PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 21: A view of the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies bullpens in centerfield as fans watch from above during a game at Citizens Bank Park on July 21, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Marlins won 9-3. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – JULY 21: A view of the Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies bullpens in centerfield as fans watch from above during a game at Citizens Bank Park on July 21, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Marlins won 9-3. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /
In addition to having plenty of talented pitching prospects in the top end of the system, the Phillies have even more down the list, starting with 18-year-old righty Francisco Morales.
The Phillies signed the top Venezuelan pitching prospect in 2016, picking up Francisco Morales with a $900,000 bonus. He was the 17th-best prospect in that international signing class according to MLB.com.
When he signed, Morales’s best pitch was his fastball, and it still is, sitting between 92-96 miles per hour. Some think the velocity could increase as he gets older and physically develops, which would escalate it above the plus pitch it already is. In addition, Morales has the workings of a plus breaking pitch as well as an average changeup.
However, Morales still has a ways to go with his command, and it showed as he walked 4.35 batters per nine innings in 10 appearances this year in the Gulf Coast League. He did strike out 44 batters in 41.1 innings, but it doesn’t cancel out his lack of control. Granted, Morales was 17 years old this season and still has plenty of time to develop.
Left-handed pitcher McKenzie Mills
This season was the first time the Phillies veteran flipping strategy actually worked for them. They were able to complete three deadline deals to, including one that sent Howie Kendrick to the Nationals. In return, Washington sent back 21-year-old lefty McKenzie Mills.
The Nationals drafted Mills in the 18th round back in 2014. He struggled with control in his first three minor-league seasons, but he took a major step forward this season. Mills walked just 1.6 batters per nine innings this season in 21 starts. He was tremendous in Low-A Potomac with a 3.01 ERA, 28.4 percent strikeout rate, and 0.95 WHIP in 18 starts. After being traded he went to High-A Clearwater, where he didn’t walk a single batter in three starts. He did wind up with a 4.60 ERA in Clearwater but a much better 2.29 fielding-independent pitching.
While Mills had much better control this season, his arsenal doesn’t really stand out. His best pitch is an above-average changeup, while his fastball sits between 88-92 miles per hour. There’s a curveball in there too, but it doesn’t have the hard break to even make it an average pitch. Thanks to his newfound control Mills might be able to make it as a back-end starter, but he doesn’t have much room for error.
Right-handed pitcher J.D. Hammer
Another one of those trades mentioned earlier sent Pat Neshek to the Rockies in exchange for a trio of prospects as well as international slot money. One of the pitchers sent back in exchange for Neshek was 23-year-old relief prospect J.D. Hammer.
Hammer pitched as a starter at Marshall before being drafted in the 24th round last year by the Rockies. They converted him to a reliever and immediately saw an uptick in velocity.
Hammer started off this season in Low-A where he was nearly untouchable, striking out 14.10 batters per nine inning and posting a 1.20 ERA and 0.73 WHIP in 24 outings. He was promoted to High-A in June, where two bad innings ballooned his walk rate to 16.7 percent. Hammer’s strikeout rate was still quite high at 33.3 percent. After being traded to the Phillies, Hammer’s strikeout rate jumped to 36.4 percent while his walk rate dropped to 3.6 percent in Clearwater.
Hammer has the makings for a fast-moving relief prospect with a fastball that now can reach up to 97 miles per hour. He has a hard, slurvy breaking ball that could be an average pitch. If Hammer can improve that breaking ball, he could be an effective, late-game reliever, but as of now he is more of a middle reliever.
Right-handed pitcher Edgar Garcia
Edgar Garcia split 2017 between the rotation and the bullpen for High-A Clearwater, but ultimately his future lies in the bullpen. It wasn’t a great season statistically for Garcia as he walked more batters than he had for most of his career, leading to a 4.47 ERA. Opposing hitters had a .331 batting average on balls in play, so Garcia suffered from that to an extent. He still had a 22.7 percent strikeout rate working on the rotation, so it wasn’t all bad for Garcia.
Garcia has all the makings for a strong reliever with a plus, mid-90s fastball and above-average slider that Baseball America calls the best in the system. His command is okay but not great, and he also throws a changeup when he starts. Both of those have to improve considerably for Garcia to be a starter, but his mechanics and fastball-slider combo are much more inclined for the bullpen.
Despite pitching almost entirely out of the bullpen for most his minor-league career, Garcia has moved through the system at a rather steady pace.
He should be in Double-A Reading next year with the chance to make it to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. If he pitches more from the bullpen he should move up rather quickly, but if he has to go back to the rotation his progress up the minor-league ladder may be stalled.
Right-handed pitcher Connor Seabold
The Phillies raided the college pitching class, taking several through the first 10 rounds of the draft this year. One of those pitchers was Connor Seabold from Cal State Fullerton, the same school that Thomas Eshelman went to. Funnily enough, they are very similar pitchers.
Seabold easily has plus command and he isn’t going to issue many walks at all. His pitches are okay but not great, with a fastball between 88-92 miles per hours. Both his curveball and changeup could be average pitches, with his changeup being a little better. Thanks to his command, Seabold could move quickly up the system as a back-end starter, but his lack of standout stuff could hurt him in the major-leagues.
Seabold made five appearances of two innings each of relief in short-season Williamsport this season. He did well, giving up just one earned run, walking two batters and striking out 13. He didn’t make an appearance after Aug. 3, but he also threw 127.2 innings in college this year. The team probably didn’t want to work Seabold much more than he already had this year.
