The Philadelphia Phillies announced on May 23 the signing of Korean right-handed pitcher Chan-Min Park, adding him to their 2026 international signing class. Park, who is 17 years old and stands at 6-foot-4, will receive a signing bonus just over $1.2 million, reportedly the highest for any pitcher among this year’s international signees.
This move adds to an already notable group of prospects joining the Phillies system in recent months. The team previously signed outfielder Francisco Renteria and shortstop Juan Parra, both ranked among the top prospects in this year’s international class. The addition of Park brings three highly regarded teenage players into the organization since January.
The Phillies were able to reach an agreement with Park after acquiring additional international bonus pool money through trades involving Minor League pitchers Griff McGarry and Andrew Baker. These moves allowed them to make a competitive offer that convinced Park to pursue his career in Major League Baseball rather than Korea’s professional league.
Park features a fastball clocked between 91-93 mph and has touched as high as 94 mph. He also throws a curveball, slider—with spin rates above 2800 RPMs—and a promising changeup. According to Blake Crosby, Philadelphia’s assistant director of international scouting: “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.” Crosby continued: “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 high school baseball at Gwangju Ilgo in South Korea—a program known for producing several Major League players—and immediately enters as No. 18 on Philadelphia’s Top 30 Prospects list.
The Phillies have won World Series titles in both 1980 and 2008; they represent Philadelphia in Major League Baseball while engaging fans through games and community outreach; they play home games at Citizens Bank Park; serve local and national audiences; are led by chief executives overseeing operations; and function as charter members of MLB’s National League—all according to their official website.
The club sees promise in Park’s skill set and his interest in pursuing baseball development within the United States system.
