Phillies Prospect #58: Ron Hill

After a nice college career, Ron Hill is working his way through the Phillies system. He's got the potential to wind up in the Phillies bullpen sometime down the road.

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Acquired: Drafted by the Phillies in the 17th round of the 2005 Draft.

B: R T: R  /  Height:  6' 3" /  Weight: 225 lbs / Birth Date: 11 - 29 - 1982

2007 Team/: Clearwater (27 g), Lakewood (17 g)

Games/Games Started in 2007: 44 g / 0 gs

School: University of North Carolina Wilmington

Repertoire: One of the reasons why scouts figured that Ron Hill had a shot at succeeding in the pros is because he can get good movement, especially downward movement, on his pitches. He's got a fastball that is above average only because of the downward movement that he gets on the pitch and is generally in the low-90s. Hill's slider has gotten better, but it's not a pitch that he can consistently throw for strikes - yet.

Pitching Style: Hill knows his velocity is limited, but he doesn't let that stop him from going right after hitters. The approach has generally worked pretty well for him and there's no reason for him to change what he's doing. Because his velocity isn't great, it's important that Hill can keep the ball down in the zone and not get wild high, because that's where he'll get hurt.

Projection: After stumbling a little in his first trip to Clearwater in 2006, he rebounded and pitched well at both Lakewood and Clearwater in 2007. He'll still need a little work and could be back at High-A ball to start the season, but should move to Double-A Reading at some point. It's at that level where we'll find out if he has enough movement on his pitches to be successful. It's likely going to take Hill a little time to adjust to each level that he gets to and he'll likely hit at least a couple of speed bumps along the way, but he's got a legitimate shot at being a middle innings reliever or potentially a setup man in the majors before the final word on Hill is written.

Comparison: Although he's a right-hander, Rheal Cormier comes to mind when watching Ron Hill. Cormier was a guy who never threw hard, but lived by simply keeping the ball down in the zone and Hill will have to survive the same way. Their builds are different too, in that Hill is a bigger, stronger build than Cormier was, but their abilities and styles are very similar.

What else you should know about Ron Hill: 

• Hill pitched against highly touted prospect Luke Hochever (Royals) during the 2005 college season and lost 1-0.

Ron Hill's career stats

Year	Team	W	L	ERA	SV	G	GS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP
2005	Batavia	2	3	2.96	4	20	0	48.2	50	17	16	0	23	48	1.50
2006	Lakewood	2	3	2.30	2	28	0	54.2	52	19	14	0	15	56	1.23
2006	Clearwater	0	1	7.88	0	9	2	16.0	26	17	14	3	4	12	1.88
2007	Lakewood	0	2	2.63	10	17	0	24.0	18	7	7	1	9	22	1.13
2007	Clearwater	5	4	2.23	5	27	0	40.1	30	11	10	3	13	30	1.07
Minor League Totals		9	13	3.00	21	101	2	183.2	176	71	61	7	64	168	1.31

Stats courtesy of The Baseball Cube.

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