Each team with deep postseason aspirations needs quality depth across its roster to withstand the inevitable challenges of a 162-game season and subsequently advance in the playoffs.

Introducing Alex McFarlane 

For the Philadelphia Phillies, rookie reliever Alex McFarlane can play a significant role in their bullpen despite making his big-league debut in late July.

The hard-throwing right-hander is off to a fast start, logging a 3.09 ERA over his first 11.2 innings. And after he has quickly displayed an effective, high-octane arsenal, Phillies manager Don Mattingly has inserted McFarlane into high-leverage roles over the last month.

 

Possessing two slightly different fastballs and breaking balls, McFarlane shifts his pitch mix depending on the opposing batter’s handedness.

 

Against lefties, who have mustered only one extra-base hit against McFarlane in 19 plate appearances, he utilizes his 100 mph four-seamer and hard slider to get outs.

Then, when righties step to the plate, McFarlane’s attack is more balanced, but he primarily goes to his triple-digit sinker and wicked sweeper. Those same-sided batters are hitting only .174 versus McFarlane across 29 plate appearances.

Even as a first-year player, McFarlane will be a tough matchup in October and is expected to shut down the middle of opposing lineups during the biggest moments of the season. He is currently Philadelphia’s No. 13 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and appears to be a core piece of the Phillies’ bullpen during their championship window.

Born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands, McFarlane didn’t make his way stateside until his senior year of high school, when he moved to Georgia.

A two-way player at Habersham Central, McFarlane hit .479 while striking out 69 hitters on the mound. The St. Louis Cardinals selected him in the 25th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, but McFarlane chose to play collegiately at the University of Miami.

Phillies Draft Live Arm McFarlane In 2022

Mainly working as a starter with the Hurricanes, McFarlane posted a 4.35 ERA with 120 punchouts over 91 innings in his three years in South Florida. Because of McFarlane’s swing-and-miss stuff out of the rotation, Philadelphia drafted him during the fourth round in 2022.

He initially struggled at the professional level, sporting a 6.17 ERA in his first two years at Low-A Clearwater. Then, McFarlane experienced elbow issues late in 2023, leading to Tommy John surgery that caused him to miss the entirety of 2024. Returning as a starter for 2025, McFarlane still wasn’t yielding ideal results after the major injury.

Still believing in his stuff, the Phillies placed McFarlane on their 40-man roster last offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. They also transitioned him to a reliever, and he has been dominant since. Starting the year at Double-A, McFarlane logged a 2.06 ERA with an almost 33% strikeout rate over 35 frames.

On April 24, Philadelphia called McFarlane up to the Show but sent him down before he could make an appearance. He finally got his real opportunity on July 22, when McFarlane immediately showed he belongs.

Before Ronald Acuña Jr. blasted a three-run homer off him on Sunday, McFarlane had logged nine consecutive scoreless outings, all at least one inning long.

The 25-year-old will still need to get his command under control, but he does a phenomenal job of suppressing hard contact and keeping the ball on the ground. More effective tunneling could also impact McFarlane’s ability to increase his chase and whiff rates against big-league competition.

Helping set up closer Jhoan Durán, don’t be surprised to see McFarlane get some big outs for Philadelphia down the stretch in efforts to capture the franchise’s first World Series title since 2008.