The Phillies have the lowest pool money available to spend on the international market for the 2018-2019 period with $3,949,000, but that didn't stop the club from landing one of the top talents in this year's class.
According to industry sources, the Phillies agreed to a $1.6 million deal with right-handed pitcher Starlyn Castillo of the Dominican Republic. Castillo, who ranked No. 8 on MLB.com's Top 30 International Prospects list, has a fastball that has been clocked at 97 mph, and is considered one of the best arms in the class.
:: 2018 International Signing Period :: The club did not confirm the deal.
Castillo's fastball usually sits in the 93-96 mph range. He also has an emerging changeup and slider. The 16-year-old sometimes overthrows his pitches up in the strike zone, but that's common for hard-throwers his age. Like most young pitchers, he still learning how to mix his pitches and command the strike zone.
According to the rules established by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Clubs that received a Competitive Balance Pick in Round B of the MLB Draft receive a pool of $6,025,400, while clubs that received a Competitive Balance Pick in Round A of the Draft receive $5,504,500. All other clubs received $4,983,500.
The Phillies lost a total of $1 million in pool money for signing Jacob Arrieta and Carlos Santana, who were both qualifying free agents.
Clubs are allowed to trade as much of their international pool money as they would like, but can only acquire 75 percent of a team's initial pool amount. Additionally, signing bonuses of $10,000 or less do not count toward a club's bonus pool, and foreign professional players who are at least 25 and have played in a foreign league for at least six seasons are also exempt.