Grullon was considered to be the top catching prospect in the 2012-13 international signing class and ended up signing with the Phillies in June 2013 for $575,000. Though he began his career in the United States, in the Gulf Coast League, that summer, it’s taken a while for Grullon to climb the ladder. He spent parts of three seasons in the Class A South Atlantic League, but his bat has come alive the last two seasons in Double- and Triple-A, leading to his first callup to the big leauges in 2019.
Offensively, Grullon is all about power from the right side of the plate. He’s topped 20 homers in each of the last two seasons thanks to hard contact and good exit velocities combined with high launch angle. He can drive the ball to all fields, with more of his home runs in 2019 actually going to the opposite field. With his power stroke comes a fairly high strikeout rate, though his walk rate went up as well in Triple-A.
Grullon’s overall defensive skills are acceptable, but he needs to continue to work on his receiving and blocking. He does have one of the strongest arms in the system, which has helped him throw out baserunners in the past, though he wasn’t as efficient in 2019. Now 24, he could fit the power bat/arm backup backstop profile well if given the opportunity.
