Arizona Fall League Preview: Philadelphia Phillies
By Clint Rivera ·
The Phillies are sending ten players to the 2026 Arizona Fall League, nine of them to the Surprise Saguaros and one, catcher Luke Davis, to the Scottsdale Scorpions. The group splits neatly: two position players coming back from significant injuries at the top, a Rule 5-eligible infielder in the middle, and a set of arms ranging from a Triple-A lefty who missed most of the year to a Double-A reliever who put together a strong partial season.
Aidan Miller's Return Has Been a Long Time Coming
Miller's 2026 season was essentially erased before it started. His back flared up in spring training, he went on the injured list on March 27, and in early June the Phillies announced a diagnosis of discogenic pain and facet inflammation in his lumbar spine. He had a minimally invasive procedure, a radiofrequency ablation of the facet joints, on June 5. The org's top prospect, No. 41 overall in the 80Grade Prospect Rank, did not play in a game until a rehab appearance with Single-A Clearwater in early September.
From there he moved quickly. Miller went 4-for-12 with three doubles in four regular-season games between Clearwater and Double-A Reading, then started all four of Reading's Eastern League playoff games at third base, his first pro action at the position. He reached base 10 times in 20 playoff plate appearances as the Fightin Phils won the league title. Surprise is where he finally gets a full month of at-bats.
The scouting picture is a bat-first infielder whose most likely long-term home is third base. The hit and power tools both grade above average, he controls the zone well, and the profile projects to a middle-of-the-order contributor at his ceiling. He does not project as an everyday shortstop, and the back history adds a durability question. Scouting notes also flag a tendency to get passive early in counts and let hittable strikes go by. That is the thing to watch in October: whether the selectivity holds up when he sees better pitching every day.
Dante Nori Playing Catch-Up After a Hip Stress Fracture
Nori is here for the same reason: to recover competitive at-bats. He played through what turned out to be a stress fracture in his hip for the first two months of the season, landed on the injured list in early June, and did not rejoin Reading until August 25. In 67 games at Double-A he hit .244/.318/.360 with 17 stolen bases, then helped Reading through its playoff run.
Nori's profile is built around plus speed and center-field defense. The routes are efficient and the arm is solid, which makes him a credible up-the-middle defender. The offensive question has always been power: he hit three home runs in 326 plate appearances this year with a line-drive swing, which leaves him with a batting-average-dependent game. The projection is a top-of-the-order center fielder if the hit tool holds and a fourth outfielder if it doesn't. The steals and a 9.2 percent walk rate at Double-A are encouraging. The slugging is the honest concern.
Aroon Escobar and a Rule 5 Decision Waiting
Escobar is Rule 5-eligible this offseason, which makes this fall a final evaluation before Philadelphia sets its 40-man roster. He spent all of 2026 at Reading as one of the younger regulars at the level and hit .230/.332/.347 with 12 home runs, 17 doubles and 27 stolen bases in 132 games. He walked in 11.8 percent of his plate appearances and struck out in a manageable 16.2 percent.
The scouting grades are modest: a 45 hit tool, 40 power, average speed and a fringe arm that fits best at second base. The projection is a second-division regular at second with a utility fallback. What keeps him on the radar is his age-to-level progression, a contact-and-walk balance plenty of infield prospects can't match, and stolen-base production that outruns his raw speed grade. The .230 average and below-average power are the yellow flags.
The case for protecting him is his age, his baserunning, and the chance that his approach draws interest from other clubs in the Rule 5 draft. The case against is that his grades don't project a bat ready to help in the majors soon. A strong month in Surprise would help when the Phillies make that call.
Kehden Hettiger's Contact Gap Is the Story Behind the Plate
Hettiger hit .191/.317/.348 in 61 games at Double-A, with eight home runs and 39 walks against 86 strikeouts. The 15.9 percent walk rate is a genuine strength; the 35.0 percent strikeout rate is a serious problem. He is a left-handed-hitting catcher with an above-average arm and enough raw strength to project 15-plus home runs, but his hit tool grades at 40 because swing length and timing issues produce too much in-zone swing-and-miss.
