Name: William Bergolla Jr.
Position: SS
Born: October 20, 2004
Country: Venezuela
Bats/Throws: L/R
Height/Weight: 5’11” 165lbs
How Acquired: International Free agent
Signed: January 15, 2022
Bonus: $2,050,000
Options Remaining: 3
Rule 5 Eligible: 2026
MiLB Free Agency: 2028
Stats
Hitter Statcast
*Statcast data only available for FSL (2021-2023), AAA (2023), and isolated select games and locations.
| Year | Balls in Play | Average EV | 90th Percentile EV | Max EV | Median Launch Angle |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 167 | 82.7 | 95.5 | 99.8 | 13 |
Prospect Rankings
Role: Average Regular Infielder
Risk: High – Bergolla has elite swing decisions and contact abilities, and will stay up the middle of the infield as a defender. He also hit the ball with so little impact there is a real question about whether he will be able to hit higher level pitching.
Summary: Bergolla’s feel for the game stood out in his 24 games in the DSL last year, but it was still surprising to see the Phillies keep him in Extended Spring Training only to send him to full season ball instead of the complex for the second half. For an 18 year old in full season ball, Bergolla’s 30 walks to just 17 strikeouts is pretty incredible. The surface stats don’t tell the full story, Bergolla swung and missed 23 times or just 3% of the time on tracked pitches (Clearwater did play some games that were not in Statcast parks). While a very patient swinger, just a 39.9% swing rate, that only came to 7.6% of the pitches he swung at. We can see the selectivity further when breaking out his swing and swing and miss rates by pitch type. He only swung at 26.5% of curveballs he saw and 28.4% of the sliders, while swinging at 45.9% of 4-seam fastballs. We can see the difference in the in vs out of zone rate as well, as he is swinging at pitches in the zone, and in particular often the center of the zone.
When he is swinging in the zone, he is making contact as well (as we would expect given the overall contact number.
If we continue this out to breaking balls, here is his swing rate in the zone on breaking balls and his swing and miss on that same set of pitches.
He even got the ball in the air a good bit, running an average launch angle of 13 degrees, leading to a line drive rate of 23.4% and ground ball percent of only 41.7%. This all sort of dances around the major problem, which is that Bergolla had an average exit velocity of just 82.7 mph and a 90th percentile of 95.5mph, and his hardest hit ball was 99.8mph, making him the one player tracked with more than 10 ball in play and zero balls over 100mph. He had just 4 extra base hits as his fly balls died harmlessly in the outfield and he feasted on soft line drive singles. He definitely has more to unlock in terms of leveraging his body, and he is a teenager with more to grow, but for the most part this is a conversation about getting 0 power on the 20-80 scale to 20. He has a balanced swing and feel for getting the barrel to the ball, he just does not have the strength or explosiveness right now to make it count. He has solid speed, but he isn’t a good base runner or steal threat. In the field he can play shortstop, but as a regular I think he ends up as someone who plays more at second base. The lack of strength, and obvious pathway to it, is a glaring problem and one that could consign him to a fringe utility infielder upside. However, he is a 19 year old who does the hardest part of the game at an elite level and that is worth valuing, because if he ever can get the physical tools, he could be a special player.
2024 Outlook: Given that he played 2023 in Clearwater as an 18 year old, having Bergolla start 2024 back in Florida would not be a real setback. His approach is advanced enough that he could hold his own in Jersey Shore if the Phillies wanted to push him there.
Role: Regular Shortstop
Risk: Extreme – Bergolla has played 24 regular season games of professional ball in the DSL. Those games may have looked good, but he is an eternity of adjustments and physical growth away.
Summary: The Phillies signed Bergolla as their big international signing in 2022. An injury delayed his professional debut until late July. He then played through the rest of the year helping DSL Phillies White to the league championship. Bergolla has a thinner frame, but has room to add some strength as he matures. This is probably the biggest concern with his future, as he did not hit for much power this summer and did not elevate much at all. He is never going to be a big slugger, but it is not unreasonable that he could get to a point where he is a 10-15 home run a year player. He will need to get at least close to that in order for pitchers to respect him enough at the plate.
The rest of Bergolla’s game is really solid and beyond his years. He is not necessarily a flashy shortstop, but he has enough range and arm for the position while playing calm and under control. He stands out at the plate with a simple solid left handed swing that currently is hitting line drives and solid ground balls, but has the mechanics to incorporate any strength he does add. He has a good feel for contact, and while DSL stats aren’t a real director of future success, Bergolla’s 3.6% K% was the lowest by a DSL hitter with at least 80 PAs since 2015. This is helped by an approach and pitch recognition that is beyond a player of his age and level. Bergolla is not afraid to work counts and has a great feel for the strike zone. He even sometimes has a mini version of the Juan Soto stare on balls.
If Bergolla can be a plus shortstop and maintain the contact/approach abilities, he has a really high floor for someone who just turned 18. If he had the frame and bat speed where you could project average or plus power he might be a star, but the power projection is enough of a worry to really temper expectations.
