Phillies RHP Prospect Alex McFarlane Unhittable After Move to Bullpen

After the Phillies selected him in the fourth round of the 2022 MLB Entry Draft, right-handed pitching prospect Alex McFarlane struggled through his first four seasons in the pros. Tommy John surgery didn’t help, keeping him off the mound for the entire 2024 season, but McFarlane still posted an ERA north of 4.80 in each of his two full seasons.

A full-time move to the bullpen ahead of the 2026 season gave McFarlane a massive boost: through 19 appearances (18.2 innings) with the Fightin Phils this year, his first real taste of Double-A ball outside of a brief stint at the end of last year, the 6-foot-3 righty has an otherworldly 0.48 ERA along with 26 strikeouts. McFarlane described how he’s ramping back up with his body fully healthy.

Back in the Swing of Things

“Last year was my first year after T.J., year after surgery. So this year, coming back with a full season healthy, full offseason healthy, and just going in making sure my mind is right, slowing things down,” McFarlane said. “Just take every day one step at a time, doing what I need to do and sticking to my routine.”

Thanks to McFarlane’s stint in Reading to close 2025, Fightin Phils manager Al Pedrique had a chance to gauge how he grew with another offseason under his belt.

“Last year, when we had him for a short period of time, he threw the ball well. Obviously he was going to make some adjustments to his delivery, but this year so far he’s done a great job, and that’s another kid that nothing intimidates him when he’s on the mound,” Pedrique said. “He knows that he needs to throw strikes, go right after the hitters, and that’s what he’s done so far… Good life [on his] fastball, velocity is up. The slider, when he’s on, the slider’s unhittable.”

As a former starter, McFarlane has a number of pitches in his toolbox. He said he’s also developing his sweeper. Despite the horizontal movement, which would normally preclude him from throwing it to right-handers, McFarlane said he can attack both sides of the plate with the offering. 

“It’s been great. This year, just been throwing it a lot to righties and a lot to lefties as well,” McFarlane said. “It’s been a very consistent pitch for me this year, good strikeout pitch, and looking forward to continuing to develop.”

Fielders’ Day Off

Whatever the pitch, McFarlane poses a nightmare for opposing hitters.

“I feel like I can sit down, criss-cross applesauce, and put my glove on my head,” Phillies outfield prospect Dante Nori said of McFarlane’s hot streak. “He’s been shoving, he got called up for a reason, and he’s continued to dominate. It shouldn’t be long before he’s gone again. He’s been doing everything for us, and it’s great.”

As Nori referenced, McFarlane even had a one-day stint in the big leagues, called up to the Phillies’ roster to fill the spot opened when the club released Taijuan Walker in April. While he didn’t get a chance to take the mound, McFarlane said the experience gave him a better idea of how a Major League Baseball team operates.

“It was great. Great experience being around all the guys. I was around a lot of them during big league camp, so got to see some familiar faces up there, see how the bullpen worked and everything,” McFarlane said. “Just going through the ins and outs, seeing it’s a little different than here in Double-A, a little faster pace. Just getting to see that, took everything I needed to take out of it down here and applied it.”

McFarlane said that he isn’t superstitious amidst his ongoing hot streak. He does, however, make sure to listen to keep his pre-game music rotation steady along with the rest of his typical preparation routine.

Not Your Typical Closer

“No, no superstitions besides listening to the same type of music. Besides that, just taking the ball when I’m asked, man. Really simplifying the game. Doing what I need to do each time, sticking to my routines and just taking it one step at a time,” McFarlane said. “Reggae music, I like Bob Marley; I like a lot of Richie Spice. A lot of calming music before the game, sometimes a little rap music, Lil Wayne pre-game.”

He’s nearly unhittable, but McFarlane said he doesn’t carry himself like the typical closer — instead of “Enter Sandman” like Mariano Rivera, Edwin Diaz’s “Narco” or Ryan Helsley’s “Hell’s Bells,” McFarlane opts for the Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist DeMarco’s “I Love My Life” as a walk-up song, describing the number as ‘really positive.’

“It’s a good island song, I’m from the islands, so everybody, when that song plays, they know who it is,” McFarlane said. “It’s not a scary closer song, but it’s my vibe.”

McFarlane hails from the U.S. Virgin Islands, his easygoing nature embodying the ‘island time’ philosophy of living in the moment and proceeding one step at a time. In switching to competitive mode, he said it helps that he doesn’t have to pitch until the eighth or ninth inning.

“There’s a lot of game before the ninth inning, so I have a lot of time to just make sure I get my mind right and do the things I need to do to warm up,” McFarlane said. “Just getting in that right headspace and making sure I’m fully prepared to go out there in the ninth inning or eighth inning, whenever they call on me to close the game.”