The Milwaukee Brewers acquired RHP Phil Bickford from the San Francisco Giants in a deadline deal. What kind of pitcher did they get?
Who Is He?
Bickford was drafted out of high school in Virginia by the Toronto Blue Jays #10 overall in 2013, but he chose instead to go to Junior College at Southern Nevada and was selected as the #18 overall selection in the 2015 draft by the San Francisco Giants. The Giants sent the 19 year-old to their Arizona Rookie League team, and he made 10 starts, throwing 22 1/3 innings, sporting a 2.01 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 6/32 BB/K ratio. In spite of those gaudy numbers, none of the “big 3” services ranked Bickford in their top prospects in baseball. However, John Sickels at Minor League Ball rated Bickford #53 overall coming into the season.
The Giants started Bickford in full-season A-ball Augusta of the South Atlantic League this year. He was promoted to high-A San Jose in the Cal League before the trade to the Milwaukee Brewers where he’s joined their high-A club in Brevard County of the Florida State League. Overall on the season, he’s made 18 starts, throwing 97 2/3 innings, allowing a 2.76 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with a 29/110 BB/K ratio. In midseason rankings, Bickford had gotten some notoriety, moving all the way up to #50 on Baseball America’s list and #61 on MLB.com’s list.
Next: Bickford's scouting report