Philadelphia Phillies Prospect Griff McGarry Named Intriguing Rule 5 Draft Candidate

The Major League Baseball Rule 5 Draft is Dec 11 and the Phillies have an interesting name to watch.

The Rule 5 Deaft consists of player who were left off the 40-man roster at the end of the year. They can be selected by rival team, with the caveat that the player must be on the 40-man roster of the team that drafts the player for the entire season.

Philadelphia has several players that qualify to be selected in the Rule 5 draft. And one pitcher was named an "intriguing candidate" in a story on MLB.com.

Get our free mobile app

Right-handed pitcher Griff McGarry was named as the Phillies most intriguing candidate to be selected by another organization.

This would be a huge roll of the dice, but the pure stuff of the 2021 fifth-rounder might be worth it. But he doesn’t get hit (career .182 BAA) and he still has a terrific fastball (up to 97 mph) and misses a lot of bats with his cutter/slider, so it’s easy to think he can get big leaguers out as a reliever if he can find the zone.

McGarry was drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 draft by the Philadelphia Phillies out of Virginia and spent last season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The right-hander appeared in 30 games with an ERA of 4.55 with 42 strikeouts in 31.2 innings pitched. His issue has been control, walking 36 hitters in those 31.2 innings.

McGarry participated in the Arizona Fall League with the Glendale Desert Dogs, going 2-0 with a 3.85 ERA in five games, tossing 12 innings with 15 strikeouts, but 11 walks.