I am not an amateur, and I am very not an international amateur scout. Almost all of what I am about to say about players has come from various public sources. That said, much of the international signing deadline, like the draft is about process and philosophy. The Phillies philosophy in Latin America has been especially constant, build up the middle, and I am not talking about just in players that are up the middle in name only. Last year the Phillies gave big money to a SS and a bunch of pitching, the year before that they gave big bonuses to a pitcher and a shortstop, and then a bunch of shortstops. As you go back, the signings of Jhailyn Ortiz and Jose Pujols stand out among a bunch of pitchers, shortstops, and at least one $250k+ catcher a year.
Over the years the balance of hitter vs pitcher has moved towards pitchers. After years of paying very little for their Latin American pitchers before turning them into stars, the Phillies have tried buying star level arms and then turning them over to the same group. The first pitcher of that ilk, Francisco Morales, is still very much a work in progress, but he is an 18 year old work in progress touching 97 with a wipeout slider, facing college graduates in the New York-Penn League. The 2017 signing crop has been a much bigger mixed bag, but none were of the profile of Morales. What many of those high money signings had in common was projection, this year’s version RHP Starlyn Castillo has none of that. Castillo is short (listed by BA at 5’11”) and mostly filled out. What he does have is a fastball that doesn’t really need projection. He was up to 97 as a 15 year old, and the pitch isn’t straight either. He has some delivery inconsistencies, but he shows feel for a slider and changeup. There is a chance the Phillies have seen something that unlocks a bit more velocity, but Castillo needs more in the non-fastball areas to be a very good prospect, something probably similar to current Phillies prospect Adonis Medina. If there is more, maybe the Phillies have found themselves yet another completely dominant Dominican arm.
The Phillies other two big money pitchers follow what the Phillies like to do in the draft and internationally. RHP Fernando Ortega is 6’4″ 160lbs and has topped out at 93, but sits lower, and LHP Joalbert Angulo is 6’5″ 165lbs and has roughly the same velocity from the other side. Both need control improvements, like most long limbed pitchers, and both come with feel for secondary pitches. Both pitchers good fill out and sit in the mid to upper 90s, or they could just never improve, but this is all upside, and not for a ton of money when compared to a finished product like Castillo.
After that the Phillies got a super speedy SS in Alexeis Azuaje, and gave decent sized bonuses to 3 catchers. There are 9 well reported signings, and Jim Peyton of Phuture Phillies has a few more. Between reported bonus and rumored bonuses, the Phillies at minimum have spent all of their international money, so look for them to acquire some more. The Phillies had more money to work with last year when they signed 73 players, and while they are unlikely to reach that number, they will probably be over 40 with signings trickling in all year.
In the end, the Phillies will have disappointed some fans by not signing the top players in the class. That has never really been their way, even if it would probably help. This year they were hamstrung by their pool size (it was the lowest due to $1M lost to the Santana and Arrieta signings), but they seemed to narrow in on pitching early. We probably will see Castillo, Angulo, and Ortega in Fall Instructs, but until then, they are just names.