5. Phil Bickford, RHP
Birthdate: 7/10/95 (21 years old)
Level(s) Played in 2016: low A, high A
Stats in 2016: 120 IP, 2.92 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 8.47 BB%, 27.22 K%
I’m certainly higher than many on Bickford, but I do believe there is some draft report bias in effect in his valuation in many places.
Coming into the 2013 draft, Bickford was considered a fire-balling high schooler. He chose not to sign with the Blue Jays after being selected 10th overall. After a year at Cal State Fullerton and a year of junior college, Bickford was eligible in 2015 to be drafted again, and the Giants grabbed him with the 18th overall selection.
Bickford has hit 98 in his past, and he flashed that velocity at the Futures Game during All Star week festivities
Bickford was part of one of the trades I liked most for the “selling” team at the trade deadline this year when the Brewers got Bickford and catcher Andrew Susac for reliever Will Smith.
Bickford has hit 98 in his past, and he flashed that velocity at the Futures Game during All Star week festivities. However, he sits more low-90s with excellent heavy sink.
He pairs that with a plus slider that seems to perfectly work along side his above average change up that he’s put a lot of work into in the last year, making it a pitch that got a ton of swing and miss in my many viewings of Bickford this year.
Bickford is a guy who I’ll admit that if you see him over one start, he might not impress you all that much. It’s when you see him over 2-3 starts and note how he has put in the time to truly figure out how to sequence hitters individually that the talent works with the preparation to become a much bigger deal.
Bickford will likely face the upper minors test to open 2017, and that will be a good determining factor in his future progression.
Next: #4