Jeff Passan ESPN
Right-hander Noah Song prepares to report to Philadelphia Phillies spring-training camp Thursday in hopes of making the group’s Opening Day lineup after he moved his status with the Navy from active service to chosen reserves.
Song, 25, was taken by Philadelphia in December’s Rule 5 draft from the Boston Red Sox He last pitched in 2019, when he published a 1.06 ERA in 17 Low-A innings after the Red Sox prepared him in the 4th complete of the Naval Academy and signed him for $100,000
In 2019, Song was rejected a waiver by the Department of Defense to forgo his military commitment and had actually served on active service given that. His relocate to the picked reserves, which generally requires one weekend of service a month and 2 weeks a year, permits him to resume his baseball profession.
To keep Song, the Phillies should position him on the active 26- guy lineup for the whole season– a challenging course with Philadelphia coming off a World Series look and boasting a deep bullpen. Tune’s advantage still was clear from his supremacy in college and his brief minors profession.
During 4 seasons at the Naval Academy as a starter, Song started out 428 in 334 1/3 innings with a 2.37 ERA. He was especially exceptional throughout his senior season, when he pitched 94 innings with 161 strikeouts and 31 strolls while enabling just 55 hits and 2 crowning achievement, resulting in a 1.44 ERA.
Song became a professional possibility later on in college, score as an agreement second-round skill in the 2019 draft regardless of having no nationwide searching profile at the start of the spring. He was chosen by the Red Sox with the last choice of the 4th round, 137 th general, and signed for a benefit well listed below the $406,000 slot for the choice due to the fact that of the unpredictability around his future with the Navy. Philadelphia picked Song this winter season in the Rule 5 draft and paid Boston $100,000 for his rights.
At his finest, Song would being in the mid-90 s with his fastball, touching 99 miles per hour, while relying primarily on a plus slider however likewise an above-average curveball. His athleticism, scouts stated, offers him a strong feel for all 3 pitches– and he sometimes tossed a changeup. Offered the long layoff from competitors, the aggressive method he assaults players and the absence of a standout changeup, he’s likeliest to slot into a multi-inning relief function in 2023, critics stated.
Song might ultimately begin if he end up in the minors. Guideline 5 choices need to remain on the big league lineup for the whole season to stay with the group that prepares them.
If Song does not make the Phillies out of camp, they might trade him to another group or location him on waivers, where any group might declare him and position him on its major league lineup. Were Song to go unclaimed, he might be gone back to the Red Sox for $50,000, and they might send him to the minors.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel added to this report.