Arquimedes Gamboa Shows Across-The-Board Improvement

The Phillies’ big league shortstop job, filled for 17 seasons by Jimmy Rollins and Freddy Galvis, now belongs to J.P. Crawford after Philadelphia traded Galvis to the Padres in December.

At lower levels of the system, 20-year-old Venezuelan shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa is turning heads.

“He’s a legitimate shortstop prospect with excellent physical ability,” director of player development Joe Jordan said. “He’ll show you all five tools, with some above-average.”

The Phillies signed Gamboa for $900,000 in July 2014. He showed improvement across the board in 2017 at low Class A Lakewood. He battled back from an early-season hamstring injury to play in 79 games and hit .261/.328/.378 with a walk rate of 9.4 percent and a strikeout rate of 14.8 percent, which both represent improvements.

Phillies officials love that Gamboa finished strong by hitting .327 (32-for-98) with 11 extra-base hits, including four homers, in his last 25 games. He ended the season with a 14-game hitting streak. Additionally, he did not make an error in his final 18 games and finished with a .953 fielding percentage.

Gamboa, a switch-hitter, has added size and strength since signing at age 16. He is now 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. Jordan called Gamboa a plus runner with a plus arm.

“And there’s power in there,” Jordan added. “Physically, he’s very impressive. He’s got the type of body that can take on strength.

“As with many international players, he was young when he came to us. It took a little while for him to get to know everyone and build trust with our field staff, but once that happened, things really got rolling and what we’re seeing right now is really exciting.”

Gamboa signed with the Phillies on the same day as countryman Daniel Brito, a second baseman who signed for $650,000. The duo formed the double-play tandem at Lakewood in 2017 and should be ready for high Class A Clearwater in 2018.