Start 1? 9 K's. Start 2? 9 K's! Fitting beginning to 2026 for Phillies' No. 9 prospect
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Ramon Marquez appears to be getting better and better with every start he makes.
The Phillies' No. 9 prospect backed up his stellar 2026 season debut with another dazzling performance on Saturday. The 20-year-old worked five scoreless innings, allowing just three hits, walking two and striking out nine in Clearwater's 4-3 victory over Lakeland at BayCare Ballpark.
The outing marks the right-hander's second straight start in which he has struck out nine batters, and comes on the heels of a strong Friday night start by MLB's No. 71 prospect, Gage Wood. Marquez's stuff shined most at the tail end of his outing, as he punched out four of the final seven batters he faced.
Marquez, who sports a three-pitch mix of a sinking fastball, changeup and a cutter/bullet-slider, did well to utilize his full arsenal, throwing each pitch at a higher than 25 percent clip. The changeup, though, was his most effective offering of the night. Sitting in the low 80s, the 60-grade pitch generated a 70 percent whiff rate (7-for-10). In total, the Phillies' No. 4 pitching prospect racked up 19 swings-and-misses for an overall 65.6 percent whiff rate.
In his nine innings of work this season, Marquez has yet to allow an earned run. In total, opposing batters have managed just four hits and a .129 batting average against him.
Along with his ability to generate swing-and-miss, Marquez has paired it with a strong feel for the strike zone. While he walked two on Saturday, the right-hander owns a solid 7.7 percent walk rate in 64 innings pitched between the Complex League and Single-A in the early stages of his pro career.
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Marquez, who signed for just $10,000 dollars as an international free agent out of Mexico in January 2025, already appears to be quite the find for the Phillies' organization.