Haseley’s vision is clear as he begins Phils career
PHILADELPHIA » Paul Murphy is a veteran baseball scout, but doesn’t strike you as a skilled storyteller.
When it comes to idle chatter about 21-year-old Adam Haseley, however, Murphy is quick to illustrate why he pushed the Phillies to take Haseley with the No. 8 overall pick in last week’s MLB Draft.
Murphy was busy doing as he has countless evenings near the shore, taking in a Cape Cod Summer League game, when he was made to stare at something this kid from the University of Virginia did.
“I saw him hit a ball that only a couple of other guys I’ve seen — I’ve been doing the Cape Cod League for 12, 13 years — and I hadn’t seen people hit a baseball where he hit it,” Murphy said, describing a game last summer. “It’s about 440 feet to center field at Orleans. And he hit it just right of center field. It was an eye-opener.
“When people do something on a baseball field that you haven’t seen as a scout, you certainly wake up and pay attention. That really was the night I probably started considering him more seriously.”
Less than a year later, a very successful junior season with the Cavaliers behind him, Haseley was at Citizens Bank Park Wednesday, shaking hands, listening to sage player advice, soaking life in as a guy who just signed a professional contract that reportedly included a $5.1 million signing bonus.
Life is good. It’ll be Haseley’s job to keep it in perspective.
“A lot’s been going on,” this top Phillies draft pick said. “It’s been moving pretty fast and I’m trying to enjoy it the best I can. The last couple of days have been fantastic and I really enjoyed being on the field today. I met a lot of the guys and it was fun to experience it.
“Personally, I don’t really like putting deadlines and expectations on myself,” he added. “I’m just going to continue to try to do what I did this spring and the things I learned, I’m going to try to keep working on those things and bury my head and see what happens.”
If you ask the Phillies, they see a left-handed batter who can hit to all fields, and will emerge as a bit of a line-drive hitter with power once his body matures. They see an outfielder who will leave his collegiate pitching days behind him, but retain the arm strength that makes him dangerous to opposing base-runners.