Prospect Rankings No. 20: Mike Cisco
Born: 5/23/1987 in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 190
The Phillies eyed Cisco in the early rounds of last year’s draft, but doubts about being able to sign the talent from the University of South Carolina led him to slip all the way to the 36th round (1096 overall) before the organization snatched him up. Upon agreeing to a signing bonus he was immediately sent to Williamsport to begin his professional career, and in the first year and change he has advanced through four levels and looks to be far out-playing his draft slot.
If his name sounds familiar it’s because Cisco’s grandfather was Galen Cisco, former major league pitching coach and member of the Phillies organization from 1997-2000, when he helped Paul Byrd and Randy Wolf develop into starters. Mike Cisco pitches like he had a pitching coach in the family, without top-notch stuff but with the type of control that can get batters out. The book on Cisco is that his control is the best in the organization, which is an important skill to have considering he’s not much of a strikeout pitcher. In 144 minor league innings to this point he has walked just 25 batters. Cisco is an intelligent pitcher with a strong idea of the art of pitching – how to work an at-bat to get a hitter out.
Cisco kicked off his career in Williamsport but quickly earned a promotion to single-A Lakewood where he gave up just two earned runs in 35 innings last year. That led him to open up this season with high-A Clearwater, and after pitching very well through 14 starts he was moved up to Reading a few weeks ago. The results have not been great so far in three starts at double-A, but Cisco has shown an ability to pitch at each level so he should adapt soon.
Many reports have Cisco projecting as a relief pitcher at the major league level because his excellent command makes him a strong candidate to pitch short innings in tight situations. Cisco will finish the year out in Reading and likely be given a chance to move up to Lehigh Valley part of the way through next season. If he can continue to pitch well he could follow his father’s footsteps into the majors.
Statistics
Year Level W L ERA IP H ER BB K K/9
2008 A- 1 0 1.86 19.1 18 4 5 22 10.2
2008 A 2 1 0.51 35.0 22 2 0 30 7.7
2009 A+ 7 3 3.31 73.1 69 27 15 51 6.3
2009 AA 0 2 4.96 16.1 23 9 5 10 5.5
Rankings – All previous prospect profiles can be found here, which is also on the left sidebar for easy viewing
20. Mike Cisco, RHP
21. Freddy Galvis, SS
22. Jonathan Pettibone, RHP
23. Domingo Santana, OF
24. Jonathan Singleton, 1B
25. Drew Naylor, RHP
