The Strange Case of Former Philadelphia Phillies First Round Pick Joe Savery

In 2007, the Philadelphia Phillies selected Joe Savery with the 19th overall pick in the draft. Savery was a highly-touted left-handed pitcher out of Rice University who also did some damage with his bat. Savery had originally been drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 15th round of the ’04 draft but chose not to sign. With the Phillies, Savery posted a 2-3 record to go with an impressive 2.73 ERA in low-A Williamsport ball in ’07, striking out 22 batters in 26 innings without allowing a home run. Savery fared well enough that he was named the 90th overall prospect in baseball by Baseball America before the 2008 season. In ’08, Savery spent the whole year in high-A Clearwater, posting a 9-10 record with a 4.13 ERA in 24 starts. He worked 150.1 innings, striking out 122 batters. Savery spent ’09 moving up the ranks of the minor league system, posting a 12-4 record in Double-A for the Reading Phillies before getting the call to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, in which he went 4-2 with a ...