Welcome back to another edition of Phillies prospect profile. Last week, we took a look at 21-year old right, Severino Gonzalez. Today, we stay on the pitching side of things with the #30 overall prospect for the Phils as ranked by Baseball America, right-hander Dan Child.
Originally drafted out of Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California by the Padres (43rd round) in 2010, Child, 21, opted to go to school to further polish his game. After attending Oregon State for three years, the 6-5 righty was plucked up by the Phillies in the 18th round of the 2013 draft for $100,000. Child started nine of 12 games in his junior year of college, posting an ERA of 3.29. Because of his slightly funky delivery, the Phillies immediately shifted him to the bullpen upon being drafted.
In 2012 at Oregon State, Child was an All-Pac 12 Honorable mention after going 6-4 with a 2.95 ERA in 17 games, 16 of which were starts. Before originally being drafted by San Diego, Child posted a 6-1 record and a miniscule 1.87 ERA. Opponents hit just .159 against him.
After being selected by the Phillies, he got some work in during the 2013 season between the Phils GCL squad and Advanced 'A' Clearwater. Over six innings with the GCL team, he posted a 1.59 ERA, giving up one run, four hits, three walks and striking out eight. The Phillies opted to let him skip Low 'A' and see how he would fare in Clearwater, and the decision paid off. In 11 games for the Threshers last season, the Phillies farmhand gave up just two runs over 13 innings, saved two games while holding opponents to a .203 average against in his first professional season. His strikeout to walk ratio is something to look at though as he struck out twelve and walked eight. In addition to that, he gave up 13 hits. Child seems like a contact pitcher that relies heavily on an effective fastball & slider combo to get guys out.
This season, he finds himself back in Clearwater's bullpen. Through five games, he has a 1.17 ERA over 7.2 innings of work. Child still allows batters to reach base though, allowing nine hits while giving five batters a base on balls. He's struck out four.
According to Baseball America, Child could advance through the system quickly if he can harness his arsenal of pitches, but the effort put into his delivery makes it tough for him to throw strikes consistently.
Though his control has not taken effect just yet, there is still time for the young pitcher to work on his delivery and effectiveness inside of the strike zone. Keep an eye out for him, because we could see Child make his way to the Double-A bullpen by the end of the season if he makes some adjustments.
Brandon Apter is a writer for Philliedelphia. Follow him on Twitter @ApterShock
