Phillies Add Three To Player Pool
The Phillies announced that they’ve added right-hander Adonis Medina, infielder/outfielder Austin Listi and infielder Bryson Stott to their 60-man player pool. All three will report to the club’s alternate training site.
Medina, 23, entered the 2019 season ranked among baseball’s best pitching prospects, but he struggled to a 4.94 ERA with 7.0 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 in a pitcher-friendly Double-A setting last year, causing his stock to drop a bit. Armed with a mid-90s sinker that has typically generated above-average ground-ball rates and a well-regarded changeup, he’ll give the Phillies a relatively advanced arm to lean on for depth while also continuing to get some critical developmental reps with the rest of the player pool. Medina is already on the 40-man roster.
Listi, 26, has played all four corner positions in the Phillies’ minor league system. First base has been his most frequent position, but he has at least 323 innings at each of left field, right field and third base as well. Listi split the 2019 season between Double-A and Triple-A, batting a combined .252/.344/.434 with 19 home run, 24 doubles and a pair of triples in 545 plate appearances. He walked at a 10.5 percent clip and punched out in 19.4 percent of his plate appearances. Given his ability to handle multiple positions and his experience up through the Triple-A level, Listi could emerge as an option at the MLB level in 2020.
Stott, meanwhile, was the team’s first-round pick in 2019 and seems like much more of a long shot to be considered for the big leagues in 2020. The Phillies took a conservative approach with the UNLV product last year, assigning him to their Rookie-level affiliate and then short-season Class-A club — where as a first-round college bat he was much more advanced than most of his competition. Stott did what one would expect of an advanced bat in that setting, as he logged a strong .295/.391/.494 slash in 193 plate appearances. Even though he seems unlikely to be called up this year, Stott will benefit from simulated game reps and work with the team’s staff in Lehigh Valley.
Phillies To Sign First-Rounder Bryson Stott
JUNE 27: The two sides have an agreement, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. Stott will sign a below-slot deal worth $3.9MM, according to Callis.
JUNE 24: The Phillies expect to sign first-rounder Bryson Stott this week, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports. As the 14th overall pick, Stott’s slot comes with a recommended value of $4,036,800.
Stott’s a 21-year-old shortstop from UNLV whom draft pundits ranked even higher than where the Phillies selected him. Entering the draft, MLB.com put Stott at No. 9, while Baseball America (No. 10), FanGraphs (No. 11) and ESPN’s Keith Law (No. 13) viewed him similarly.
In their free scouting report of Stott, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com liken him to Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford and credit his “solid all-around tools.” They add the lefty-swinging Stott’s “never overmatched” as a hitter, which could make him a plus offensive player in the majors, though there is some question as to whether he’ll stick at shortstop in the bigs.
Stott was by far the Phillies’ highest pick in this year’s draft, as they forfeited their second-rounder when they signed Bryce Harper in free agency last winter. The club didn’t pick again until the 91st selection, with which it chose high school shortstop Jamari Baylor. He’s already signed.