Ramon Marquez was recently named one of the Phillies' two Minor League Pitchers of the Month in May, and as the calendar flips to June, he continues to look like one of the most promising young arms in the system.
Philadelphia’s No. 9 prospect was dominant in Clearwater's 5-4 win over St. Lucie at Clover Park, tossing 5 1/3 innings and allowing just one earned run on two hits, walking one and striking out nine. The outing lowers his season ERA to 1.50 and pushes his season strikeout total to 41 in only 24 innings.
From the jump, Marquez’s arsenal flummoxed St. Lucie hitters, as he retired the first nine batters he faced. That included the 20-year-old striking out the side in back-to-back innings in the second and third. His nine strikeouts tie a season high, which marks the third such time this season in which he’s fanned nine in a start.
The Phillies' No. 4 pitching prospect mixed his offerings well Friday, throwing his changeup, cutter and sinker each at a higher than 25 percent clip. His sequencing kept Mets' hitters guessing, as he finished the night with a season-high 23 whiffs.
Marquez once again favored his 60-grade changeup Friday night, throwing it 28 times. Averaging 83.4 mph on the radar gun, the pitch generated a 55.6 percent whiff rate (10 whiffs on 18 swings) and was responsible for three of his nine punchouts. For the season, Marquez’s changeup owns a 55.3 whiff rate. For context, Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez, who owns the highest whiff rate on a changeup in the Majors this season, is at 49.6 percent in 2026.
COMPLETE PHILLIES PROSPECT COVERAGE
Along with collecting an ample number of swings-and-misses, Marquez did well to limit hard contact, as he has all season. Of the nine batted balls put into play against him, just two logged exit velocities higher than 95 mph.
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Florida State League hitters have managed to hit just .153 with a .497 OPS against the right-hander this season. When they have made contact, those batted balls are often being driven straight into the dirt, as he continues to run a ground-ball rate around the 50 percent mark.