Cutternation Podcast #104 - Marvin Freeman
Freeman began his professional career in 1984 after being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the second round of that year's amateur draft out of Jackson State University. He was originally drafted by the Montreal Expos in the ninth round of the '81 draft, but did not sign. Freeman debuted that year in short-season A-ball for Bend of the Northwest league, going 8-5 with a 2.61 ERA. He allowed just 64 hits in 89.2 innings, but did walk 5.2 batters per nine. That would be a continuing theme throughout Marvin's minor league career, as he never posted a K/BB ratio higher than 1.74, and often walked more batters than he struck out – such as in 1985 at Reading, where after getting promoted to AA, he proceeded to walk 52 batters while striking out just 35. Still, the Phillies saw something in the young righty, as he was more or less unhittable during his first few years in the minors.