2023 Outlook: The Phillies have already brought Bergolla stateside this year for the High Performance Camp, so it would be extremely surprising if his year did not consist of Extended Spring Training and the Florida Coast League. Bergolla likely will be able to get away with making a large amount of contact driving a good batting average like Luis Garcia did in 2018, so we may not see the limits of his power output tested until he reaches A-ball.
Role: Average Regular Infielder
Risk: High – Bergolla has elite swing decisions and contact abilities, and will stay up the middle of the infield as a defender. He also hit the ball with so little impact there is a real question about whether he will be able to hit higher level pitching.
Summary: Bergolla’s feel for the game stood out in his 24 games in the DSL last year, but it was still surprising to see the Phillies keep him in Extended Spring Training only to send him to full season ball instead of the complex for the second half. For an 18 year old in full season ball, Bergolla’s 30 walks to just 17 strikeouts is pretty incredible. The surface stats don’t tell the full story, Bergolla swung and missed 23 times or just 3% of the time on tracked pitches (Clearwater did play some games that were not in Statcast parks). While a very patient swinger, just a 39.9% swing rate, that only came to 7.6% of the pitches he swung at. We can see the selectivity further when breaking out his swing and swing and miss rates by pitch type. He only swung at 26.5% of curveballs he saw and 28.4% of the sliders, while swinging at 45.9% of 4-seam fastballs. We can see the difference in the in vs out of zone rate as well, as he is swinging at pitches in the zone, and in particular often the center of the zone.
When he is swinging in the zone, he is making contact as well (as we would expect given the overall contact number.
If we continue this out to breaking balls, here is his swing rate in the zone on breaking balls and his swing and miss on that same set of pitches.
He even got the ball in the air a good bit, running an average launch angle of 13 degrees, leading to a line drive rate of 23.4% and ground ball percent of only 41.7%. This all sort of dances around the major problem, which is that Bergolla had an average exit velocity of just 82.7 mph and a 90th percentile of 95.5mph, and his hardest hit ball was 99.8mph, making him the one player tracked with more than 10 ball in play and zero balls over 100mph. He had just 4 extra base hits as his fly balls died harmlessly in the outfield and he feasted on soft line drive singles. He definitely has more to unlock in terms of leveraging his body, and he is a teenager with more to grow, but for the most part this is a conversation about getting 0 power on the 20-80 scale to 20. He has a balanced swing and feel for getting the barrel to the ball, he just does not have the strength or explosiveness right now to make it count. He has solid speed, but he isn’t a good base runner or steal threat. In the field he can play shortstop, but as a regular I think he ends up as someone who plays more at second base. The lack of strength, and obvious pathway to it, is a glaring problem and one that could consign him to a fringe utility infielder upside. However, he is a 19 year old who does the hardest part of the game at an elite level and that is worth valuing, because if he ever can get the physical tools, he could be a special player.
2024 Outlook: Given that he played 2023 in Clearwater as an 18 year old, having Bergolla start 2024 back in Florida would not be a real setback. His approach is advanced enough that he could hold his own in Jersey Shore if the Phillies wanted to push him there.
Role: Regular Shortstop
Risk: Extreme – Bergolla has played 24 regular season games of professional ball in the DSL. Those games may have looked good, but he is an eternity of adjustments and physical growth away.
Summary: The Phillies signed Bergolla as their big international signing in 2022. An injury delayed his professional debut until late July. He then played through the rest of the year helping DSL Phillies White to the league championship. Bergolla has a thinner frame, but has room to add some strength as he matures. This is probably the biggest concern with his future, as he did not hit for much power this summer and did not elevate much at all. He is never going to be a big slugger, but it is not unreasonable that he could get to a point where he is a 10-15 home run a year player. He will need to get at least close to that in order for pitchers to respect him enough at the plate.
The rest of Bergolla’s game is really solid and beyond his years. He is not necessarily a flashy shortstop, but he has enough range and arm for the position while playing calm and under control. He stands out at the plate with a simple solid left handed swing that currently is hitting line drives and solid ground balls, but has the mechanics to incorporate any strength he does add. He has a good feel for contact, and while DSL stats aren’t a real director of future success, Bergolla’s 3.6% K% was the lowest by a DSL hitter with at least 80 PAs since 2015. This is helped by an approach and pitch recognition that is beyond a player of his age and level. Bergolla is not afraid to work counts and has a great feel for the strike zone. He even sometimes has a mini version of the Juan Soto stare on balls.
If Bergolla can be a plus shortstop and maintain the contact/approach abilities, he has a really high floor for someone who just turned 18. If he had the frame and bat speed where you could project average or plus power he might be a star, but the power projection is enough of a worry to really temper expectations.
2023 Outlook: The Phillies have already brought Bergolla stateside this year for the High Performance Camp, so it would be extremely surprising if his year did not consist of Extended Spring Training and the Florida Coast League. Bergolla likely will be able to get away with making a large amount of contact driving a good batting average like Luis Garcia did in 2018, so we may not see the limits of his power output tested until he reaches A-ball.