This morning Jim Salisbury reiterated some things said by Kiley McDaniel about the Phillies being heavily linked to 16 year old slugger Jhailyn Ortiz (rumored bonus over $4 million). The continued talk about this seems to indicate it might be more than just rumors at this point (though nothing can be official for a while still).
A week and a half ago in Cary, N.C. was the International Prospect Series. Chris King was at the game and passed along this video of Ortiz hitting. It is pretty evident why the Phillies love his offensive potential even if there is still a lot of work to be done.
Is that really him? The guy in that video certainly doesn’t look nearly as heavy as 260# for 6′-2″. That guy’s not skinny, but he certainly doesn’t seem to be overweight or even overly muscled.
It is him. He is more gigantic than fat. He is probably a 50 runner right now and is pretty athletic. The size worry is more about the future.
I would be surprised if the Phillies go that high-$4M.
It would be the highest for any 16-year old in their history.