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Phillies sign top-pick Tyler Spangler, ‘ready to go' after missing season
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- Phillies sign top-pick Tyler Spangler, ‘ready to go' after missing season
Phillies sign top-pick Tyler Spangler, 'ready to go' after missing season originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Tyler Spangler is officially a Phillie.
The Phillies signed the 18-year-old shortstop, the 36th overall pick in this year's MLB Draft, on Friday. He received a $3.25 million bonus, above the $2,758,800 slot value for the pick, according to MLB.com's Jim Callis.
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The club also announced it has signed its other 19 draft picks, along with a handful of undrafted free agents.
Spangler, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound left-handed hitter from De La Salle High School in Concord, California, was the Phillies' first pick after the club dropped 10 spots as a penalty for exceeding luxury tax thresholds.
"It's awesome," Spangler said after the club introduced him at Citizens Bank Park. "Words can't really describe it, to be honest."
For Spangler, the next step is developing at the club's complex in Clearwater.
"Just go to Florida, develop, work hard," he said. "That's kind of what I do, just put my best foot forward and keep working hard and hopefully develop."
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The questions around Spangler were obvious on draft night.
He missed his senior season because of a back injury. That carried extra weight in the Phillies' system because Aidan Miller, the organization's top-ranked prospect and another high school shortstop taken early in the draft, has not played this season because of a back injury.
After the draft, Phillies scouting director Brian Barber said the club did "extensive medical reviews" on Spangler and felt "completely comfortable" taking him.
Spangler said Friday he is ready.
"It was just a little problem with my back," he said. "I feel great right now… I'm ready to start."
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The MLB Draft Combine at Chase Field in Arizona at the end of June gave teams another look at Spangler after his missed senior season.
"Super important," Spangler said of the Combine. "Going out there and taking BP in a big league stadium for the first time in a while, it was surreal. It was awesome. Just being in a big, big park, it's sweet. I was just super happy that I went out there and felt great. No issues."
Scott Boras, Spangler's agent, said the decision to shut him down was made with his professional future in mind.
"A lot of this is core strength," Boras said. "We have a young player, we want to really focus on his core strength, so the leg strength, so then going into the professional world, he'll have a very, very strong foundation."
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Boras said Spangler "probably could have played with it," but the plan was to remove any doubt before the draft.
"It is a minor issue," Boras said. "Let's resolve it and focus toward what we're going to do in the combine."
Spangler has drawn Corey Seager comparisons because of his size, position and left-handed swing.
"Seager's a good one," Spangler said. "Bigger shortstop, left-handed hitter. Love the way he plays. I always watch Barry Bonds too, just the way he swings it. I feel like I model my game after those two guys."
He does not view the comparison as pressure.
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"Not at all," Spangler said. "I'm my own player. I do everything my own way."
Barber called Spangler "a total package player" after the Phillies drafted him. He said the organization sees him staying at shortstop, with a hit-first profile now and power to come.
Boras also sees a player who fits the Phillies' recent run of high-upside prep picks.
"He can really play on the dirt," Boras said. "Very high baseball IQ, great baseball skills."
Spangler's first trip to Philadelphia also came on a Friday night with an entertaining matchup in town.
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"Very first time," Spangler said. "It's awesome. Tonight, Yankees-Phillies, great game, Friday night. It's gonna be awesome."
He got a quick introduction to the city, too.
"I knew the cheesesteaks were good, so I had to try that," Spangler said. "Had to try Angelo's pizza, a couple local spots around here."
His first official day as a Phillie also happened to fall on the same day the Sixers signed LeBron James. Spangler grew up in the Bay Area as a Warriors fan, one of the other teams pursuing James, so that part came with some grief from home.
"I was happy," Spangler said. "But I'm from the Bay Area, California, so the Warriors were another option. I've been a Warriors fan my whole life, but all my friends were giving me a hard time back home on that."
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The baseball part starts now.
Spangler's senior season did not go the way he planned, but the deal is done, the Phillies are comfortable with his health and his pro career is about to begin.
"I'm ready to go," Spangler said. "It's been a little bit since I played the game, so I'm super, super excited."
