Phillies' New Promising Pitching Prospect Named MVP of Australian Baseball League
Pitching continues to dominate the headlines surrounding the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason.
It started with Dave Dombrowski saying their top priority was to re-sign Aaron Nola, something they were able to accomplish early.
Then things moved into their pursuit of Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto and their reported interest in some of the other aces on the market.
Nothing materialized out of that and they have since turned their attention to relief arms to close out the offseason.
One very under the radar signing the Phillies made this offseason was Lachlan Wells of the Adelaide Giants in the Australian Baseball League.
A native of Australia, he pitched with the Sydney Blue Sox before signing a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins in 2015.
He spent four years in their farm system from 2015-2019, missing the entire 2018 season due to Tommy John surgery. Wells posted an ERA of 3.02 across 49 appearances, 45 starts and 253 innings pitched.
With no minor league games being played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he returned to Australia and didn't appear in a game for the Twins' affiliates again.
He was released in 2022 and didn't play baseball the next year because he lost his passion for the game.
The 26-year-old lefty decided to return to the sport last season and was incredible, posting an ERA of 0.94 across 47 2/3 innings pitched, with 63 strikeouts, and allowing just 28 hits.
This earned him MVP honors and another opportunity with a Major League Baseball organization, joining Philadelphia for Spring Training.
Now, Wells will try to build off of that momentum and have a good showing, positioning himself in the Phillies' farm system to potentially make his Major League debut at some point in the next few years.
