Noah Song is to report to spring training.
Last season, Dave Dombrowski took a chance in the Rule 5 Draft and selected a young pitcher from the Boston Red Sox. That may not seem newsworthy. The catch was that this pitcher— Noah Song— was enlisted in the United States Navy and had not pitched collegiately or professionally since 2019. This will all change on Wednesday as Song will join the Phillies as he was transferred from active duty to a reserve role in the Navy.
What was the attraction to Song if he was not able to join the 40-man roster? What if he is rusty due to lack of competitive pitching? These are questions that may come to mind. The attraction to Song was that he was formerly a top pitching prospect in the Red Sox organization before joining the military. Song is also just 25 years old and can throw some heat. According to early reports about Song’s potential, the young righthander possesses a fastball that sits in the mid-to-upper 90s, a slider, and a change-up.
Early on as a prospect, some believed that he was a first-round talent, despite being drafted by Boston in the fourth round of the 2019 draft. His commitment to joining the Navy lowered his stock. In 2019 during seven games in the New York-Penn League— a low A short-season league— Song pitched 17 innings striking out 19 batters. He also displayed a 1.06 ERA and a 0.882 WHIP. That is a small sample size, but it does show that the potential is there.
Song will likely be rusty entering his first big league spring training. However, the Phillies have until Opening Day to add him to their 26-man roster since he was on the military list. This gives the club time to evaluate Song. If he does not make the roster that leaves Clearwater, Song can be traded or placed on waivers. If he clears waivers, he will be offered back to Boston. Given his potential, it would seem unlikely that no other team would take a chance on him.
It should be interesting to see how Song looks in spring training. He has shown that he has dominant stuff. The Phillies do not many openings for pitchers so it may be tough for him to crack that 26-man roster. He will be given the chance, however.
