Texas Rangers Top Prospects: #14, Tyler Phillips

The Texas Rangers future is made up of the prospects currently in the organization. Which prospect continues the rankings at #14?

As we continue this offseason into Spring Training, we’re looking at the Top 25 prospects in the Texas Rangers organization. These are the players that have performed through the 2018 season and offer the most for the club moving forward.

#14: RHP, Tyler Phillips

The Texas Rangers drafted Tyler Phillips back in the 2015 draft as a 16th round high schooler out of New Jersey. They were able to ink Phillips with an over-slot signing bonus and started off his pro career in the Arizona Rookie league. Phillips wasn’t bad in Rookie League posting a 3.60 ERA in 13 relief appearances. He followed that up in 2016 with some time with Short-Season Spokane where he made the transition to the rotation. He got a rough time with the Indians in his 13 starts posting a 6.44 ERA. On the bright side, he was able to rack up 57 strikeouts in 58.2 innings making for a decent ratio.

His first go with a full-season team was with Single-A Hickory in 2017 but poor outings and an ERA over 6.00 led to him returning to Short-Season Spokane where he was much better in 13 starts there. His 3.45 ERA and a strikeout rate above one per inning helped restore some of the confidence in Phillips.

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Last season, Phillips started the year with Single-A Hickory and made a career-high 22 starts. He was able to throw 128 innings, the highest of his young pro career and posted an excellent 2.88 ERA along with a 1.023 WHIP. He finished off the year with a start with High-A Down East in which he went 5 innings giving up just 2 hits, allowing 1 run and striking out 3 hitters.

Heading into 2019, expectations and hopes for Tyler Phillips among Texas Rangers fans are starting to grow. The 6’5″ right-hander still has some room to grow and has the frame of a starter that can hold up under a long season. MLB Prospect Watch focuses on his above-average control as the factor that sets him apart. His fastball is nothing over-the-top and he features a quality offspeed but that ability to locate within the zone gives hopes that he can remain a rotation piece according to MLB Prospect Watch.

At only 21-years old, there’s still plenty of room for Tyler Phillips to continue to develop and like every other prospect in the Rangers system, there isn’t a rush to move him up the organizational ladder. I’d imagine Phillips starts the season with High-A Down East in 2019 with a slim possibility that he could make the jump to Double-A Frisco by the end of the year. I’d imagine he stays with the Wood Ducks all season, however.