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2014 Phillies Round 2 pick - Matt Imhoff, LHP

Boy Marti Wolever wasn't kidding when he said the Phillies were pursuing a new strategy.

I was so close to including Imhof in my last update before the draft. He ticks a lot of Phillies boxes. Tall, Lefty, California, big frame, big mid-90's arm for a Lefty. He's kind of a more advanced version of Austin Wright. In the end I left him off because I can't profile everyone.

The basics are that Imhoff has a mid 90's 2-seam Fastball, a mid-70's Slurve that can get a bit loopy, but murders Lefties and a change-up with promise. He's 6'6" 220lbs and can still add a healthy 10-15 pounds. He's new to Pitching as he went to Cal-Poly as a First Baseman, undrafted out of High School. He only switched to pitching 2 years ago. As you can imagine his mechanics can get a bit wonky, but he hides the ball well and has a very deceptive delivery that Righties struggle with too. The good news is he averages almost 13 K/9. The bad news is he averages almost 4 BB/9. Imhoff can turn into an awesome pick, but he needs a few years of work. He's likely a mid-rotation ceiling, with a floor as a shut down LOOGY. What there is to like here is a big, inning eater frame, and great raw tools. What isn't to like is his lack of a serviceable Changeup. He has one, but it's not stellar.

I'll throw a few videos in here too. His mechanics could use a lot of work. Watch his front leg which does a little dance on the way down, affecting his balance and making his delivery harder to repeat. Also problematic is that his foot lands so far to the First Base side on the mound (though it does point home, at least). It's not all bad though. I like that he lands on a soft leg (his front knee isn't locked. When a guy's front leg is stiff on landing the pitch will end up high). Given his big frame he has both good plane and hides the ball.

 

 

 All that said he's very athletic (he played First Base more because he's a Lefty than athletic reasons) and in two years of Pitching his mechanics actually look pretty damned good. I would bet on him cleaning them up. What I can't bet on is whether he can add 1-2 more pitches to his arsenal. At present he looks more like a Reliever until those other pitches come along. Here's a few more videos to enjoy.