Skip to main content

Prospect Nation 2012: #4 RHP Phillippe Aumont

Righty hurler Phillippe Aumont is the third prospect that the Phillies acquired in the December 2009 trade that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle to appear on this countdown. Upon joining the Phillies, organizational brass chose to switch the young reliever into a starting pitcher. Aumont would go on to struggle in that role, during his first season in the Philadelphia system, but has since gotten himself back on track in the bullpen, where he is most comfortable.

A first round draft choice (11th overall) by Seattle in 2007, Aumont was a highly regarded hurler when he was traded to Philadelphia. In two seasons in the Mariners' system, Aumont tallied a 6-10 record, a 3.29 ERA and 18 saves in 59 games (8 starts). He also represented Seattle in the 2008 MLB All-Star Futures Game, although he did not appear in the exhibition.

In 2009, Aumont, who was a member of the Junior National Team for Canada in his teen years, pitched for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic. In one WBC outing, Aumont would retire MLB All-Stars David Wright, Kevin Youkilis and Curtis Granderson, in order, to escape a jam in a game against Team USA.

A native of Quebec, Aumont began his first season in the Phillies organization with Double-A Reading, in 2010, and posted a 1-6 record with an awful 7.43 ERA in 11 starts before being demoted to Class A Advanced Clearwater, where things began to look up. The Phillies would eventually move Aumont back to his more familiar role as a reliever.

Locked into a relief spot in 2011, Aumont shined, holding opponents to a .216 batting average and posting a 2-5 record, a 2.68 ERA and 7 saves in 43 games for Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. A power pitcher, Aumont saw his strike out numbers soar last season, as he averaged 13.08 K's per 9 innings last year.

Aumont, 23, is an imposing figure that overpowers the competition not just physically, but with his intensity as well. The 6-foot-7-inch 255-pounder sports a four-seam fastball that is regularly clocked from 96-98 MPH. Aumont's repertoire also includes a strong curveball, a sinker and an impressive split, all of which give him the type of focus and swagger that should translate well as he continues to ascend up the developmental ladder.

Along with the Phillies in big league spring training this year, Aumont, who thrives on pressure in crucial situations, will get the opportunity to turn heads as he is sure to capitalize on chances to face some big league competition and show how aggressive and fierce he can be.

Expect Aumont, who was added to the Phillies' 40-man roster this past off-season, to make his Major League debut during the 2012 season. With the goods to become a key contributor at the back end of the Phillies' bullpen, Aumont could be setting up for closer Jonathan Papelbon before too long.

_______________________________________________

Our 2012 prospect countdown index can be found HERE.

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

2021 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #22 SS Casey Martin

Please visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work, get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else.   A third round draft pick last year, Arkansas junior Casey Martin was quickly signed by the Phillies and consideration as one of the organization's top infield prospects quickly began.  The team's confidence in his ceiling is likely evident in the signing bonus he got, which was reportedly $1.3 million, which was considerably more than slot money dictated by his 87th overall draft position ($685K). The right-handed batting Martin tallied a .311/.393/.545 slash line with 30 homers, 24 steals and 112 RBI in 143 games through his college career at Arkansas.  Reports had him falling in the draft as a result of an injury to the hamate bone in his left hand prior to his 2020 season.  Prior to the procedure, Baseball America projected Martin as a top ten draft pick.

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against.   The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball wi

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal