Phillies Notes: Top pick Randolph agrees to terms with Phillies

BALTIMORE - The Phillies agreed to terms with their first-round draft pick, Cornelius Randolph, on a $3.2 million signing bonus, the slotted value for the 10th overall selection, according to a baseball source.

Randolph, represented by Scott Boras' agency, was in Philadelphia on Tuesday to take his physical. The 18-year-old could begin his professional career with the organization's short-season, single-A affiliate in Williamsport.

A smooth-hitting, high-school shortstop from outside Atlanta, Randolph will transition to left field. He is the Phillies' highest-drafted position player since Pat Burrell was taken first overall in 1998.

The Phillies have yet to announce their draft pick signings, but, according to MLB.com, they have reached agreements with at least 28 of their 40 picks. Among them are second-rounder Scott Kingery, a second baseman from the University of Arizona, and fourth-round pick Kyle Martin, a first baseman from the University of South Carolina.

Eighth-round pick Greg Pickett, a power-hitting, high-school outfielder from Colorado, signed a $350,000 signing bonus, a baseball source said. The slotted value for the 234th overall pick is $173,900. Pickett's draft stock dropped because teams believed he was unsignable.

Ryan Howard is drawing walks at the lowest rate of his career through the season's first 10 weeks.

The Phillies' 35-year-old first baseman came into Tuesday night's game having drawn just 10 walks in 229 plate appearances. His 4.4 percent walk rate is lower than he compiled in any of his previous 11 major-league seasons. Even last season, when he slugged just .380, he walked in 10.3 percent of his plate appearances.

The opposition is attacking Howard, who entered the game hitting just .233, with more pitches in or around the strike zone. He came into Tuesday seeing first-pitch strikes in 63.8 percent of his at-bats, according to Baseball Info Solutions, a higher clip than any of his previous seasons.

"I see pitchers going after him with fastballs," manager Ryne Sandberg said. "In spring training, he was very patient. He was drawing some walks in the spring. It looked like that was going to be a little bit of a trend. But he has seen strikes to hit and with fastballs. I think that's a result of pitchers going after him and challenging him with the fastball."

Howard served as designated hitter Tuesday. Chase Utley made his first start at first base since the Phillies' 2008 world championship season, when he twice started there. After demoting Darin Ruf to triple-A Lehigh Valley, the Phillies lack a true backup first baseman.

Jimmy Rollins batted ninth for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday for the first time in 2,092 major-league starts. The former longtime Phillies shortstop entered the game at Texas hitting a woeful .201, second worst in the National League to only Utley (.187). . . . Joely Rodriguez, who began the season as triple-A Lehigh Valley's No. 1 starter, was demoted to double-A Reading. The 23-year-old lefthander had a 6.32 ERA in 13 triple-A starts.

- Jake Kaplan