Phillies Notes: Phils sign Dominican slugger Ortiz, 16

LOS ANGELES - The Phillies announced the signing of 16-year-old Dominican slugger Jhailyn Ortiz on Thursday night.

Ortiz, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound first baseman/leftfielder, was set to receive a $4.2 million signing bonus, according to several reports. The Phillies, who acquired the No. 1 international signing slot from the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend, also announced the signings of Venezuelan catcher Rafael Marchan, Dominican infielder Kuedy Bocio, and Dominican lefthander Manuel Silva.

Ortiz was by far the Phillies' biggest splash. In a market in which handshake agreements are commonplace, they were said to have Ortiz locked up since last year. Baseball America ranked Ortiz the 18th-best prospect eligible to sign in this year's international signing period, which opened July 2. MLB.com ranked him No. 6.

"We have been scouting Jhailyn since he was 14 years old," Phillies assistant general manager Benny Looper said. "Since that time, our scouts have gotten to know the family and have a strong conviction of not only his ability to play baseball, but his strong character and desire to be a major-league player. We are excited to add the power potential Jhailyn possesses to the Phillies organization."

Freddy Galvis' first season as the Phillies' everyday shortstop has been full of streaks.

The 25-year-old Venezuelan began the season on a tear, hitting .355 over his first 35 games. From May 16 to June 15, he hit .120. In the 21 games since, entering the series finale Thursday at Dodger Stadium, he hit at a .351 clip.

Galvis carried a career-best 10-game hitting streak into the game. His 17 hits since June 29 were the most of all major-league players.

"Some of the things we worked on in spring training, he was doing really well with in the early part of the season and then got away from for a little bit," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said this week. "And it kind of spiraled on him a little.

"But that's the ups and downs of being a young player at a very difficult position every day in the big leagues. It's a pretty demanding position. It's a part of the growth process. He's done really well - very well. I'm very proud of him."

Aaron Nola's Thursday start with triple-A Lehigh Valley was postponed because of rain. The Phillies' top pitching prospect will start Friday instead, though he could be on a pitch count because he is slated to pitch Sunday in the Futures Game in Cincinnati.

- Jake Kaplan