Velocity is a true weapon as a pitcher, especially if one can bring it consistently near the triple digit readings. RH Aneurys Zabala throws the baseball very hard, upper 90’s with his fastball and has reached 101 mph in his career. He complements his fastball with a hard, downer curveball that generally sits in the 80- 82 mph range. His stuff has been described as electric however to date he’s had difficulty harnessing command of it.
The Phillies signed Zabala as a minor league free agent on 12/31/20. He’s 24 years old and has pitched in the Mariners, Dodgers and Reds organizations. Aneurys originally signed with the Mariners as an amateur free agent from the Dominican Republic on 4/30/14 as a 17 year old and spent his first three seasons with the Seattle organization before being traded to the Dodgers in March of 2017. He was with the Dodgers until July of 2018 when he was traded to the Reds. He pitched at the High A level of minor league play in 2019 for Daytona Beach in the Reds organization where he appeared in 39 games striking out 48 batters in 54 innings while walking 27 ... his WHIP was 1.55.
To begin this season he’s with the Jersey Shore Blue Claws in the High A East League and has already appeared in two games earning a win in one ... a total of 2 1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K’s. We’re hoping this is the season that Aneurys reels in the command and can move up the ladder. If he can do so the Phillies may just have found another big arm reliever to consider at some point in the future for the big league staff.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
