CLEARWATER, Fla. — Luke Gabrysh has been to Citizens Bank Park dozens, maybe hundreds, of times. Growing up in Wilmington, Del., his father Gary was a Phillies season ticket holder.
He was raised on the teams of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, but living 30 minutes away, games were more of an occasional treat. That changed in 2022, when Gabrysh enrolled at St. Joseph’s University to play baseball.
All of a sudden, the right-handed pitcher was a train and subway ride from his favorite squad. He and his Hawks teammates took advantage of it.
After practice, they’d head to Overbrook Station, transfer to Suburban Station, and catch the Broad Street Line until the very last stop. They’d buy the cheapest ticket they could find — usually $30 — and roam around the upper deck, searching for the best vantage point.
“You can watch from anywhere,” Gabrysh said. “You don’t even need to sit down.”
The pitcher and his St. Joe’s cohorts were constantly at the ballpark. They didn’t need a reason. They’d go when they had nothing better to do, because in their minds, there was no better place to be.
But July 23, 2024, was a different kind of trip. Instead of walking through the first or third base gate, Gabrysh and his family were escorted into an employee entrance.
A Phillies scout, Jeff Zona, and other executives were waiting in a conference room.
“That was when it hit,” Gabrysh said. “I went there not to watch a baseball game. I went there to be part of the organization.”
The 6-foot-3 right-handed reliever was selected by the Phillies in the 15th round of the 2024 MLB draft. He’s not a top prospect, but has piqued some interest internally.
Most pitchers who transition roles switch from the rotation to the bullpen. But with Gabrysh, the Phillies proposed the opposite. They liked his stuff, and his arsenal, and his ability to throw strikes.
And while the peripheral numbers in his first minor league season were average — a 3.33 ERA across low A and high A — he is trending in a promising direction.
Gabrysh’s fastball averaged 94 mph last year. It’s already jumped up to 96 this spring, occasionally touching 98. He throws five pitches: a four-seam fastball with carry, a sinker, a hard slider, a sweeper, and a changeup.
“Tons of strikes,” said director of pitching development Travis Hergert. “He can really spin the ball. And he can hold his [velocity] over the course of multiple innings, as well.”
Of course, there’s a chance Gabrysh ends up being a nice local story. But he could also be something more. And what a story that would be.
‘Just had a conversation with Nola’
The last time Gabrysh started regularly was on the Concord High School baseball team.
When he got to St. Joe’s, they needed bullpen help, so he began pitching in long relief. His surface-level numbers, again, were unremarkable: an 8.13 ERA across 68⅔ innings over three seasons.
But in 2024, he played summer ball with the Trenton Thunder, and quickly got on a few scouts’ radars. Gabrysh, who was being used as a closer, threw to a 1.42 ERA across 12⅔ innings with 23 strikeouts and only five walks.
His transition to a starting role in pro ball was difficult. Gabrysh liked showing up to the ballpark not knowing if he would pitch or not. He now needed a pregame routine, and a mindset better suited for long stints.
And the initial outings were ugly, to put it mildly. He allowed five earned runs through 1⅔ innings in his first start last April, and three earned runs through two innings in his second.
But eventually, things got easier. The Clearwater Threshers coaching staff helped him plan a routine, down to the minute, and added a hard slider to his arsenal.
The pitch gave him a weapon against left-handed hitting, allowing him to induce more weak contact and more swing and miss
“This year, it’s one of my bigger pitches,” he said. “It’s helped a lot.”
Despite the positive impression he’s already made within the organization, none of this feels even remotely normal to Gabrysh.
Four years ago, he was at Game 5 of the National League championship series, mere feet from catching Bryce Harper’s iconic home run. This spring, he’s seen the two-time MVP walking around the Carpenter Complex.
“It’s crazy,” he said.
In late January, Gabrysh was throwing a bullpen at BayCare Ballpark.
The minor leaguer looked to the outfield and saw someone playing catch. A couple of minutes later, Aaron Nola walked over to introduce himself.
(For a lifelong Phillies fan, this wasn’t necessary).
“Of course, I knew who he was,” Gabrysh said.
The two pitchers talked about where they went to school, and where they grew up. After Gabrysh got back to his locker, he texted his friends from home.
“I was like, ‘Just had a full blown conversation with Nola,’” he recalled. “And they were all jealous.”
Because Gabrysh is still on the minor league side, interactions with big leaguers are few and far between. But he has tried to savor these moments, and enjoy this experience, wherever it takes him.
Not so long ago, the right-handed pitcher was tailgating Eagles games, and buying cheesesteaks at Dalessandro’s. He was spending his summers not at the shore, but at the beach (an important distinction for a Delaware kid).
Now, he’s a few feet away from his baseball heroes. He hopes that one day, he can join them.
