Welcome to Volume One of PARScards for 2026! It feels so good to be back.
First up, we have Alirio Ferrebus of the Phillies. Let’s dig in.
Background
Ferrebus was signed in 2023 out of Venezuela for just $70,000. He went unranked on Fangraphs’ Top 30 of 2025, garnering honorable mention as a big, projectable young hitter.
How’d We Get Here?
After an impressive 21 game debut in 2023 after signing, Ferrebus reported back to the DSL for 2024, which isn’t uncommon for a 17-year old. He lasted only 14 games there in ‘24, just straight mashing to the tune of a 207 wRC+. His stateside debut was a 10-game stretch of just ordinary ball, but one thing stood out— ZERO walks in 41 plate appearances. Let’s keep an eye on that.
For 2025, he again was assigned to the complex league, and fared much better, earning 11 walks over 106 PA’s. He was promoted again, this time to Single-A, and put up a pretty awful line of .219/.272/.275. This wasn’t a small sample, this was over 44 games. Ouch.
Fast-forward to 2026, and the pattern repeats. Assigned back to Clearwater, he kicks it into a new gear. Over 43 games, he’s up to .343/.399/.562, with six home runs and five steals in six tries.
The Good
Man, I just love minor-league camera angles!
The dude rakes. An average EV of 91 mph, a max EV of 111.7 mph, and a 47% hard-hit rate all point to legitimate impact contact. While the steals are nice, I don’t expect them to stick, as he appears to be a below-average runner. Plenty of time to see how that shakes out as he ascends. And he’s definitely due to be promoted to High-A, if the Phils stick to the script and repeat the pattern. There isn’t much standing in his way throughout the Phillies’ system, either. Look at how Phillies backstop prospects are faring, outside of Ferrebus:
The Bad
The approach is a definite concern. So far this year, he sports a measly 5.5% BB-rate, paired with a likewise stingy 14.8% K-rate. Ferrebus connects on everything he reaches for— he just needs to stop reaching. Better swing decisions could also help trim his 56% ground-ball rate.
Eeeeeasy power
The Verdict
I’m in. And the price might be free, at just 3% owned. I snagged him May 4th for nothing, six days before I resuscitated PARS. That got me wondering: who else was I missing? Who’s still out there? As a result, Ferrebus becomes the first card of PARScards’ return.
I’m keeping an eye on his approach/O-Swing%, as well as his defense. He’s caught a not-terrible 28% of runners, with three passed balls, while splitting time between catcher and DH. They seem to have given up on him as a first baseman, fwiw.
If he catches, and continues to rake, he’s a STEAL.
Who do you want to see next? I’m hoping to release a new card every week for 2026.
Thanks for reading!
- Rick ✌🏼