Phillies Minor Leaguers: Jean Cabrera

Jean Cabrera is a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher from Venezuela. In 2021, Cabrera’s first season with the organization, he played in the Dominican Summer League and won the Paul Owens Award. (Each year, the Phillies present the Paul Owens Award to both the top player and the top pitcher in their minor league system.) His stats that year were eye-popping: 13 G, 13 GS, 52.2 IP, 1.54 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 1.7 BB/9, 10.4 K/9.

Cabrera didn’t find the same success with the Clearwater Threshers in 2022 or 2023, posting a combined 4.65 ERA and 1.66 WHIP in those seasons. He showed progress from ’22 to ’23, however, dropping his BB/9 from 5.4 to 2.4 and lowering his HR/9 from 1.6 to 0.3. Cabrera’s K/9 stayed fairly steady: 9.9 in ’22 and 9.5 in ’23. Fangraphs lists him as the 22nd-best prospect in the Phillies’ system for 2024.

In a Phillies organization full of big-framed flamethrowers, Cabrera’s six foot, 145 lb stature is conspicuous. But so is his ability to find the plate. Compare his 6.1% 2023 walk rate to Griff McGarry‘s 18.5%, Furious George Klassen‘s 17.9%, or Alexis De La Cruz‘s 12.7%.

And it’s not like Cabrera doesn’t have a fastball. His four-seam heater sits 94 to 96 mph with above average spin, according to Phillies insider Larry Shenk, and can occasionally hit 97 or 98. Shenk reports that Cabrera generally relies on a sinker/slider combination, has a curveball that he threw less often in 2023 than previous years, and recently started to utilize a two-seamer against right-handed batters.

Other pitchers to win the Paul Owens Award include Ricky Botallico (1993), Ryan Madson (2002), Cole Hamels (2003), J.A. Happ (2008), Andrew Painter (2022), and Orion Kerkering (2023). On the other hand, Carlton Loewer (1998), Ricardo Pinter (2015), Ben Lively (2016), and Tom Eshelman (2017) also won the award. It will be interesting to see whether Cabrera ends up linked in history with the former group or the latter.

For more on Jean Cabrera, check out Devon and Jamie’s discussion on the podcast, or watch 15 minutes of Fangraphs footage on YouTube.