2020 MLB draft: Phillies draft pitcher Carson Ragsdale in 4th round

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The Phillies drafted right-handed pitcher Carson Ragsdale in the fourth round Thursday night, 116th overall. He's a big fella'.

Ragsdale is 6-foot-8, 225 pounds from the University of South Florida. He began his career at USF as a reliever, underwent Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2019, then came back this year as a starter before the coronavirus shutdown.

In four starts this season, Ragsdale struck out 10, 9, 8 and 10, posting a 2.84 ERA in 19 innings.

He was the 169th-ranked prospect on MLB.com and 191st at Baseball America. He had a 4.15 ERA those first two seasons as a reliever with a mediocre strikeout-to-walk ratio of 40/21.

Ragsdale has a fastball in the 91 to 95 mph range with a curveball and a changeup that hasn't been seen much.

The Phillies are taking a chance with this pick, banking on upside, potential and the improved strike-throwing Ragsdale showed in a brief sample this spring.

A piece of the scouting report from Baseball America:

"He's more of a control-over-command pitcher, and because of that and a below-average third pitch, some scouts think he's a better reliever profile. However, there are teams who think he has a chance to start, and because of that he could go off the board in the 4-6 round range."

This spot, 116th overall, was the same pick the Cubs used in 1986 on a young catcher named Joe Girardi.

In Round 1, the Phillies selected the top high school pitcher in the draft, Mick Abel, 15th overall. In Round 3, they took college shortstop Casey Martin 87th overall, some 50 spots below his rankings at Baseball America and MLB.com. The Phils sat out the second round, forfeiting that pick to sign Zack Wheeler.

The Phillies' final pick was in the fifth round, 146th overall. They went with power-hitting college outfielder Baron Radcliff.

After the fifth round, all teams have the same access to undrafted amateur free agents and can pay each player a maximum of $20,000.

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