Interesting. Could be Crawford and/or Boyd debuts in the second FCL game.
Kiddy corp OF:Boyd, Crawford and Tonkel (9th pick last year out of HS), Flores and Viars.
I'm going to need some sort of proof of life to know if Gavin Tonkel actually exists.
Philly bound Congratulations @ChaseWebster1 on signing with @Phillies ! #ForksUp | #MLBU pic.twitter.com/4zEDvHv0HDā Sun Devil Baseball ( @ASU_Baseball ) August 25, 2022
Philly bound Congratulations @ChaseWebster1 on signing with @Phillies ! #ForksUp | #MLBU pic.twitter.com/4zEDvHv0HD
Good catch, andyb! I've added Webster to the list in the top post.
BA Draft Superlatives for Phillies:
Best Pure Hitter - Gabriel Rincones (3)Best Power Hitter - Gabriel Rincones (3)Fastest Runner - Justin Crawford (1) and Emaarion Boyd (11)Best Defensive Player - Cade Fergus (13) now but eventually CrawfordBest Fastball - Alex McFarlane (4) then Alex Rao (8) and then Orion Kerkering (5) and then Daniel Harper (17)Best Secondary Pitch - Orion Kerkering (5) slider and also McFarlane (4) slider and Rao (8) split-changeBest Pro Debut - Emaarion Boyd (11)Best Athlete - Justin Crawford (1) with Boyd (11) and Fergus (13) mentionedMost Intriguing Background - Did you guys know that Justin Crawford was the son of former major leaguer Carl Crawford????Closest to the Majors - Orion Kerkering (5) Best Late Round Pick - Emaarion Boyd (11)One that Got Away - Braylen Wimmer (18)
Kerkering being mentioned in the best fastball category and the best secondary pitch category is very encouraging for a 5th round pick! He only pitched 7 innings after the draft with 7 Ks and 1 BB, no HR allowed. He must have thrown very well in fall ball and other team workouts.
And being noted as closest to the majors is interesting too
FB/Slider combo is ideal for the bullpen, you only need two plus pitches.Rao having a highly rated FB is interesting, thought he was a "throw away" senior signing, but that makes you go hmm.
Maybe discouraging for Rincones though. Crawford and Boyd are HS picks so the field of closest to majors is pretty thin, especially with McFarlane being pretty raw.
Nah, RPs climb faster than hitters, a college RP with two pitches can jump to the majors in a couple seasons, other than uber-talented hitters, even top hitting prospects often need 1500+ PA to make the jump.
In college Kerkering had a 5+ ERA and a 93 mph fastball that touched 97. I imagine he is more mid-90s these days if he is mentioned in the best fastball category, but he is really one of those guys drafted because of analytics and spin rate who does not have particularly good control. He is not particularly close to the majors now. Agree that relief pitchers can move quickly, but it is not a great thing when he is your draftee that is closest to the majors. Maybe Rincones got downgraded because we did not really see him play, but he really SHOULD be the closest to the majors based on his scouting report.
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