Phillies Promote Top Prospect to Triple-A

A top Philadelphia Phillies prospect is one step away from joining the Major League club after a promotion on Friday.

The Phillies formally announced the promotion of pitcher Griff McGarry to their Triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

McGarry is the Phillies’ No. 4 overall prospect, per MLB.com.

His development is important for the Phillies’ future as three of their Top 4 prospects are pitchers. One of them — Andrew Painter — recently had Tommy John surgery and won’t pitch until 2025. The other is Mick Abel, the Phillies’ No. 2 prospect, who for now will remain with Double-A Reading.

It’s not clear when McGarry will make his first Triple-A start. McGarry’s last start with Reading came on Thursday. In that game he threw four innings, giving up one hit, four runs (two earned) and five walks. But he also struck out six.

The Phillies selected McGarry in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of Virginia.

Since then, McGarry has worked his way through the Phillies’ organization, playing with at least two affiliates each season.

This season he spent all but one inning with Reading, where he went 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 13 starts. He threw 54.2 innings, striking out 74 and walking 36. He pitched one inning in one game in May for the Phillies’ Florida Complex League rookie team as part of an injury rehab assignment.

For his minor league career, McGarry is 6-9 with a 3.44 ERA with 249 strikeouts and 103 walks.