Breaking down Phillies Day Two draft picks: Rounds 4-10
By John Town
Round Four: Right-handed pitcher Colton Eastman
The Phillies must have a strong affinity for Cal State Fullerton pitchers as they have two alumni in their system (Tom Eshelman, Connor Seabold) and now have a third in righty Colton Eastman. Eastman was originally picked in the 20th round of the 2015 draft by the Twins when he graduating high school.
Eastman ranked No. 75 overall on Baseball America’s Top 500 and No. 98 overall on MLB.com’s top draft prospect list. The pick is slotted for a $522,900 signing bonus.
In 15 starts at Fullerton this season, Eastman had a 2.26 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 4.15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He threw a no-hitter March 29 against UC Santa Barbara.
Eastman didn’t pitch last summer and missed some time last year with elbow inflammation, but there were no issues this season.
Eastman isn’t known for his fastball as it is rather average, barely scraping into the 90s. Where he excels is with his secondary pitches as he has an above-average curveball as well as a plus changeup. He throws all of them for strikes.
Eastman has all the makings of a back-end starter, but his secondary pitches have to be great to counteract his so-so fastball. The Phillies are clearly going with Eastman’s high floor, even if he doesn’t have much ceiling.