Phillies already reaping rewards of international prospect who spurned Yankees

Boy oh boy does it feel good to get one over on the New York Yankees. The franchise that has become known as baseball’s “evil empire” ruined the 1950 “Whiz Kids” season as well as the last hurrah of the Howard/Utley/Rollins core in 2009. The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of unresolved issues with the Yanks, but this week, they chalked up a small possible win when recent international signing steal Yilmar Samudio shoved in his professional debut.

The Phillies haven’t had much luck developing prospects in recent years, with success stories Aaron Nola, Rhys Hoskins and Cristopher Sánchez being outnumbered by busts Mickey Moniak, Cody Asche, Aaron Altherr and many more. The current competitive core has been built largely through free agency, and younger homegrown pieces Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott have failed to develop beyond mediocrity, while rookies Andrew Painter and Justin Crawford have looked less than impressive thus far.

The key pieces of the Phillies’ roster are getting older, and Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler can’t be expected to continue powering the engine into their late-30s. The club needs to mold young players into the next wave of talent in order to stave off another miserable drought like they went through in the 2010s.

The draft is the easiest way to acquire young talent, but equally as important is international free agency. Any player from outside the United States, Canada, or a U.S. territory is not subject to the draft, but is instead free to sign with any team as an international amateur free agent.

The Phillies, like all teams, have made good use of this system, reeling in current top-10 prospects Francisco Renteria and Aroon Escobar this way. One less-heralded acquisition was this past winter’s signing of Panamanian right-hander Yilmar Samudio.

Phillies stole Yilmar Samudio from the Yankees, and it's looking good

The 17-year-old Samudio had originally verbally agreed to a $100,000 commitment with the Yankees, but after that deal fell apart the Phils swooped in and put pen to paper on a $150,000 pact. Everyone seems to be winning, as Samudio earned himself some extra cash, while the Phils brought in a high-upside arm to a mediocre farm system.

Samudio made his professional debut last Monday, firing three perfect innings against the Miami Marlins’ affiliate in the Dominican Summer League, piling up six punchouts along the way. That’s about as good of a first outing as anyone could have asked for, with Baseball America noting Samudio has “a strong fastball for his age with good feel to pitch. His ability to spin a breaking ball gives him another standout trait.”

There’s still a long way to go for Samudio, and his impact probably won’t be felt in the big leagues for years, if ever. Still, if all goes right, the Phillies could have the heir apparent to Carlos Ruiz as a Panamanian Phillies legend.

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