Projecting the IronPigs 2026 Starting Rotation
Starting pitching at the triple-A Level is a nebulous thing. The availability of starters is almost entirely determined by the health (and performance) of the big league club. Over the past few years, the Phillies have had phenomenal health and amazing contributions from their starting rotation, allowing the ‘Pigs starting
Starting pitching at the triple-A Level is a nebulous thing. The availability of starters is almost entirely determined by the health (and performance) of the big league club. Over the past few years, the Phillies have had phenomenal health and amazing contributions from their starting rotation, allowing the ‘Pigs starting staff to be relatively unchanged over the course of the past two seasons.
Last year, the ‘Pigs used 19 different starters (a handful of bullpen games are in that mix plus rehabbers) and in 2024 used 16. Compare that to 2022 & 2021 when they used 26 different starters each year. A big factor last year (and in 2024) was a surplus of starting pitching on the 40-man roster. This year will be a bit more of a challenge in that department.
This year’s crop of projected starters does have some similarities in make-up to the 2025 bunch with a mix of prospects, free agents, and veterans who have swing role ability. Whether or not some of those long-man types end up in the bullpen or rotation is a guessing game. Best example from last year is a guy like Nabil Crismatt as he fought for a spot in the Phillies bullpen but ultimately was stretched out to start for the ‘Pigs.
To address the elephant (or 6’7” bolt of lightning right arm) in the room of Andrew Painter: it is expected he’ll open as the number five starter for the Phillies. When Zack Wheeler comes back, maybe his spot in the rotation goes away, but who knows. Rather look on the positive side and figure he pitches well and the Phillies stick with him as opposed to jettisoning him back to triple-A. So for the purposes of this article, Painter is not a part of the ‘Pigs picture.
With all this in mind, let’s take a look at what an Opening Day rotation might look like for the ‘Pigs.
Locks (Barring Something Unforeseen)
Jean Cabrera – Cabrera is probably the most Major League ready starting pitching prospect the Phillies have this side of Andrew Painter. Added to the 40-man roster prior to last year, Cabrera spent all of the 2025 season with Reading, just posting every day. Nearly career-highs across the board with 26 starts, 137 innings and 127 strikeouts. His walk rate jumped up to 4.0 per 9 while his K/9 rate dropped to 8.3, both marks one off his career levels. A jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none, type of arsenal, he can mix and match and looks like he’ll front the ‘Pigs rotation this season.
Yoniel Curet – Curet is here solely because he will be with the IronPigs likely, but in what capacity remains the questions. Although he’s almost exclusively worked as a starter, he’s never been an innings eater between injuries and inefficiency. Being on the 40-man roster complicates things as well as if the Phillies will need him, it seems far more likely it would be in a bullpen role than a starting role. Picked up from the Rays this off-season, Curet has nasty stuff, sits in the high 90s. Injuries limited him to 55.1 innings last year. What role Curet works in will probably be based on how confident the Phillies are in the rest of their pitching depth and which needs more fortification between starters and relievers. He is a top-30 prospect for the Phillies, in the back half, with control and command his ultimate limiter. If he avoids walks, could be a force.
Tucker Davidson – Picked up this off-season on a MiLB deal as he returned from Korea, Davidson slots into the ‘Pigs rotation looking to build on the gains he made in the KBO. With the Lotte Giants, Davidson went 10-5 with a 3.65 ERA, striking out 119 in 123.1 innings. The ‘Pigs actually saw Davidson with the Norfolk Tides in 2024. Davidson has big league experience with the Royals, Orioles, Angels, and Braves. Although going into his 10th pro year, he’s playing at just 30 years old. The ‘Pigs have had success with foreign returners with guys like Shaun Anderson and David Buchanan making positive contributions to the starting rotation in recent years. The last time we had consistent pitch tracking data on Davidson he was mostly slider and four-seam. Seems likely he returns from the KBO with a few more tricks up his sleeve.
Alan Rangel – Rangel made his big league debut last year with the Phillies while being a workhorse at the top of the IronPigs rotation, leading the club in innings and strikeouts. He’ll continue to work as a starter, slotting somewhere in the 7-9 range on the Phillies depth chart. For Rangel to take a jump forward this year, corralling the home run rate will be key. He allowed a franchise record 29 homers last year. It’s a part of his game with how often he pitches at the top of the strike zone, but keeping the ball in the yard (and trying to make those homers are solo shots and not three-run bombs) is the key. Rangel’s presence in the ‘Pigs rotation will be tied to how often he’s needed in the ‘Pigs, he’d be a likely candidate for when the Phils need a starter or long reliever in a pinch.
