Phillies’ George Klassen Takes Control In First Full Season
It’s hard to imagine a pitching prospect getting off to a better start than George Klassen did at Low-A Clearwater.
The 22-year-old righthander did not allow an earned run in four April starts, covering 21 innings. He struck out 32 and walked five. His fastball averaged 97 mph and touched triple digits.
Perhaps more impressive was his control. When the Phillies drafted Klassen in the sixth round in 2023, he had posted a 6.72 ERA in two seasons with Minnesota, while allowing a whopping 61 walks in 64.1 innings.
He was widely seen as a pitcher with big league stuff who struggled to keep the ball in the zone. That changed in the Florida State League this year.
Klassen throws four pitches—a four-seam fastball, slider, sinker and curveball—but the Phillies have upped the usage of his cutter/slider hybrid significantly. He threw the pitch in college, but only sparingly.
He is throwing it a lot more now, which has helped with his control.
Klassen profiles similarly to organization-mate Griff McGarry, who was pitching out of the bullpen for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. It’s unclear if Klassen will take a similar trajectory, but like McGarry, he has the stuff to pitch in the big leagues, if he can control it.
Fellow prospect Aidan Miller stepped in the box against Klassen in spring training. He was impressed.
“I had one at-bat in spring training,” Miller said. “I grounded out to third. He’s nasty. And the best part about him is he’s a big goofball. Like he just, you wouldn’t ever tell that he’d be that good at baseball by his personality.
“But he’s so good. He throws 100. He’s got a nasty slider or nasty curveball. But he’s probably the biggest goofball on the team.”
Klassen didn’t pitch a lot in college, so he may spend more time than expected in Clearwater. Time will tell.
