Long before the regional supervisors and the national cross-checkers and the special assistants and the scouting director and the general manager put their eyeballs on Adam Haseley, there was Paul Murphy.
Murphy, a Delaware resident and former third baseman in the Baltimore Orioles' system, is a Phillies area scout responsible for covering much of the Mid-Atlantic region, including Virginia.
Murphy first started keeping a book on Adam Haseley, an outfielder/pitcher from the University of Virginia, three years ago. Last week, the Phillies selected Haseley with the eighth overall pick in the draft.
Haseley, 21, officially became a Phillie on Wednesday when he signed his first professional contract (see story). He received a $5.1 million signing bonus and will begin his pro career at Williamsport in the New York-Penn League after a brief orientation at the Phillies' complex in Clearwater.
So, what type of player are the Phillies getting in Haseley?
No one knows him better than Murphy.
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"Over three years, I'd seen him 35 to 40 times between Virginia and summer ball and, really, his trajectory was upward from his freshman year," Murphy said. "You're getting a great makeup kid from a good college baseball program. It's very exciting. I think he's going to be a good Phillie for a long time."
The left-handed hitting Haseley, 6-1, 195 pounds, is a contact machine with growing power and the ability to control the strike zone, an important quality that is being stressed by second-year Phillies general manager Matt Klentak. He walked 44 times and struck out just 21 while hitting .390 with a .491 on-base percentage for the Cavaliers in 2017. He hit 14 homers - up from six as a sophomore - and added 16 doubles in 58 games. He also went 7-1 with a 3.58 ERA in 11 starts on the mound, but will only play outfield as a professional.
"The fact that he pitches and last offseason was the first time he trained as a hitter really leads you to believe that his best days are ahead of him if he just concentrates on hitting," Murphy said. "He made a big jump this season with his power numbers. He's got some projection left to his body, a chance to get bigger and stronger."
Haseley enjoyed pitching, but he's eager to focus on being a position player.
"Just from a health perspective, it will be a lot easier to recover, especially days after pitching," he said after stroking a bunch of line drives around Citizens Bank Park during batting practice Wednesday afternoon. "I'm usually pretty sore the day after. From a strength perspective, I'll be able to do different lifts that will help my overall strength."
Murphy first started thinking of Haseley as a potential first-rounder last summer.
"I saw him at Orleans in the Cape Cod League last year," Murphy said. "I've been doing the Cape league for 12 or 13 years and I saw him hit a baseball where people don't hit it in a game. He hit it about 440 feet just right of center field and 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 was probably the night I started considering him more seriously."
Murphy used Atlanta outfielder Nick Markakis as a loose comparison for Haseley.
"That kind of guy," Murphy said. "But I wouldn't limit him because I don't know that he's going to be the same player you see today. For a college junior he has a chance to get a lot bigger and stronger and a chance to keep improving.
"Sometimes you take a college player and that's what he is; you're not going to get anything better. But with [giving up] pitching and the body, he has a chance to keep maturing and become a better player than he is today and he's already a pretty good player for me."
Scouting director Johnny Almaraz summed up Haseley.
"Adam is a very dynamic player," Almaraz said. "He's a very exciting outfielder. He can play all three outfield positions. I believe offensively he's going to hit anywhere from 20 to 25 home runs and be somebody who's going to hit in the middle of the order."
