Name: Mavis Graves
Position: LHP
Born: November 20, 2003
Country: US
Bats/Throws: L/L
Height/Weight: 6’6″ 205lbs
How Acquired: Drafted in the 6th Round of the 2022 Draft by the Phillies
Signed: July 25, 2022
Bonus: $247,500
Options Remaining: 3
Rule 5 Eligible: 2026
MiLB Free Agency: 2028
Stats
Pitcher Tracking
*Pitch tracking data sourced from Statcast, broadcasts, and individual reports
| Pitch Type | Year | Velocity Low | Velocity High | Velocity Max | Games Tracked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FA | 2023 | 88 | 94 | 94 | 6 |
| CH | 2023 | 81 | 84 | 88 | 6 |
| SL | 2023 | 78 | 82 | 82 | 6 |
| CB | 2023 | 75 | 79 | 80 | 5 |
Prospect Rankings
Role: #4 Starter
Risk: High – Graves has a feel for spin and a collection of secondary pitches that missed bats. He will flash higher velocity, but right now he throws all of his pitches 2-3 mph slower than you would want, and his fastballs get hit around.
Summary: Graves was a project when the Phillies took him, and he is still very much a project, but one that is starting to take shape. During the season, he was one of the most prolific strikeout pitchers in the Florida State League, with the peak of his season being a 10 game run from April 21 to June 25, where he threw 52.1 innings with a 2.06 ERA with 16 walks and 81 strikeouts, with 4 different 10 strikeout games. What was impressive was that he did it while throwing two different fastballs 47% of the time that were not really fooling batters. That was thanks to three very good offspeed pitches. He throws a slider/cutter with spin rates north of 2600 RPM that had a ridiculous 62% zone contact rate, while throwing it in the zone more than his fastballs. It came in at a season average of 82.7 mph, but he flashed throwing it more in the 84-87 range. It pairs with a sweeper/curve with spin rates above 2800 RPM that had good results in and out of the zone, but he needs to refine the command a bit more. It was 3 mph slower than his cutter and had more sweep than drop. His sneakily best pitch might be his changeup that he killed the spin on well and was rarely in the zone, but generated a large number of whiffs. The fastballs themselves average 90.8 mph each, but he showed that he could get them up to 94-95 early in the year. His 4-seamer has deadzone movement and a bad angle, and his sinker could use killing a bit more verticality to take advantage of its steepness to limit hard contact (think Cristopher Sanchez). Unsurprisingly for a young pitcher going through his first full season, much of Graves’ arsenal lost 1-2 mph over the course of the season, and his command really suffered through September. Graves has the frame to hold up as a starter, and it will be important that he can build that stamina while also increasing his velocity. If he does have a big velocity jump, he could be a monster, but it is probably safer to view him as a lefty who gives a weird look (he uses his size for a steep angle on all of his pitches) and throws enough fastballs to keep hitters off his secondary pitches so they can do their work.
2025 Outlook: Graves pitched a full season in Clearwater and will likely pitch a full season in Jersey Shore as a follow up.
Role: #4 Starter
Risk: Extreme – Graves has a starter’s arsenal, but does not have the control or consistency to be anywhere near that role. He is young enough that he has time to grow into it, but he is a long way off.
Summary: Graves was a project when the Phillies took him in the 7th round of the 2022 draft, and he is still very much a project now. He is long and lanky and struggles to repeat his delivery. His velocity has increased a little bit, sitting 88 to 93, and touching up to 94. It is a high spin pitch (2400-2500 RPM), but has sinker movement as opposed to bat missing rise. He has a pair of breaking balls in a similar velocity range. His slider is 79-81 mph and more vertically oriented, sitting about 2700-2800 RPM. It blends into his sweeping curveball that is more in the 77-79 mph range and will peak closer to 2900 RPM. He also has a changeup in the 82-84 mph range that he kills the spin on well. He does miss some bats, but his command and control lag due to his size, and he struggles repeating his delivery. He has room to add strength and velocity, and the breaking balls show the promise to be bat-missing weapons if he can find consistency. It was always going to take time for him, and his 2023 season doesn’t change that.
2024 Outlook: Unless he has a great spring, Graves might start the season in Extended Spring Training, and unless he regresses he probably sees the bulk of his time with the Threshers.
Role: #3/#4 Starter
Risk: Extreme – The role above might as well read “Starting Pitcher” because we don’t really know what Graves will look like in a few years. He is all projection, and even if he had appeared in an FCL game, it probably would not have told us very much.
Summary: The Phillies took high school pitchers at the top of the 2020 and 2021 draft, but only in that shortened 2020 draft have both Brian Barber and his predecessor Johnny Almaraz refrained from taking an 18 year old arm in the middle of day 2 of the draft. Graves is last year’s entry, a tall (most draft writeups have him at 6’4”, while his current milb page lists him at 6’6”) projectable lefty who did not make it into an FCL game last summer. He supposedly is into the low 90s with a good curveball and has at least thrown a changeup. It is likely to be a few years before we start to really see what the Phillies have in Graves as he fills out and they work on getting his pitches where they want them
2023 Outlook: The Phillies have sent their top HS arms directly to Clearwater, but Graves’ draft pedigree probably falls below that line, so it probably will depend on how he does this spring whether we see him with the Threshers to start, he gets there later in the year, or they wait until the FCL season. Graves is expected to take time, so 2023 will most likely be about seeing positive traits and paths forward.
