Phillies make major splash on int'l market, sign standout Korean RHP Park

An already stacked 2026 international signing class for the Phillies got even more robust Saturday with the addition of Korean right-hander Chan-Min Park.

Park, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound 17-year-old, will land a signing bonus just north of $1.2 million, sources tell MLB.com, the highest for any pitcher among 2026 international signees. Having already landed outfielder Francisco Renteria (PHI No. 3), the third-ranked prospect in this year’s international class, and shortstop Juan Parra, the No. 39 prospect, Philadelphia has now added three premier teenage talents to its system in the past five months.

The Phillies were able to come to an agreement with Park due in large part to a pair of recent trades. They dealt Minor League right-handers Griff McGarry (to the Dodgers) and Andrew Baker (to the Rockies) in exchange for $750,000 in international bonus pool money, according to sources, which freed them up to make Park an aggressive offer and bypass a pro career in the KBO.

Park operates with a 91-93 mph fastball that has touched as high as 94. He can pound the zone with the offering and it has late ride, allowing him to blow it past more inexperienced batters. Working with a clean and repeatable delivery from a three-quarters slot, he pounds right-handed hitters in with some added sink to his heater.

His best secondaries are a pair of breaking balls in a curveball and slider. They’re presently just solid pitches, but could develop into plus in time, particularly the slide piece, which has already generated spin rates north of 2800 RPMs while sitting 78-82 mph. He has both a changeup and splitter in his arsenal, but has largely backpocketed the latter. Park likes to throw the cambio to both right and left-handed batters and it shows promise as a future putaway offering.

With that pitch mix in tow, Philadelphia is excited about the ingredients that Park has to stick as a starter. His level of execution and feel for pitching has impressed evaluators, which when coupled with his desire to pursue a career in the U.S., incentivized the club to get creative in order to have him join the organization.

The signing of Park is the latest success story in the Pacific Rim for the Phillies’ international department. Japanese right-hander Alexandre Moreti was one of the more intriguing signings in this year’s class back in January. Blake Crosby, Philadelphia's assistant director of international scouting, explained the club's process as twofold.

“One, it gives us an opportunity to scout the high school players and be ready in case that there's players that do want to come to the States. And two, it builds us an early database so that when those players go to [pro ball], we've built history on those guys.

“It’s no different than [how] we would [scout] in the States. If you know the next [Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu] Yamamoto, you go, ‘Hey, if we've got high school notes, video and things like that, that's a huge advantage.’ When he becomes a free agent or if he decides that he wants to come stateside, you've kind of already got that base.”

Park played his high school ball at Gwangju Ilgo, a program known for having four players go on to appear at the Major League level -- Hee-Seop Choi, Byung-Hyun Kim, Jae Weong Seo and Jung Ho Kang.

The Phillies have had two players born in South Korea appear for the club at the big league level -- right-hander Chan-Ho Park in 2009 and outfielder Hyun-Soo Kim in 2017. The development path is just beginning for Park, but he’s well-positioned to one day add to that list.