Phils acquire Ryan O’Sullivan in Blanton Deal

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The Phillies have announced that Ryan O’Sullivan is the “player to be named later” in the Joe Blanton deal, and that O’Sullivan will report to Class A Clearwater.  O’Sullivan, 21, is a RHP that was drafted in the 4th round by the Dodgers in the 2011 draft.  O’Sullivan is a combined 8-6 with a 3.05 ERA in 29 games (9 starts), across both A (Great Lakes) and High A (Rancho Cucamonga) in the Dodgers organization. He walked 31 and struck out 55 in 88.2 IP.

39 thoughts on “Phils acquire Ryan O’Sullivan in Blanton Deal”

  1. He’s an interesting story – played at San Diego State, then got hurt for a year, transferred and went into the draft the year after his “sitting out because of transferring” year. Not sure why he would transfer and then go into the draft, but whatever. So as of last summer when he was picked, he hadn’t pitched in competition, (at least not college) for 2 seasons. Scouts who saw him just before the draft said he was in the low-mid 90s with his FB, per BA. Don’t want to give too much from BA – subscribers can read the rest of that small report on the Dodgers 2011 draft page.

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  2. Big ground-ball pitcher — not as much as Simon, but still ‘plus’. Will probably stay in the bullpen, at least for now, due to injury history. Has 4 pitches of varying degrees, with his sinker being the most advanced.

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  3. Oh, Ryan O’Sullivan, I love that guy! Kidding, don’t know a thing about him other than the above blurbs, but he seems like a fine addition considering Blanton was not in the future plans. He might have some nice upside considering the injury clouded his status before the draft, as did his lack of organized ball for the preceding 2 years. Frankly, the 4th round selection shows me that scouts saw something in him pre-draft and he might have been more highly touted before the injury/transfer issues. We shall see, but he seems to be another nice arm to add to the mix.

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  4. I wonder if the Phils see him as a starter long term. If not, they really seem to love their sinkerballing relievers these days. Herndon, Simon, O’Slully… Qualls.

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  6. Jon Mayo’s take on O’Sullivan;
    Rank in LAD: 18 —ETA: 2013 —Position: RHP
    Age: 21, DOB: 09/05/1990—Bats: R, Throws: R—Height: 6′ 2″, Weight: 190—Drafted: 2011, 4th (134)………The younger brother of Sean O’Sullivan, most recently seen in the big leagues in Kansas City, Ryan hasn’t taken the most direct path to pro ball. He didn’t sign out of high school, opting for San Diego State instead. That didn’t go so well as an elbow injury, followed by academic difficulties, forced him to head to junior college. He didn’t pitch in the spring of 2011, either, so the Dodgers drafted him based on bullpen sessions. It might be a steal. O’Sullivan has thrown very well in his first full season, with a fastball that can touch 95 mph, a slider and a changeup that all can work for him. He was promoted to Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga on June 25.

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    1. He’s having some difficulty in A+ with a whip of 1.6+. Could be getting tired since he pitched so little in recent years.

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  7. A fine Irishman to be in the team’s future; adding some green to the red pinstripes! To lead the parade on St Patty’s day. Love that name!

    Adding pitching to the farm now makes it less compulsive to greatly emphasize pitching in the next draft and allows more freedom on choices, although it is most likely that their first choice will be a pitcher since they will be choosing within the first 15 due to their ’12 record. Previously to these recent trades I had believed that enough good prospect pitchers were lacking in the system.

    Pitchers will still be high on the to-be-drafted list but other positions are now more likely to be added to the early picks.

    P.S. Didn’t the Phils receive TWO PTBNLs from the trades? Were both from the Dodgers? Or from another? The Giants? If so, there could be another good choice for the prospect basket.

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    4. Art, I think, unless the Phils pick in the top 10 in next June’s draft, they will lose their first rounder if (and when) they sign a Type-A free agent. Not sure but I think that’s how the new CBA reads.

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      2. Hopefully not having a protected first rounder will cause them to REFRAIN from going after a type-a FA

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        1. Hopefully it’s not a pitcher anyway. I suspect we’ll sign at least one outfielder whop would qualify under the old CBA rules

          Next year, we’ll lose a pick only if we sign a player who rejected a qualifying offer from the player’s current team. 1st rounder forfeited if not one of the first 10 picks, otherwise a 2nd rounder. FA Types A and B are a thing of the past

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        2. I doubt it. That’s just not how big market/money teams think about things, for better or for worse. What you hope, however, is that they don’t blow a first round pick for another Raul Ibanez (sorry Raul, you are a great guy, but you weren’t worth the cost). If you lose the pick, get a stud.

          This brings me to another subject – one I have been thinking about. Although premium players will continue to be offered one year contracts leading to lost draft picks for the new team who signs the player, I think, with the new rules, there should be a lot of pretty good second tier free agents who will not be tendered and should be available. Basically, if a team doesn’t want to waste/spend $12.5 million for a one year contract, the player will be tendered. This could result in some pretty decent players being non-tendered (think Shane Victorino – not that we want him back, mind you). Don’t be surprised if Ryan Madson ends back here for a year too (another one-year pillow contract – $6 million?).

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          1. Exactly right catch. The new rules will actual help the Phils with exception for the true Type-A’s so to speak. Shane for instance might be bought for 3/28 or similar. I still think he rejects a qualifying offer though. He’ll be looking for a multi-year no doubt

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  8. Wouldn’t a team have to offer the type-A guy arbitration for that to happen? Other than Bourn and Hamilton, I’m not sure who else this would even apply to.

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    1. Type A’s and B’s are a thing of the past. Phils will forfeit a pick only if they sign a player who rejected a qualifying offer (around 13mm) from their current team. Bourn and Hamilton will both receive qualifying offers though, so the Phils would lose a first round if their pick is within the first 10 picks, otherwise a second rounder. We really want the Phils to be one of the bottom teams this year. Then we could sign whomever without risking more than a second rounder

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      1. the Phils would lose a first round if their pick is “”NOT”” within the first 10 picks, otherwise a second rounder.

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  9. I like the selection. He has fastball in mid 90’s. His WHIP at Great Lakes – Class A (midwest league) was 1.0 in 71 innings pitched. He was at two different stops before Great Lakes and had WHIP of 1.1 with 88 innings pitched. If its just fatigue that set in at California League (Rancho Cucamonga) then the phillies might have stolen one here. His WHIP at CALL was 1.6 in 17 innings pitched.

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    2. If I recall correctly the California League is very hitter friendly. Either way, he may be a low level prospect but at least he has some potential. If the Phillies shed the whole of the contract it is nice to see they still got at least something.

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  11. I recently saw him toss a couple in the California League. He looks like he has the smarts to make it to the top level. Rumor has it the Dodgers didn’t want to burn him out his first full season and the plan was to turn him into a starter in 2013.

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    1. With his injury history I imagine they wanted to keep him around 100-110 innings total this year, so a half season in the bullpen was probably part of that plan. I like the pick. We were not going to get Reed, but this guy is a ground ball pitcher with a decent fastball. Maybe a little like Herndon but with more potential to start.

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  12. this is meaningless, but: he sure has a lot of decisions for only nine starts and 20 relief appearances. When I saw his record, 8-6, I had just assumed he’d been a starter.

    Usually starters average two decisions for every three starts, and relievers garner one decision for every five appearances. That would be 10…he’s 40% over that!

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