He can take pitches, but he can't reliably hit the ones he swings at. The AFL is a chance to work on that, with the arm and improving receiving giving him a defensive floor if the bat ever reaches fringe-average. His No. 36 ranking on 80Grade's Phillies list reflects where he sits: depth with real tools and a long road. He's 22, so there is time, but the contact needs to show some movement.
The Pitching Group: Jimenez Leads, Dromboski Needs a Reset
Estibenzon Jimenez is the only one of the five arms who spent most of 2026 at Double-A. Andrew Walling pitched at Triple-A, and the other three worked mostly below Double-A before late-season looks at Reading.
Jimenez posted the best numbers. The 24-year-old righty opened the season on the injured list, made rehab stops in the Florida Complex League, Clearwater and High-A Jersey Shore, and was activated in early June. He then made 28 relief appearances for Reading with a 2.84 ERA, seven saves, a 25.5 percent strikeout rate and a 9.2 percent walk rate in 31.2 innings. Across all four stops he had a 2.38 ERA in 45.1 innings. The AFL will show whether the strikeouts hold against better hitters.
Keegan Batka threw 12.1 scoreless innings with five saves at Clearwater, then posted a 3.62 ERA, a 30.3 percent strikeout rate and an 11.6 percent walk rate in 37.1 innings at Jersey Shore. His one Double-A outing was rough (two home runs in two innings), but his full-season 3.14 ERA and 32.4 percent strikeout rate read as a reliever who misses bats. At 24, he needs to trim the walks and prove the stuff plays at Double-A.
Kevin Warunek, a 23-year-old lefty, went on the injured list in early April and did not return to Jersey Shore until August after rehab stints in the complex league and at Clearwater. His combined 3.43 ERA and 28.3 percent strikeout rate in 21 innings reflect a patchwork season that included an 11.57 ERA in four Clearwater outings. The AFL is about healthy innings.
Walling's numbers are the most concerning. The 26-year-old lefty posted a 9.58 ERA and a 2.71 WHIP in 10.1 innings at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, walking 15 of the 58 batters he faced. He went on the injured list in early May, moved to the 60-day list in July and did not pitch again in the regular season. Arizona gives him back some lost innings and a chance to show the command can return.
Ryan Dromboski made 16 starts at Jersey Shore, posting a 4.89 ERA with a 22.1 percent strikeout rate and a 10.1 percent walk rate in 73.2 innings around two injured-list stints. His two Double-A starts, one in May and one in September, produced a 12.27 ERA with eight walks and three home runs in 7.1 innings. The command was functional at High-A, and the jump exposed it. He is 23 with a starter's workload behind him, but the Double-A results set the agenda for October.
Luke Davis and a Catching Depth Audition
Davis hit .205/.370/.342 with four home runs, 38 walks and 48 strikeouts in 45 games at High-A Jersey Shore before an injury sidelined him in late June. He moved to the 60-day injured list in July and returned with a rehab game at Clearwater in September. The 20.7 percent walk rate is a genuine strength; the .205 average and 26.1 percent strikeout rate are the flip side. He's a switch-hitting catcher with a selective approach and modest power, and unlike his Phillies teammates he will play for Scottsdale. The goal is healthy at-bats and defensive reps.
Bottom Line
Miller is the player Philadelphia will watch most closely this fall. He has played eight games in 2026, half of them in the playoffs, and the AFL is the first full block of competitive work he will see this year. If he looks like the player his tools suggest, the org can head into the offseason confident the back issue is behind him. If the rust shows or the back acts up, the questions grow. Jimenez's relief upside and Escobar's Rule 5 case give the rest of the group some interest, but Miller's October will shape Philadelphia's prospect picture entering 2027.