Prospect of the Day: Joe Savery, LHP, Philadelphia Phillies

by John Sickels on Sep 26, 2011 8:01 AM EDT

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Joe Savery (Photo by Drew Hallowell, Getty Images)

Prospect of the Day: Joe Savery, LHP, Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies recently promoted lefty Joe Savery to fill a September bullpen spot, and he will be a strong bullpen candidate for 2012. His journey to the majors has been rather unusual, and is the topic for today's Prospect of the Day.

Savery was a star at Rice University, thriving as both a hitter and pitcher. His campaign in 2007 was particularly successful: he hit .356/.435/.505 in 275 at-bats, while going 11-1, 2.99 on the mound. Despite some shoulder problems, scouts preferred him as a pitcher, and he was drafted in the first round, 19^th overall. He threw 150 innings in the Florida State League in 2008, but didn't perform as well as expected, going 9-10, 4.13 with a 122/60 K/BB and 171 hits allowed. His velocity was down from his college days, and scouts were concerned about how he would fare at higher levels.

Savery won 16 games between Double-A and Triple-A in 2009, but a 4.40 ERA and a 96/77 K/BB in 151 innings were unimpressive. He was even worse in 2010, going 1-12, 4.66 with a 67/51 K/BB in 127 innings and 154 hits allowed in Triple-A. His career on the ropes, Savery moved to the outfield and first base to begin 2011. He performed well, hitting .307/.368/.410 in 54 games for High-A Clearwater.

However, late in the spring, Savery hit 90-92 MPH during an emergency relief outing for Clearwater. By early July he had his college velocity back, and he returned to pitching full-time. He ended up posting a 1.50 ERA with a 41/6 K/BB in 36 innings between High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A.

25 years old, Savery is listed at 6-3, 215 pounds. With the time off from pitching and some mechanical refinements, he has regained the 90-94 MPH fastball that was missing for three years. The pitch sinks well and he picks up plenty of ground balls. His slider, which drew mediocre reviews a couple of years ago, has improved to where it is his main secondary pitch, supplanting his changeup. Given his history, it makes plenty of sense to keep him in the bullpen. He held lefties to a .192 average in Triple-A, and his control has improved greatly this year.

At worst, Savery should be a good LOOGY, but he has enough stuff to be a solid middle reliever as long as his command remains sharp.

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LOOGY/4th OF?

by cookiedabookie on Sep 26, 2011 9:27 AM EDT reply actions

When he was a ‘hitter’ this year, he was pretty much confined to first base and DH. They experimented with him in the OF, but it didn’t last long, I think he only ended up playing like 10 games there. I don’t think a team can rely on him as a 4th OF, he’s pretty much a pinch hitter/emergency first basemen in addition to a reliever.

by philiafan14364 on Sep 26, 2011 11:02 AM EDT up reply actions

Still, it would be nice to use him as a PH and keep him in the game to pitch (assuming he keeps his bat sharp enough to do this), or have him for multiple inning, without needing to PH for him.

by Cormican on Sep 26, 2011 12:34 PM EDT up reply actions

How would he warm up to pitch?

It’s hard to balance that out of the bullpen unless he winds up being a multi-inning guy.

Founder and Chairman of the Hire A Body Double For David Hernandez's Right Arm Commission. A non-profit organization.

by Dan Strittmatter on Sep 26, 2011 12:48 PM EDT up reply actions

Obviously, that’s a good point. I assume he’d have to warm up the inning before he pinch hits, then to start the inning he pitches he’ll get a handful of pitches. You likely wouldn’t do it often (If you have a starter on a strict pitch count due to injury, maybe).

by Cormican on Sep 27, 2011 10:26 AM EDT up reply actions

he would have to change his last name to Kieschnick

by PrincetonCubs on Sep 26, 2011 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Brooks was a righty though

by cookiedabookie on Sep 27, 2011 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions

that's right..

all I could see was his lefty stance in the box, forgot he threw righty

by PrincetonCubs on Sep 27, 2011 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions

In that draft

I remember hoping that Jarrod Parker would have fallen to the 19 pick to the Phillies in that draft. Savery wasnt a bad pick at all, they could have went with him or Julio Borbon and done well. Just disappointing that Savery’s career got sidetracked like it did. He was probably slated to be a decent middle of the rotation guy on draft day, and now best shot is as a Loogy.

by backtocali on Sep 26, 2011 10:23 AM EDT reply actions