Drafted by the Phillies in the 6th round of the 2023 draft from the University of Minnesota twenty-two year old George Klassen pitched two seasons collegiately making 17 starts in 25 appearances. Baseball America’s scouting report said this about him prior to the draft “Klassen is one of the hardest throwers in the 2023 draft class and wowed scouts with his pure velocity in 2022 with Minnesota and during the summer in the Northwoods League, with a fastball that’s been above 100 mph at peak velocity. Klassen is still looking to refine his strike-throwing, though he managed a significant step forward in 2023 after walking a quarter of the batters he faced in a brief bullpen stint in 2022. He posted a 5.72 ERA in 56.2 innings, with an 18.6% strikeout rate and a 17.9% walk rate. Those numbers don’t give the 6-foot-2, 170-pound righthander credit for his arm talent, which is impressive. He averaged 97-98 mph on his fastball this spring, and touched 101 mph at peak velocity.”
After signing his first pro contract Klassen didn’t appear in a game last season with the organization, the initial emphasis instead was on things such as physical development. Phillies Minor League Pitching Coordinator Travis Hergert said that “George’s development is a multitude of things. A lot of people in our player development. His physical development was something we keyed in on since he first arrived. He can jump out of the gym and is very explosive/athletic, so we wanted him to gain the strength and ability to control his dynamic delivery.“
I first saw him pitch in live BP sessions last summer and was impressed with how easy the ball came out of his hand, contradictory to some reports I had read about him. Also, the stuff jumped out right away, it was command/control that was the working point. From my perspective, as a former hurler back in the day, staying aligned to the target has always been key to strike throwing, I often equate pitching to bowling in that regard. It was something the coaching staff focused on with George. Coordinator Hergert said “Our approach with his delivery was to simplify his direction to the plate and spend a lot of time throwing from the stretch. To help him over the plate, we talked a lot about his pitch movements and visual target start lines, where he should start his pitch to get it to finish where we wanted to land the pitch.”
This season with the Clearwater Threshers George has had tremendous success in his first four professional appearances (all starts) - on Friday night he was once again dominant - 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 8 K’s - 78 pitches - 52 strikes. He’s now pitched 21 innings, 1 unearned R, 32 K’s, 5 BB 😳🔥.
It’s great to see such early success and it is a very proud testament to the organizational approach as Coach Hergert told me “It’s always fun to see players have success. Especially those that work hard at their craft and protect the standard, as George does. He loves to compete and I think that is a big attribute that Brian Barber and our scouts have been able to find when grading make-up. They have found big, strong physical pitchers with big velocity and big stuff. The intel they give us once we have them in our organization helps us formulate the plan in the first phase of development. It’s a huge part of the pitching success we are seeing in recent draft classes.”
I asked Coach Hergert a few more questions about George, here’s the balance of our Q & A.
In spring camps training routines like the nine square target were used. How did that help George to develop control and command of pitches ?
“From a drill standpoint, we helped clean up some of his plyocare drills and routines, as well as adding some throwing drills in catch play the helped him time up his hand separation before striding to the plate.”
Statcast game data formulates pitch recognition on movement, etc. however sometimes isn’t entirely accurate. For Klassen it reflects a fastball, slider and cutter combination in the four starts thus far. Improvements are always a goal of every pitcher - what is the focus in regards to continuing improvements?
“He has both a four seamer and a two seamer. The two seamer has a little bit of arm side movement, which helps him vs right handed hitters. He has a curve ball which is more of a power slurve and a slider that flys more like a hard cutter. George wants to be great. He continues to learn and grow every day, from how he prepares for each start to learning his craft as a pitcher.”
Best wishes to George as he continues his climb and also to the continued success of all of the pitching development within the organization.
We thank Pitching Coordinator Hergert for his input. I always learn a lot every time I get to interact with him. He’s a brilliant baseball mind with a passion and dedication for player development and to the players - that is exemplary.
The Phillies approach to pitching development is far from a one size fits all cookie cutter philosophy - it’s a blend of many things that are adapted to each player’s skillset. Coach Hergert told me “Pitching is complex and our job as developers is to simplify the complex. We have an abundance of information that is provided to us that helps us make decisions for how we develop the pitcher. We look at the physical, psychological, technical and tactical aspects and integrate between departments. It’s a very holistic approach and it works. It also helps us make sound adjustments when things might be stirring in the wrong direction. Blending the science (ball flight, performance, analytics, anatomy, power, speed) with the art of pitching (location, changing speeds, controlling the run game, using the arsenal and making good pitch decisions) is always our approach.” That’s good stuff!
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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