Phillies Prospect Profile: Jhailyn Ortiz

The Philadelphia Phillies made a big International acquisition when they signed 16-year-old Dominican phenom Jhailyn Ortiz in 2015. “It’s cool. It’s really cool…they gave me four million. I bought a new house and a new car. A (Jeep) Cherokee,” Ortiz told me with a big smile on his face.

Playing professional baseball wasn’t as simple and easy as it may have seemed for Ortiz. He faced many obstacles on and off the field when he came to the United States. “Everything is different,” Ortiz tells me. “That’s why I put Latin music when I go up to hit… when I go up to hit, I feel like I’m in the Dominican.”

He struggled against professional pitching and had to overcome the language barrier.  Since his entrance to pro baseball, he has taken English classes a few times a week and was able to have a full conversation with me. This is pretty impressive considering he spoke only Spanish until a couple of years ago.

Ortiz had his biggest season as an 18-year-old in 2017 when he played with the Williamsport Crosscutters. He hit .302 with eight home runs and was named to both the New York-Penn League and Phillies organizations All-Star teams. Ortiz shot up the prospect lists and at one point was the Phillies sixth-best minor league player according to MLB Pipeline. He currently sits as the tenth best Prospect.

“I just want to be number one,” says Ortiz. At only 20 years old he is already in Advanced-A, only a couple calls away from the big leagues. In spite of facing some top pitching, he still has 16 homers on the season, good for third in the league.

Ortiz has a projectable 6’3 215 LBS build and could provide a reliable power hitter to the Phillies lineup in the future. For now, he is enjoying the game of baseball and perfecting his swing with the Clearwater Threshers.