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Phillies sign four more draft picks

MINNEAPOLIS - The Phillies had every intention of spreading their sizable money pool for draft picks. When four more amateur players signed Wednesday, it was because they received over-slot bonuses.

MINNEAPOLIS - The Phillies had every intention of spreading their sizable money pool for draft picks. When four more amateur players signed Wednesday, it was because they received over-slot bonuses.

Kevin Gowdy, selected with the 42nd pick in the Major League Baseball draft, was the primary benefactor. He received a signing bonus commensurate with a top-10 selection, which shows how high an opinion the Phillies have of the prep righthander.

Gowdy signed for $3.5 million, according to several reports. That was the allotted bonus for the No. 9 pick in the draft. The Phillies were able to overpay Gowdy because Mickey Moniak, the No. 1 pick, agreed to a $6.1 million bonus that was well below the assigned slot value.

The Phillies announced agreements on Wednesday with their second-, third- and fourth-round picks.

Cole Stobbe, a high school infielder from Nebraska who was the 78th overall pick, signed for $1.1 million. JoJo Romero, a lefthander from Yavapai (Ariz.) College, signed for $800,000. He was the 107th pick.

They also signed Josh Stephen, a prep outfielder from California, who was taken in the 11th round. He bypassed a commitment to Southern Cal to join the Phillies.

The Phillies have reached agreements with 17 of their top 20 selections.

Gowdy, 18, was committed to play at UCLA with Moniak. The righthander from Santa Barbara, Calif., is regarded as a polished prep pitcher. His development, like any young pitcher, will take considerable time.

Moniak, Gowdy, and Stobbe are all slated to begin their professional careers with the Gulf Coast League Phillies, who open their season Friday.

Extra bases

Severino Gonzalez, who had a 1.69 ERA in his first three relief appearances (51/3 innings), has added about 4 mph to his average fastball velocity since last season, when he failed as a starter in seven games. He could be a viable bullpen arm. "He still has pretty good movement on his fastball," Pete Mackanin said. "That's the whole ideal with velocity; you can get away with more mistakes." . . . Jerad Eickhoff will start Thursday afternoon in the series finale against the Twins. Ricky Nolasco, an old National League East nemesis, will face the Phillies.