Phillies sign Ocean City High School pitcher Jake McKenna

The Phillies are signing a local product after the MLB Draft

Coming off the five-round MLB Draft the Phillies are signing Ocean City High School pitcher Jake McKenna for $20,000, the maximum teams can sign undrafted players for this season.

McKenna is a lefty listed as 6’6 215 lbs and was ranked by Baseball America (subscription required as their 434th prospect in the 2020 MLB Draft. Their scouting report says he “produces forced riding action on his 12-to-6 curveball that has a chance to be above average in the future.”

They also mentioned that his fastball is currently a fringe-average pitch and that he needs to clean some things up, but he’s a high-character kid who just needs time to develop.

It’s notable that the Phillies got another really tall prospect, something they did earlier in the 2020 MLB Draft.

Perfect Game listed McKenna as a St. Joes commit prior to signing with the Phillies. In the last tournament Perfect Game lists in October 2019, McKenna threw struck out five batters and didn’t allow any earned runs for the Tri-State Arsenal 2020 National.

In a workout video he posted on Youtube, McKenna was hitting 92 MPH with his fastball.

They say in baseball that if you’re good, they’ll find you. Ocean City High School certainly isn’t a big school or a baseball powerhouse, but they’ve put out talent before.

Ocean City High School has had a couple of alumni reach the minor leagues, most recently in 2018 when the Los Angeles Angels selected Daniel Nunan in the 12th round.

Given how things have gone this year with baseball it’s great that the Phillies signed a local product for the “maximum” this year and are giving him a chance to live out his dream.

We’ll keep an eye on any other signings the Phillies make, but this is a great story to follow once minor league baseball returns.