Exclusive TGP Footage: Zach Eflin's Spring Training Spot Start

The revolution will not be televised. That's what Gil Scott-Heron premonished of the Black Power movement, and for Zach Eflin, luckily, it came to be this afternoon.

The Phillies played an afternoon Spring Training game at McKechnie Field in Bradenton today and, as Justin Klugh described earlier, WrestleMania was so thick in the air the players nearly suffocated. But the potential for a good ole-fashioned Bradenton Brawl was not what made me clear some time in my oh-so-busy schedule to venture to McKechnie Field.

What drew me to Bradenton, rather, was the announcement that Zach Eflin (the consensus #4 Phillies prospect and 5th on Cormican's list) would be making the start. Knowing the game was not to be available video-graphically for the public's consumption, I brought my handy Motorola X cell phone, equipped with only the finest video-capturing capabilities, to preserve the moment and eventually (now) share it with the impatient masses.

I hesitate to say much about Eflin's start, as I lack any semblance of scouting expertise. What I will note is that he looks bigger than his listed 6'4", 200 lbs. He also lost the ability to put hitters away in the 3rd inning. I can't speak to whether his mechanics tell a story of fatigue or if it was just a times-through-the-order thing, but it took him 33 pitches to get out of the inning after requiring a mere 27 to get through 2.

His final line was 3 IP (60 pitches, by my count), 4 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 SO, 1 BB.

Lastly, as far as scouting value, this video may well have none. Either the 2014 MotoX lacks a zoom function on its default video recording camera or this user was unable to locate it. Regardless, you might have to squint a little. Also, McKechnie field is not equipped with a radar gun, so I have no idea how hard Eflin was throwing. The scouting report has him in the mid-90s with his fastball.

Without further ado, here are the videos from Eflin's 3 innings:

The second inning features some pleasant conversation between the current author and a nice elderly gentleman sitting to his right. If you would not like to hear this mundane jibber-jabber, YouTube provides a mute button.

Was this an entirely useless exercise? Perhaps. Was this exercise even legal? Perhaps. Will it sate the seemingly insatiable palate fans have for prospects? Hopefully.