A Story of Overpowering Adversity: Meet Phillies’ New Draftee Luke Russo
Pictured: Luke Russo pitches in a game for EMU.
Between injuries and a global pandemic right at the onset of his college career, it would not have been the first time that Phillies’ draftee Luke Russo was disappointed. Luckily, the Phillies kept history from repeating itself.
In 2019, Russo, a right-handed pitcher from Michigan, was sidelined for a good portion of his senior year of high school after tearing his UCL, just a few weeks after going twenty consecutive innings without allowing a single hit. When Russo should have been continuing his dominant season on the bump at Howell High School, he was forced to watch from the sidelines instead.
A year later, thanks to the pandemic, he missed his freshman season at Eastern Michigan, and that winter, bone chips from his UCL injury had to be removed: “It was a struggle getting through all that, for sure… It was crazy,” he told Philly Sports Reports. “It was a ton of hard work.”
Needless to say, that is a less-than-convenient way for one to begin their collegiate career.
Just a few days ago, Russo got off the phone with his advisor on day two of the MLB amateur draft after going undrafted in rounds 3-10, something that the righty was hoping to avoid.
One hour into the next day, Russo still had not been drafted, and the tension began to increase: “Once it got past round 15, I was starting to get a little nervous,” Russo said.
With disappointment becoming a familiar foe, Russo unlocked his phone and opened Clash Royale, just like many of us would, hoping to alleviate some of his nerves with just five rounds to go in the MLB draft. Minutes later, his phone started exploding with messages and social media notifications from Russo’s friends. Lost in the Clash World, he, at first, was unsure of what was going on.
“[My family] found out before me,” Russo told us. “I was just sitting on my phone playing games. I got all these texts from my buddies saying ‘congrats,’ and I thought, ‘Wait, what just happened’? Then my dad’s friend who was on the draft tracker said ‘It’s the Phillies!’ It was crazy.”
And quite frankly, crazy is certainly an understatement, especially with Russo being selected by the Phillies. Not only is he a fan of beloved second baseman Chase Utley, but he also met a stranger while on vacation in Grand Haven, Michigan, who adamantly wanted Russo to be selected by the Phillies.
“[The stranger] was the first thing I thought about in my mind,” Russo said. “I was excited.”
And knowing how powerful baseball can be in bringing people together, I’d bet the stranger shared Russo’s joy when he heard about the selection.
Russo, 22, was selected by the Phillies as the 493rd overall pick. In his three seasons at Eastern Michigan, Russo had a 4.63 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP, but opponents were batting just .209 against him. In his 2023 season, specifically, he struck out 107 batters in 78 innings of work and limited free passes at a better rate than ever before in his career. Russo’s arsenal features a well-commanded fastball that sits in the mid-nineties, and he has a plus breaking ball—which is effective in generating swings and misses—that he throws in the low eighties.
And depending on which metrics one relies upon the most, many could argue that Russo was a huge steal for the Phillies in the 16th round. Intriguingly, his 36.5% called-strike-plus-whiff percentage (CSW%) ranked third in the nation last season, trailing just Chase Burns—who was one of the most dominant collegiate relievers in 2023—and Paul Skenes—the former LSU Tiger that was drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Prior to the draft, Russo formally transferred to the University of North Carolina for his final season of NCAA eligibility in 2024. There, he would have aided a UNC pitching staff—the Achilles heel of their 2023 spring season—that had a 4.65 team ERA in 534.2 innings.
Russo knew, however, that if he was offered a fair amount of money from an organization willing to give him a chance, it was time to start his professional career. And of course, the Phillies delivered on day three of the draft.
“It wasn’t a for-sure thing that I was going to sign from the draft, so there was a good chance I could have gone to UNC still,” Russo mentioned. “I wanted the right organization, and I am glad the Phillies chose me.”
Earlier this week, Russo signed his first professional baseball contract, which most view as nothing more than a piece of paper.
For Luke, however, that sheet of paper was the first page of a brand new chapter in his life, one that only became possible because of resiliency, determination, adaptability, and a lifelong dream.
