball, a key component of a strong arsenal for a potential closer of the future.

INF Tyler Pettorini

One of the first position players to earn a call-up from Clearwater in 2026, Tyler Pettorini quickly and quietly earned a call-up to High-A Jersey Shore after the first two months of the season. Pettorini’s defense made him the first infielder called up from the Threshers, committing just one error between 30 games at second and third base in two months with the Threshers to begin the season. He also finished his Clearwater tenure with 13 stolen bases, a mark that led the Threshers for almost two months after his call-up. He broke out after earning a call-up to Jersey Shore, posting a career-best batting average of .272 and belting each of his first three home runs with the BlueClaws. Pettorini played a total of 88 games across both levels of A-Ball, scoring 50 runs, stealing nearly 30 bags and grounding into just two double plays. His glove has looked great at every level, but continued improvements with his bat make the undrafted free agent out of Ohio State an intriguing component of the Phillies’ minor league infield.

C Will Vierling

Few players finished the 2026 season on a hotter streak than Will Vierling. The 11th-round pick out of Murray State in 2025 spent the entirety of his first full minor league season in Clearwater, steadily improving at all facets of the game as the season wore on. He began the season on a six-game hit streak but didn’t homer until his final game of April and finished the first two months of the season hitting under .200. After combining for three homers and 15 RBIs in the first three months of the season, he recorded two home runs in each of the final three months of the season with a combined 26 RBIs with an OPS of .995 from July until the season ended. Vierling also paced the Threshers’ offense in the postseason, going 3-7 with an RBI and finishing as one of two Threshers with hits in both playoff games for Clearwater in 2026. He was Clearwater's primary catcher, blocking more than 25% of potential basestealers from behind home plate. Vierling was one of the best hitting catchers in the minors in the second half of the season and has some of the best power potential among any backstop in the Phillies’ system. With continued improvement at the plate, it is no telling how far he can go as a power-hitting catcher.

The hottest Happy Hour in the Bay Area is at BayCare Ballpark on Wednesday Nights from 5 - 9 PM... Admission is free for Threshers fans 21+, and drinks are cheap from September through January...Visit this link for more information...You can purchase Phillies Spring Training tickets at ThreshersBaseball.com/tickets or by calling 727-467-4457…The BayCare Ballpark Box Office is open Monday through Friday from 10 am – 5 pm... The box office will be open on Saturdays from 10 AM - 3 PM... Visit our website at threshersbaseball.com for information on tickets and promotions for the Threshers season.