An inside look at the Phillies top prospects. (MLBPipeline lists the top 30 prospects on each team’s website. While biding time waiting for baseball to resume, Steve Potter will provide his views of these young players. A Clearwater resident, his passion is seeing and following these prospects in person. Normally, Spectrum Field and Carpenter Complex are his second homes. His 4th Annual Phillies Minor League Digest is on sale at www.amazon.com.)
LHP Ethan Lindow
Phillies #25 prospect according to MLB.com … 21 years old … 2017 5th round selection out of Locust Grove, GA.
We first met Ethan and his grandparents Ron & Katherine a couple summers ago at the Complex shortly after he was drafted … we got to see him pitch often in the Gulf Coast League that season which was followed by more first-hand observances in Fall Instructs, the following spring and early summer in Extended Spring Training. What jumped out right away was his competitiveness. He goes right after it and doesn’t waste effort. The young lefty has been and continues to be a strike throwing machine, very efficient with both control and command.
Last season was a very good one for Ethan as he earned the Paul Owens Award for his efforts at Lakewood and Clearwater, a sparkling 2.52 ERA in 110 IP with 119 K’s and only 22 walks. He displayed a four pitch mix with a lot of movement on the FB and a very effective change-up — a release point and arm speed that is very difficult for hitters to differentiate. He knows how to pitch.
Projection: Ethan finished 2019 with three impressive starts in Clearwater but I’d expect that he returns there to begin the new season. He’s got Maddux like precision, an outstanding mound presence and four good pitches with outstanding control. I believe that his FB velocity will increase but caution should be taken to not give up movement as it’s already a quality pitch. From this observer’s view he’s on track to get to the show, perhaps sooner than later.
