The Phillies seem determined to strike gold in the Asian marketplace. Their first few signings came up woefully short of expectations, but you know the saying; if at first you don’t succeed…
This attempt is a 17-year-old right-hander named Chan-Min Park. The Phillies signed Park for $1.205-million, the largest bonus the team has ever given to an international free agent pitcher. It is also the new high bonus for international pitchers on this year’s market, showing that the Phillies were serious about getting Park.
The Phillies – in baseball terms – went searching for change in the sofa cushions to find the money to sign Park. In a pair of recent trades, the Phillies added international signing money that they could use to get Park signed. The Phillies pocketed $750-thousand when they dealt Griff McGarry to the Dodgers and another $750-thousand when they dealt right-hander Andrew Baker to Colorado.
Park already had a familiarity with the Phillies reportedly because he is a fan of Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. He was also impressed when he saw Cristopher Sanchez pitch against Team Korea in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic this spring. Park had the opportunity to watch and meet Sanchez in person when he was in Philadelphia to sign his contract last Friday.
Park is listed as 6′ 4″ and 200 pounds. With a fastball that touches 94 mph and averages between 91-93. The pitch reportedly has some late ride and sink, making it particularly tough on righties. Even at just 17, Park reportedly has a spin rate that exceeds 2,800 RPMs on his slider. The pitch has the potential to be a plus pitch and is in the 78-82 mph range at this point in Park’s development. The curveball works well with Park’s curveball and also projects as a potential plus pitch.
A pitch that could be a dark horse for Park is his changeup. The righty throws it to hitters from both sides of the plate and could be a big swing-and-miss pitch in the future. Park does have a splitter, but it is basically used just to keep hitters off balance and is not expected to develop into much of a weapon.
“He’s consistently able to command all of those pitches in the zone,” Phillies international scouting director Derrick Chung told Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic.. “The slider has the makings of a plus weapon down the road. Not only that, but his makeup — he’s a great kid. He’s fun to be around. But on the mound, he becomes a different person. He’s a bulldog.”
One reason the Phillies had to be aggressive in signing Park was that he was eligible for the KBO draft and would have likely been a first round pick.
“In a market where we haven’t traditionally signed a lot of players from, it was a great opportunity for us to not only sign the top arm out of the country, but also to get the Phillies name out there,” Chung told Varnes.
The Phillies previously made some noise with the signing of Venezuelan center fielder Francisco Renteria. The Phillies also signed shortstop Juan Parra, who trained in Venezuela at a facility owned and operated by former Phillies outfielder Bobby Abreu. Renteria and Parra are currently scheduled to play in the Dominican Summer League, which begins on June 1.
Where Park will be assigned is still to be determined. Park doesn’t graduate from high school until early next year. The Phillies could send him to one of their academies either in the Dominican Republic or in Clearwater.
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