New Arrival: Mitch Walding, 3b, Philadelphia Phillies

• Mitch Walding was drafted by the Phillies in the 5th round of the 2011 draft out of St. Mary’s HS, Stockton, CA.
• Coming out of the draft he was a project, but he had a good hitting tool and showed a plus aptitude for the game.
• He was rated the Phillies #23 prospect after the 2011 season, and #16 after the 2012 season. 
• He struggled from 2013-2015. While he started to show the power that scouts always thought he would have, he had contact issues and struck out way too much.
• But in 2016 he repeated AA and hit .280/.372/.440 with 10 HR and would even get 70 at bats in AA. He was selected to both the mid and post-season Florida State League All-Star teams, as well as the Milb.com organizational All-Star Team. It was his best pro season and a good start to getting back on the prospect radar.
• 2017. He spent the season in AA-Reading and hit .236/.327/.516 with a career-best 25 HR. He struck out 127 times to 44 walks. He was an Eastern League mid-season All-Star.  It would seem that he finally found his stroke.
• He will open the 2018 campaign in AAA, and has a very real chance to see some time with the big league club at some point during the season.

It’s always great to see a player meet the potential that scouts always knew was there.