Jesse Biddle couldn't understand why Gorman Heimueller was calling him. The Phillies' first-round pick in June's draft had just had a terrible outing that day on the mound for the GCL Phillies and hadn't heard from Heimueller, the Phils' minor league pitching coordinator, since the day after he was drafted.
Biddle had a thought in the back of his mind that maybe he was getting moved up from the Gulf Coast League to Williamsport, but he shrugged that off because of his rough outing that day. But Biddle, who was told when he was drafted 27th overall out of Germantown Friends High School that he would pitch the whole season in the GCL, was asked if he was feeling well. Then he was asked if he was feeling well enough to pitch in Williamsport.
"I'm like, 'Hell yeah. Of course," Biddle recalled of the conversation, following batting practice Wednesday. "I was just going about my business trying to help the GCL team win. Now I'm doing the same thing here."
It was just the latest unbelievable moment of Biddle's whirlwind summer that has seen him drafted by his hometown team. He signed a contract with a reported $1.16 million signing bonus that had him just shaking his head during his introductory press conference in Philadelphia. And he hasn't stopped shaking his head in disbelief since.
What did it mean to receive a real Phillies jersey with his name and the No. 27 on the back representing his draft spot? Biddle just looks to the ground and shakes his head.
"I can't even explain what that was like," Biddle said.
The idea of working his way through the Phillies system and playing for his hometown team in front of 40,000 fans at Citizens Bank Park? Another sheepish grin and a head shake as he looks toward the ground.
"That's where I want to be," Biddle says.
It still hasn't sunk in for Biddle just exactly what he's gone through this summer. After he signed his contract with the Phillies and passed on a baseball scholarship to Oregon, the 6-foot-5 left-hander only had a weekend to prepare before going to Florida and joining the GCL Phillies.
Biddle made just nine starts in the Gulf Coast League before he was called up to Williamsport to try and bolster a starting rotation that was struggling in a playoff race. He was 3-1 in the GCL with a 4.32 ERA and one complete-game shutout before being called up to Williamsport.
This is just the way Biddle wants it to be, though. He knows he has an entire offseason to let the magnitude of his new job sink in. For now, he's taking what he calls a "Little League approach", making everything as much fun as possible.
"I'm having fun. We're out here shagging fly balls and I'm loving it," Biddle said. "I can't believe what happened, but now that I'm in it, I'm not worried about what round I got drafted in. I'm here to help the team win. I'm just a short-season A player like everyone else."
Biddle is scheduled to make his third start with the Crosscutters today at Bowman Field against Mahoning Valley. In his first two starts he's 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA in nine innings. He's struck out nine and walked five.
He isn't fazed by pitching in the thick of a playoff race in the New York-Penn League. He was doing the same thing in the Gulf Coast League. In fact, if he were still in the GCL he'd be helping the Phillies try to win a GCL title today. Williamsport entered Wednesday's game 1/2-game ahead of Jamestown for the lead in the Wild Card race with just five games to play.
"This is perfect. The regular season games are all about building up to this," Biddle said. "I was ready for a playoff race no matter where I was. Now being here in the playoffs maybe there will be a few more thousand fans in the stands. But this is exactly what I want. Pitching in playoff baseball, even in Little League, is what it's all about. It's what you work for."
KLOCKE OUT: Catcher Jim Klocke was promoted to low Class A Lakewood over the weekend to fill a void created by an injury to former Cutter Sebastian Valle. Klocke formed a strong trio of catchers along with Cameron Rupp and Jeff Lanning while he was in Williamsport. The move now means manager Chris Truby won't be able to use either Rupp or Lanning as the designated hitter each night as he did for much of the summer.
HYATT EARNS HONOR: Former Crosscutter Austin Hyatt was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Year on Tuesday for his work with advanced Class A Clearwater. Hyatt, a right-handed pitcher out of the University of Alabama, has since been called up to Class AA Reading where he has made four appearances.
Hyatt has struck out 188 and walked just 44 in his 140-plus innings pitched this year between Clearwater and Reading. He's 12-5 with a 3.32 ERA this season.
