Phillies Top 30 Prospects No. 27: Alirio Ferrebus Adjusts To A-Ball

This is the fourth in a series of stories breaking down the Philadelphia Phillies’ Top 30 prospects heading into 2026.

20-year-old catching prospect Alirio Ferrebus signed with the Phillies for $70,000 in January 2023, well below the average for a highly-touted international prospect: three years later, he’s a low-risk project with room to grow. He hails from Maracaibo, Venezuela and stands 6-foot-2 and 174 pounds.

Ferrebus made his Single-A debut with Clearwater in 2025 after splitting his first two seasons between the Dominican Summer League and rookie ball. He slashed .219/.272/.275 with six doubles and a homer across 44 games with the Threshers, a rough introduction after posting an OPS well north of .800 in each of his first two seasons.

Given his age and weight, Ferrebus still has plenty of time to build power. His eye at the plate could use some work, as he struck out 45 times and drew just 17 walks across roughly 300 plate appearances: a 15 percent strikeout rate in his first Single-A season isn’t egregious in this era of baseball, but when the power isn’t there he doesn’t create much offense.

Baseball Savant cites Ferrebus’ fielding and arm as hovering around a 50-grade, an average mark on the 20-80 scale that scouts employ… and in most cases, defense is what makes or breaks a catcher. To this point in his career, he’s thrown out 25 of 108 potential base stealers (23.1 percent); 29 percent of stolen base attempts failed in MLB last season, but there’s a higher margin for error in the lower levels of the sport.

If he can rebound at the plate in his second taste of Single-A or continues moving through the Phillies’ system, Ferrebus could climb these rankings in the coming seasons.