Role: #4 Starter
Risk: High – Graves has a feel for spin and a collection of secondary pitches that missed bats. He will flash higher velocity, but right now he throws all of his pitches 2-3 mph slower than you would want, and his fastballs get hit around.
Summary: Graves was a project when the Phillies took him, and he is still very much a project, but one that is starting to take shape. During the season, he was one of the most prolific strikeout pitchers in the Florida State League, with the peak of his season being a 10 game run from April 21 to June 25, where he threw 52.1 innings with a 2.06 ERA with 16 walks and 81 strikeouts, with 4 different 10 strikeout games. What was impressive was that he did it while throwing two different fastballs 47% of the time that were not really fooling batters. That was thanks to three very good offspeed pitches. He throws a slider/cutter with spin rates north of 2600 RPM that had a ridiculous 62% zone contact rate, while throwing it in the zone more than his fastballs. It came in at a season average of 82.7 mph, but he flashed throwing it more in the 84-87 range. It pairs with a sweeper/curve with spin rates above 2800 RPM that had good results in and out of the zone, but he needs to refine the command a bit more. It was 3 mph slower than his cutter and had more sweep than drop. His sneakily best pitch might be his changeup that he killed the spin on well and was rarely in the zone, but generated a large number of whiffs. The fastballs themselves average 90.8 mph each, but he showed that he could get them up to 94-95 early in the year. His 4-seamer has deadzone movement and a bad angle, and his sinker could use killing a bit more verticality to take advantage of its steepness to limit hard contact (think Cristopher Sanchez). Unsurprisingly for a young pitcher going through his first full season, much of Graves’ arsenal lost 1-2 mph over the course of the season, and his command really suffered through September. Graves has the frame to hold up as a starter, and it will be important that he can build that stamina while also increasing his velocity. If he does have a big velocity jump, he could be a monster, but it is probably safer to view him as a lefty who gives a weird look (he uses his size for a steep angle on all of his pitches) and throws enough fastballs to keep hitters off his secondary pitches so they can do their work.
2025 Outlook: Graves pitched a full season in Clearwater and will likely pitch a full season in Jersey Shore as a follow up.
Role: #4 Starter
Risk: Extreme – Graves has a starter’s arsenal, but does not have the control or consistency to be anywhere near that role. He is young enough that he has time to grow into it, but he is a long way off.
Summary: Graves was a project when the Phillies took him in the 7th round of the 2022 draft, and he is still very much a project now. He is long and lanky and struggles to repeat his delivery. His velocity has increased a little bit, sitting 88 to 93, and touching up to 94. It is a high spin pitch (2400-2500 RPM), but has sinker movement as opposed to bat missing rise. He has a pair of breaking balls in a similar velocity range. His slider is 79-81 mph and more vertically oriented, sitting about 2700-2800 RPM. It blends into his sweeping curveball that is more in the 77-79 mph range and will peak closer to 2900 RPM. He also has a changeup in the 82-84 mph range that he kills the spin on well. He does miss some bats, but his command and control lag due to his size, and he struggles repeating his delivery. He has room to add strength and velocity, and the breaking balls show the promise to be bat-missing weapons if he can find consistency. It was always going to take time for him, and his 2023 season doesn’t change that.
2024 Outlook: Unless he has a great spring, Graves might start the season in Extended Spring Training, and unless he regresses he probably sees the bulk of his time with the Threshers.
Role: #3/#4 Starter
Risk: Extreme – The role above might as well read “Starting Pitcher” because we don’t really know what Graves will look like in a few years. He is all projection, and even if he had appeared in an FCL game, it probably would not have told us very much.
Summary: The Phillies took high school pitchers at the top of the 2020 and 2021 draft, but only in that shortened 2020 draft have both Brian Barber and his predecessor Johnny Almaraz refrained from taking an 18 year old arm in the middle of day 2 of the draft. Graves is last year’s entry, a tall (most draft writeups have him at 6’4”, while his current milb page lists him at 6’6”) projectable lefty who did not make it into an FCL game last summer. He supposedly is into the low 90s with a good curveball and has at least thrown a changeup. It is likely to be a few years before we start to really see what the Phillies have in Graves as he fills out and they work on getting his pitches where they want them
2023 Outlook: The Phillies have sent their top HS arms directly to Clearwater, but Graves’ draft pedigree probably falls below that line, so it probably will depend on how he does this spring whether we see him with the Threshers to start, he gets there later in the year, or they wait until the FCL season. Graves is expected to take time, so 2023 will most likely be about seeing positive traits and paths forward.