Phillies prospect Eduardo Tait, Delco native Kevin McGonigle compete in All-Star Futures Game

ATLANTA — The comparisons are overwhelming, but in a positive way.

When Eduardo Tait signed with the Phillies as an international free agent in 2023, he took the same first step as one of his baseball heroes. Tait is a Panamanian catcher just like Carlos Ruiz, the beloved backstop for the 2008 World Series champion Phils. And like most baseball-obsessed kids in Panama, Tait counted Ruiz as one of his heroes.

“It’s emotional,” Tait told The Inquirer through a translator. “I watched him when I was little, and I really want to be like him.”

» READ MORE: Andrew Painter, Eduardo Tait picked for Futures Game; no Phillies voted as All-Star finalists

Ruiz accomplished nearly everything in 17 years with the organization, but even he never appeared in the Futures Game as part of All-Star week. With pitcher Andrew Painter not participating, Tait was the lone Phillies prospect in MLB’s annual minor league showcase.

“It’s a beautiful experience,” Tait said. “I want to remember everything. When we went out on the field for the first time, it was really special.”

Still six weeks shy of his 19th birthday, Tait was the third-youngest of the 50 prospects in the game. He has had a steady season in his first full campaign above rookie ball, hitting .254 with 11 home runs in 73 games for single-A Clearwater. For Tait, everything is a learning experience, and they don’t come much bigger than getting a chance to spend a weekend with the best prospects in the game, with Chipper Jones as his manager and Andruw Jones serving as the hitting coach.

“My favorite part of the experience has been meeting our managers,” Tait said. “They are legends in baseball.”

He took over behind the plate in the fourth inning and helped contribute to the National League offense with a productive out. His groundout advanced Diamondbacks prospect LuJames Groover into scoring position, and Groover came around to score the final run of the NL’s 4—2 victory on Owen Caissie’s RBI double.

Tait’s day lasted just two innings as one of three NL catchers who cycled through, but it was an unforgettable milestone as he continues his road to Philly.

“My teammates,” Tait said when asked what he will remember most from the weekend. “It’s a lot of great players from different teams.”

Kevin McGonigle, on the other hand, is more than familiar with Philadelphia.

The Aldan native has his own memories of Ruiz and the 2008 Phillies, albeit much different ones than Tait’s.

“I do remember to this day I was at home watching the game,” McGonigle said. “When they won the World Series, I went outside and started banging pots and pans. That was my first memory of the Phillies, for sure.”

Two years after entering professional baseball as a first-round draft pick, he is already well on his way to stardom, earning a promotion from single-A West Michigan to double-A Erie in the Detroit Tigers organization earlier in the week. He has a 1.028 OPS this season.

» READ MORE: Tigers prospect Kevin McGonigle, a Delco native, homers on first pitch he sees against Phillies’ Aaron Nola

“It’s been crazy,” he said, recapping his week. “I’ve gone up to double-A in Erie, traveled to Harrisburg to play the week there, and now I’m here in Atlanta.”

His Philadelphia roots still run deep. He spends his offseasons at home, training at Ascent Athlete in Glen Mills. Like everyone else with local ties, he was living and dying with the Eagles, remembering how his drive to Lakeland, Fla., for spring training fell on Super Bowl Sunday.

But the person he wanted to meet most during his Futures Game experience? Well, those Philadelphia ties had to cross the threshold of an NL East rivalry.

“Definitely Chipper Jones,” he said. “Whenever I have the opportunity to go up and shake his hand and introduce myself, I’m definitely going to take it.”

McGonigle started at shortstop and put the ball in play twice, but ended up with a pair of medium depth flyouts and handled his lone defensive chance, a relatively routine day for a prospect who has had anything but a routine week.

“It was a great time out there,” McGonigle said. “I was very proud that I could share a field with all these guys and compete against the guys on the other side.”

At this time next year, the festivities will be at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia’s first time hosting the All-Star Game since 1996. Just two levels away from the majors now, McGonigle is already dreaming about the possibility of running it back.

Not in the Futures Game, but in the main event.

“I know in 2026 it’s going to be in Philly,” he said. “Hopefully I get to do this again and be in my hometown.”