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.)
SS Jamari Baylor .
Phillies #27 prospect according to MLB.com … 19 years old … 2019 3rd round selection out of Richmond, VA …
Jamari was sidelined last summer after being drafted with a hamstring injury ... it bugged him more than just physically ... he wanted to play very badly and the monotony of not being able to do so was a test of patience ...
He was an early arrival this January to Clearwater as part of the rehab group coming back from injury ... fully healed he was able to participate in drills and the broad smile on the his face each day was very evident ... it’s easy to see that he truly loves playing baseball
We watched Jamari in multiple fielding drills in pre camp, a lot of coaching attention was focused on his footwork and release ... that’s normal for high school draftees. He appears to be a very good listener, perhaps a take away from his military school background. What we saw was quickness, a plus arm, baseball acumen and in the cages an ability to square up and drive thru the baseball.
Projection: He’s only played in 4 games ... he’s young and eager to play and we are just as eager to watch him. Scouts have told me that the young man can be a special player, has running speed to burn along with a burning desire to play ...we’ve witnessed both in glimpses ... hopefully we’ll see him in game action soon.