Phillies No. 6 prospect learning to love the grind in Fall League
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The jump from high school ball -- especially if you’re coming from a cold-weather state like Michigan -- to pro ball can be a huge one. But Phillies’ No. 6 prospect Dante Nori seemed to handle it just fine, going from his Northville High School program outside of Detroit right to full-season ball after signing as a first-round pick in 2024.
He spent nearly all of 2025 with Single-A Clearwater and more than held his own, earning a bump first to High-A Jersey Shore and spending the final week of the year with Double-A Reading. The outfielder finished with a .261/.361/.372 line and his 52 steals were good for second best in the organization. Perhaps more importantly, Nori got 125 games on his resume, and now he’s adding more in the Arizona Fall League. Getting used to that kind of volume seemed to be the steepest learning curve for him.
"Honestly, the grind,” Nori said when asked about the biggest challenge he faced in his first full season. “You’re playing six days a week, when out of high school you’re one game every few days. So just the grind and truly how much you have to take care of yourself.”
He clearly listened to those who gave him advice on how to do just that. Hitting .279 with 13 steals in 11 games with Jersey Shore showed he had plenty left in the tank even after 109 contests with Clearwater. His biggest sounding board is a guy who knows something about playing sports at the highest level, even if it’s a different sport. Micah Nori, Dante’s father, is a longtime NBA assistant coach, but he also played baseball at the collegiate level.
“He was the one I always leaned on,” Nori said.
Nori came into pro ball with a reputation as a heady hitter, one with a solid approach who made a ton of contact. And he lived up to that in '25, striking out just 14.7 percent of the time while finishing with a 13.0 percent walk rate. He really hit his stride as the season wore on, always a good sign. From June 1 through the end of the year, he hit .279/.388/.407 with 41 steals in 80 games. That helped him shake off the first two months of the season, when he hit just .231 with a .626 OPS.
“[I made] a couple of adjustments, just moving up on the plate, trying to do more damage,” Nori said. “I opened up, freed everything up and just let it fly.”
He also was pretty loose on the basepaths. He gained a better understanding of the art of the steal, using his on-base skills to greater advantage.
“You have to pick up tendencies, the count, the situation that your guys are in, that all goes into the play,” Nori said. “It’s becoming a really big part. Towards the end of the season, I just started going and going and going. Just make them make a play.”
Phillies hitters in the Fall League
Bryan Rincon, SS (No. 17): Rincon played in the AFL last year and he’s back again as the 2022 14th-round pick has had issues staying healthy. He’s a terrific defender at short, but hasn’t been able to find a groove offensively (.206/.337/.333 career line).
Dylan Campbell, OF (No. 28): The Phillies got Campbell from the Dodgers when Los Angeles was busy accruing international bonus money in order to sign Roki Sasaki. A former two-sport standout in high school who focused on baseball only at University of Texas, Campbell has some pop (14 homers in 2025) and plenty of speed (33 steals this year), albeit without consistent offensive results. He’s a good defender in the outfield and the Phillies moved him back to the dirt -- he’s played second, third and center over the AFL’s opening week.
Phillies pitchers in the Fall League
Eiberson Castellano, RHP (No. 24): Taken last winter by the Twins in the Rule 5 Draft, Castellano was returned to the Phillies before the end of Spring Training. He only threw 36 1/3 innings this year as he tried to earn his way on to the 40-man because of a right shoulder issue, so this Fall League is key. His power low-80s curve is often his best swing-and-miss pitch, but he also has a fastball that can touch the upper-90s and a solid changeup.
Jack Dallas, RHP: A fifth-year senior out of Lamar signed as a nondrafted free agent in 2022, Dallas had an effective 2025 with Double-A Reading, pitching almost entirely in relief, though he did miss a month of the season near the end of the year. He can throw strikes with a fastball that sits around 92-93 mph and touches 95-96, a slider he leans on heavily that misses bats and a lesser-thrown changeup. He has the ceiling of a multi-inning reliever, and he tossed three shutout frames in his AFL debut.
Jaydenn Estanista, RHP: Estanista and his raw stuff have landed on the Phillies’ Top 30 in the past. He misses a lot of bats with a fastball that touches 98 mph, a slider and a cutter to go along with an occasional splitter. He’s struck out 10.5 per nine in his career, but he’s also walked 6.0/9, and his command is what needs to be refined for him to have a chance at any kind of leveraged relief role.
Daniel Harper, RHP: A 17th-round pick out of Kentucky in 2022, Harper had a solid year in relief in 2024, but couldn’t back it up this year, missing nearly all of the season’s first two months, then finding himself on the injured list again for a few weeks in August. He got knocked around some when he got to Triple-A for the first time, though he has a sinking fastball that can touch 97 mph and an upper-80s cutter.
Tommy McCollum, RHP: A nondrafted free agent who signed back in 2021, McCollum spent the bulk of his 2025 season closing games for Reading and racking up 12 saves combined for the year (nine in Double-A), though he did touch Triple-A at the end of the season. His fastball can touch 97 mph and his 86-87 mph splitter has become his go-to out pitch, though he does have a hard short slider as well.