With the MLB Draft less than a month away, it’s a good time to remind everyone that multiple players have made a career for themselves despite being undrafted.
Following the conclusion of the 2020 MLB Draft, the Phillies inked ten additional players as undrafted free agents. The shortened amateur draft (40 rounds became five) enabled MLB franchises to sign an unlimited number of UDFAs for cheap.
Almost a full year later, why not check in on these prospects?
Some of the UDFAs have yet to make their professional debuts, while others have found some serious success. Five of the ten made Baseball America’s Top 20 list of of UDFAs. All ten are pitchers, and all hail from a college program, except one — Jake McKenna, a graduate of Ocean City High School in New Jersey.
Only 19 years old, McKenna could have the most upside out of the group, given his youth and towering size. Standing six-foot-six, he was the top-rated left-handed pitcher in New Jersey in 2020, with a commitment to play baseball collegiately at St. John’s. Although McKenna has not yet pitched in minor league ball, he is slated to begin his professional career in the Gulf Coast League this summer.
Billy Sullivan, the fastest riser out of the group, is already shining in Double-A. In 2021, Sullivan has posted a 1.96 ERA and 0.982 WHIP over 14 appearances, making the jump from A+ to AA in late May. Look out for Sullivan come roster expansion in September – or potentially sooner, given the Phillies’ recent bullpen struggles.
Noah Skirrow, a 21-year-old right-hander, has been even more effective than Sullivan, but is still at the A+ level with the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. In 20 1/3 innings of work, including three starts, Skirrow has struck out 29 batters while only allowing two earned runs. He has yet to allow a home run. He did recently land on the 7-day IL but should find himself in Reading very soon if he keeps this pace up.
Blake Brown has fared pretty well with the BlueClaws as well. Showing promise as a relief pitcher, batters are only hitting .173 off Brown so far this year. Brown has struck out 26 batters in just 17 innings, boasting a high-90s fastball and with a strong slider as his secondary pitch. His ERA is a bit higher than would be ideal, now 4.76. He’s allowed nine earned runs, though just one homer.
Jonathan Hughes, another BlueClaw, was a fifth-year senior at Georgia Tech before signing with the Phillies. Hughes had serious promise out of high school, originally drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the second round of the 2015 MLB Draft, toting a mid-90s fastball, effective slider, and curveball at the time. Hughes has been used as both a starter and reliever at the minor league level.
Opting to go to college instead of signing with the O’s, Hughes is a pitcher who could definitely use some more time fine-tuning before he makes his big-league debut. He finished his college career with a 4.36 ERA over 57 games (18 starts), and his ERA was never under 4.50 in any season in which he appeared in more than five games. His lowest RA9 (runs allowed per nine innings) was his first year at Georgia Tech, 3.16; it has been over 4.50 every other year of college, on the Cape, and now with the BlueClaws, where he has a 4.86 ERA over 33 1/3 innings.
JP Woodward and Sam Jacobsak have yet to debut professionally, but are not on the injured list. Chase Antle, a former Coastal Carolina Chanticleer, is on the IL, along with Buddy Hayward, a 6’7″ Harvard product, who is recovering from Tommy John Surgery. Jordan Fowler, who was previously drafted out of high school in the 17th round by the Texas Rangers, is also on the 60-day IL.
It seems like the Phillies may have found a couple of diamonds in the rough in last year’s undrafted free agent class. They are due to pick 13th overall in this year’s draft, following the commencement of the inaugural MLB Draft Combine on Sunday, July 11th.