Bryse Wilson – Wilson started the Phillies Spring Training opener against the Blue Jays in Dunedin and seems a candidate to pitch for the ‘Pigs, be it as a starter or reliever. Will likely be the same question the Phillies faced last year with Nabil Crismatt. Wilson has made starts each of the past three seasons but hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2022. Wilson was a teammate of Davidson’s with the Braves and throughout the Braves system. Wilson struggled with the White Sox last year, going 0-2 with a 6.65 ERA but was better with Charlotte (a terrible place to pitch), going 4-3 with a 4.21 ERA. He’ll work off his fastball, mixing four-season, cutter, and sinker. He increased change and curve usage last year, but that mix didn’t find much success. With Wilson, it seems like a matter of optimizing the usage. Based on Baseball Savant, his sinker started running a little bit more as opposed to past years when it was more vertical. The change basically bled into the same movement profile as the sinker which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the speed differential was only about 6 MPH. Increasing that gap could make it a real weapon.
Veterans not in Major League Camp
With this group of names, it can be tough to pinpoint how they are being stretched out (or where they’ll go) since they are not in Major League camp. Would not be surprising if all three end up on the ‘Pigs Opening Day roster in either the rotation or bullpen.
Kyle Brnovich – Brnovich was with Norfolk and Albuquerque last year, starting with the Orioles organization before he was released. Originally an 8th round pick of the Angels out of Elon in 2019 and dealt to Baltimore as part of the Dylan Bundy trade. Brnovich has never topped 100 innings in a season, but has worked nearly exclusively as a starter.
Ryan Cusick – Cusick was with the ‘Pigs last year and has worked as a reliever now for the past two seasons. He saw some time as a long reliever last year and I’m not ruling it out that the Phillies could try to stretch him out again. In either case, Cusick in the bullpen or rotation for the ‘Pigs seems likely. Another former Braves farmhand, Cusick is a first round pick who has bounced around on the waiver wire, going through multiple organizations but has yet to make his Major League debut.
Connor Gillispie – Gillispie only recently signed an MiLB free agent deal with the Phillies and figures to provide some upper minors starting depth. He made six starts for the Marlins last year, going 0-3 with an 8.65 ERA. He made his big league debut in 2024 with Cleveland. Originally a 9th round pick out of VCU by the Orioles in 2019. Seems one of the safest bets for the ‘Pigs rotation out of this group.
Michael Mercado – Staked to a relieving role last year, Mercado returns on an MiLB deal but is behind in Spring Training with a shoulder issue. No inside info just speculation: Mercado was great in 2024 working as a starter. He’s spot on the 40-man roster dictated his bullpen usage as the Phillies looked to get the most out of him. Now off the 40, does a shift back to starting follow?
Mitch Neunborn – Neunborn ended up making a handful of starts for the ‘Pigs across the second half of the 2025 season. He’ll be throwing for Australia in the WBC. He’s been solid with Reading but the results haven’t translated to triple-A yet. Works high 80s, low 90s with the fastball and a good change-up. He’ll likely bounce between Reading and the ‘Pigs depending on who needs to cover innings.
Adam Seminaris – This is where things get a little tricky because it is splitting hairs. Seminars comes in off a very solid year in the Mariners system, going 7-7 with a 3.02 ERA, striking out 105 in 125.1 innings. For a guy who had gone 1-8 with a 6.15 ERA at double-A Biloxi the year prior, it was a gigantic step forward. But, as this list gets crowded, does he get the nod over some of the more veteran arms?
Levi Stoudt - Stoudt, a local product out of Lehigh University, falls into the Cusick camp of a former top prospect who’s shine has worn a little bit as he transitioned into reliever and maybe could use a switch back to starting. Stoudt only converted full time to reliever during the 2024 season and his first full year relieving last season saw him go 1-4 with a 6.14 ERA. Lean towards him being in the bullpen versus starting, but we like to cover all of our bases.
So that’s 12 names to start. If I had to pick six names to fill out the first turn through the rotation this season for the ‘Pigs I’d go:
Jean Cabrera, Yoniel Curet, Tucker Davidson, Alan Rangel, Bryse Wilson, Connor Gillispie
For the real sickos also interested in guys who won’t start with the ‘Pigs but I wouldn’t be shocked if they draw starts later this season, I’d keep an eye on these names:
Reese Dutton
Braeden Fausnaught
Mavis Graves
Estibenzon Jimenez
Chuck King
Cade Obermueller
Luke Russo
Gage Wood
Obermueller and Wood will be interesting to watch. The Phillies have not taken a college arm very high in the draft since the contraction of the minors, so this will be a litmus test for how quickly these types of arms can move through the system. My gut tells me we won’t see either with the ‘Pigs this season, but should they dominate and a role looks like it could open at the big league level, then I think it becomes a possibility. Kerkering’s rise in 2023 was a confluence of a lot of things, not just how good Orion was.
Some of the other names are guys who have had some success at Reading, but probably need more seasoning. For the past couple of years, most arms who begin the year at Reading tend to end there (maybe with a spot start with the ‘Pigs to close the season).