Name: Avery Owusu-Asiedu
Position: OF
Born: June 16, 2003
Country: Canada
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 6’4″ 230lbs
How Acquired: Drafted in the 9th Round of the 2023 Draft by the Phillies
Signed: July 18, 2023
Bonus: $147,500
Options Remaining: 3
Rule 5 Eligible: 2026
MiLB Free Agency: 2029
Stats
Prospect Rankings
Role: Average Regular
Risk: Extreme – Owusu-Asiedu went to a non-power conference school where he struck out at a high rate, and then he struggled to hit for power in his small sample size of pro ball and summer wood bat league this year. He also is very young for a college junior and has enormous tools.
Summary: Under Brian Barber, the Phillies in the draft have been fine taking risks and have rarely used late day 2 picks to just save slot money. Owusu-Asiedu is a real embodiment of that sort of philosophy. The Canadian outfielder spent 3 years at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the Ohio Valley Conference. He performed well as a freshman and sophomore, but after a big summer season in the Appalachian League, he had a monster junior year hitting .293/.396/.590 with 15 home runs and 24 stolen bases in 53 games. He had a decent amount of strikeouts in college, but it was not terrible in his brief appearance in pro ball. This all comes in a lanky 6’4” package with at least plus and likely plus plus speed, when underway, with plus raw power. He played center field in college and with the Phillies, and assuming he doesn’t really thicken up, he should stick there long term. Owusu-Asiedu is also only 20 so he is surprisingly young for a player with 3 years of college experience. He is far from a sure thing to become a major league contributor, but there are very few players in the system that have his upside if the pieces all come together.
2024 Outlook: Given his lack of high level experience and the Phillies penchant for grouping their draft classes, Owusu-Asiedu likely starts the season in Clearwater. The Phillies have not been afraid to promote players who excel, but it may be a bit of a learning curve here.
Role: Average Regular
Risk: Extreme – Owusu-Asiedu went to a non-power conference school where he struck out at a high rate, and then he struggled to hit for power in his small sample size of pro ball and summer wood bat league this year. He also is very young for a college junior and has enormous tools.
Summary: Under Brian Barber, the Phillies in the draft have been fine taking risks and have rarely used late day 2 picks to just save slot money. Owusu-Asiedu is a real embodiment of that sort of philosophy. The Canadian outfielder spent 3 years at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the Ohio Valley Conference. He performed well as a freshman and sophomore, but after a big summer season in the Appalachian League, he had a monster junior year hitting .293/.396/.590 with 15 home runs and 24 stolen bases in 53 games. He had a decent amount of strikeouts in college, but it was not terrible in his brief appearance in pro ball. This all comes in a lanky 6’4” package with at least plus and likely plus plus speed, when underway, with plus raw power. He played center field in college and with the Phillies, and assuming he doesn’t really thicken up, he should stick there long term. Owusu-Asiedu is also only 20 so he is surprisingly young for a player with 3 years of college experience. He is far from a sure thing to become a major league contributor, but there are very few players in the system that have his upside if the pieces all come together.
2024 Outlook: Given his lack of high level experience and the Phillies penchant for grouping their draft classes, Owusu-Asiedu likely starts the season in Clearwater. The Phillies have not been afraid to promote players who excel, but it may be a bit of a learning curve here.