Phillies Sign First-Round Pick Jesse Biddle
This afternoon, the Phillies announced they have signed first-round pick Jesse Biddle to a professional contract. Biddle, a 6'5 southpaw from Germantown Friends went 9-2 with a 1.06 ERA was supposed to attend the University of Oregon this fall. However, in the next few days, he'll be heading to the Gulf Coast League in Cleawater to start his pro career.
Biddle looked (and spoke) like a kid on Christmas morning. After posing for photos with his new hat and jersey, Biddle said "it fits better than I thought it would." He went on to talk about watching the Phillies growing up and how it felt to play for his hometown team. Biddle was in the stands at Citizens Bank Park for both parts of Game 5 of the World Series. He said it was then that he realized his dream of pitching in the bigs.
Phillies Director of Scouting Marti Wolever projected the timetable for Biddle to reach the Majors "ideally at four to five years." However, when Biddle was asked of HIS timetable, he responded "I'm getting the start tonight. Roy Halladay is now the number two." Reading his quotes might lead one to believe he's a tad cocky. I'd consider the kid pretty confident, and extremely excited.
