MVN - Most Valuable Network

Hewitt yet to sign, but Phils busy with other Draft picks

While the Major League Phillies continue to toil in their recent struggles, the front office has been focused lately on getting draft picks signed and into action. Since the draft on June 5th and 6th, the Phillies have signed 26 of their 50 picks, including four of their top five draftees.

They are yet to sign Anthony Hewitt, their first round pick out of the Salisbury School in Connecticut. The athletic prep outfielder/infielder has a verbal commitment to Vanderbilt, but all signs point to the Phillies being able to sign him with a rather hefty bonus attached. Reports have said Hewitt could get a bonus of about $1.35 million.

However, the Phillies have been able to sign first round compensatory pick Zach Collier and second round picks Anthony Gose and Jason Knapp. Collier, an outfielder from Chino Hills High School, was projected as potentially being a relatively easy signing, so the Phils took the chance on the toolsy outfielder. Gose, meanwhile, gave up an opportunity to play at the University of Arizona, and Knapp gave up a scholarship to the University of North Carolina. Knapp impressed Phillies scouts in a workout about a week prior to the draft at Yankee Stadium, when he touched as high as 98 MPH on the radar gun.

Under baseball’s new collective bargaining agreement, teams have until August 15th to sign players.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 4:15 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.