The August 15th deadline is just 2 days away, and the Phillies two best unsigned prospects remain Brandon Workman and Julian Sampson. An article in the CourierPostOnline this morning said this

Phils work to sign players: In terms of the big picture, the Phillies have been very successful signing their top 30 draft picks in each of the last two seasons. This year, with the August 15 deadline looming, they are six short of a perfect 30-for-30 with a pair of big prizes still on the board.

The Philies No. 3 pick Brandon Workman – a 6-foot-4 right hander – and No. 12 pick Julian Sampson – a 6-foot-5 right hander – remain unsigned with college commitments in their back pockets. The two high school pitchers could push this draft over the top but that remains to be seen as the deadline will strike at 11:59 est.

“I think the best way to put this is we’re working on multiples,” assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said. “In the end, it comes down to who is willing to sign.

“(Scouting director Marti Wolever and his staff) are prepared to work right up to that final minute. You’d like to sign every draft choice but, for example, a third-round talent has to be willing to be paid third-round dollars. We have to decide to direct dollars to get the most done.”

Workman is set to attend the University of Texas and seemed to be picked higher than most teams would have been willing to go. Sampson meanwhile according to one scouting report has “a good arm, good mechanics and the kind of projection scouts look for in high school pitchers.”

The Phillies have labored in the lower end of farm systems and have attempted to replenish a very thin system over the past two seasons. To that end, they drafted 31 pitchers in their 52 selections.

It looks like we’ll just have to see how much resolve Workman and Sampson have. 3rd round money is in the $500k range, and my gut tells me that Sampson wants more like $750k. The Phillies would be best served to take the money for Workman, plus a few dollars, and give it to Sampson. If they do this and don’t sign Workman, they get another 3rd rounder next season as compensation. We’ll see what happens, stay tuned.