Verdugo won a Mr. Baseball award in Washington and was drafted in 2005 (43rd round) by the Phillies even though he had just had Tommy John surgery. He opted to go to Skagit Valley (WA) JC instead, where he pitched a no-hitter and reestablished himself on draft boards. The Giants took a flier on him in the 47th round of the 2007 draft, even though they knew he had committed to Lousiana State. Verdugo fulfilled that commitment, and after he had a strong year as a starting pitcher, San Francisco spent another pick on him [2008, 9th round]. They saw a pitcher with easy arm action whose 92-mph fastball seemed to jump out of his hand. Verdugo is a deceptive lefty whose stuff consistently misses bats. Working in relief, he fanned 94 in 63 innings between Augusta and San Jose, right in line with his pro average of 13.4 strikeouts per 9 innings. His changeup is his best off-speed pitch and shows flashes of being above-average. If Verdugo can tighten up his slider, he could get a chance to start again. Verdugo remains a minus command pitcher who posted a 2.45 ERA while starting and throwing three- and four-inning stints in the Arizona Fall League, but didn't work many clean innings (37 baserunners in 22 IP). If he can start to fill up the strike zone, he will advance quickly.
