Phillies RHP George Klassen (22, A) was not particularly effective as a college pitcher, posting ERAs of 5.72 and 14.09 in his two seasons as a Golden Gopher in Minnesota. Nonetheless, he showed enough plus stuff for the Phillies to select him in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. When he started generating hype this spring as a pitch-lab find for Philadelphia, I was skeptical because it’s hard to just hand-wave those kinds of outcomes. Plus, 22-year-old college pitchers should fare well against Low-A hitters. Even so, Klassen’s gone full Pickle Rick this year. His 0.33 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 34.3 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate are eye-popping numbers that suggest he’s already graduated from that level, skills wise. He might be in High-A right now if not for a short trip to the injured list. His three-pix mix now includes a four-seam fastball at about 98, a cutter at ~90 and a curveball at ~86; all three play as plus.
Please, blog, may I have some more?