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Phillies release '08 1st-round pick Anthony Hewitt
June 12, 2014, 4:00 pm
Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phillies elected to release Anthony Hewitt after seven seasons. (AP)
Anthony Hewitt, the Phillies' 2008 first-round pick, was released Thursday after failing to develop in seven disappointing seasons spent mostly in the lower levels of the minor leagues.
The Phillies drafted Hewitt 24th overall in '08 out of Salisbury Prep in Connecticut and gave him a $1.38 million signing bonus. He left high school as a shortstop, but was moved to third base and eventually the outfield by the Phillies. He struggled defensively at each position and struck out an alarming number of times at each stop.
For his minor-league career, Hewitt whiffed 763 times while walking just 91. He hit .223 without enough power to make up for it.
Hewitt didn't reach even High A until his fifth minor-league season in 2012. He spent all of 2013 at Double A and had his best offensive season as a professional, but got off to a lousy start at Reading this year and was demoted back to Clearwater.
After going 4 for 31 with 15 strikeouts as a 25-year-old with the Threshers, the team announced his release Thursday afternoon.
It closes the book on a player who stands as a symbol of the Phils' early-round draft failures over the last decade. Since 2003, the Phillies have used their first draft pick on a high school player eight of 12 times. Only four of those 12 picks reached the majors, with Joe Savery's 44 MLB games leading the way.
Joe Savery is the best of the bunch, sad, fucking sad
June 12, 2014, 4:00 pm
Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phillies elected to release Anthony Hewitt after seven seasons. (AP)
Anthony Hewitt, the Phillies' 2008 first-round pick, was released Thursday after failing to develop in seven disappointing seasons spent mostly in the lower levels of the minor leagues.
The Phillies drafted Hewitt 24th overall in '08 out of Salisbury Prep in Connecticut and gave him a $1.38 million signing bonus. He left high school as a shortstop, but was moved to third base and eventually the outfield by the Phillies. He struggled defensively at each position and struck out an alarming number of times at each stop.
For his minor-league career, Hewitt whiffed 763 times while walking just 91. He hit .223 without enough power to make up for it.
Hewitt didn't reach even High A until his fifth minor-league season in 2012. He spent all of 2013 at Double A and had his best offensive season as a professional, but got off to a lousy start at Reading this year and was demoted back to Clearwater.
After going 4 for 31 with 15 strikeouts as a 25-year-old with the Threshers, the team announced his release Thursday afternoon.
It closes the book on a player who stands as a symbol of the Phils' early-round draft failures over the last decade. Since 2003, the Phillies have used their first draft pick on a high school player eight of 12 times. Only four of those 12 picks reached the majors, with Joe Savery's 44 MLB games leading the way.
Joe Savery is the best of the bunch, sad, fucking sad
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