PHILADELPHIA— With the Major League Baseball amateur draft set to begin on July 13th, the Philadelphia Phillies are looking to add future All-Stars and Hall of Fame talents to their organization.
Before the draft, the Phillies’ assistant general manager and director of scouting, Brian Barber, spoke with the media. Barber joined the Phillies in October 2019 after 18 seasons with the New York Yankees organization. In 2023, Barber was promoted to the assistant general manager role in addition to his role in the scouting department.
The Phillies are picking 26th in the first round this season. The draft in Major League Baseball is structured differently from the other main professional sports in North America. Unlike the others, you cannot trade standard draft picks. There is no way for the Phillies to jump up in the draft order from 26, so they will have to sit and wait. Teams can trade competitive balance draft choices, but the Phillies do not have any this season.
Organizational Philosophy
The Phillies have drafted a player out of high school with each of their last four first-round draft selections. There is an increased likihood that they will dip in the high school pool once again. According to Barber, the strength of this season’s draft class is high school position players and college pitchers.
The organizational philosophy for the club is to draft the best player on their board. While they discuss all factors, they will not draft based on the need of the big league club or depth in other minor league teams. That is partially the reason why Barber and the team have not shied away from taking a high school player.
When asked about the investment of time that is spent on players by MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, Barber gave some insight into the Phillies’ process: “A potential guy that we’re going to be talking about [at] 26, if he’s a high school pitcher, we’ve probably seen every start that he’s had. And if he’s a high school position player, if they play 25 to 30 games, we’ve probably been there no less than 20.”
He also elaborated on how many players they have scouted in regards to their first-round pick. Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer asked if it was around 40-50 players that the Phillies had scouted for that top selection.
Barber replied, “I mean, we’ve talked about that, and even now, I still think you’re probably only finding less than half, so less than 15 guys that we’ve just basically think that don’t have any real chance of getting to us. So obviously, we’ve scouted those 15 players. And then beyond that, there’s another group we narrowed down to 28 in the last couple [of] weeks. So I mean, you add those two, got, you know, 43 players that we’ve potentially looked at and talked about for 26.”
Like all drafts, the board will play out in front of the Phillies on their way to pick 26. If their luck is anything like the past few seasons, the odds are in their favor.
Previous Phillies selections
It is safe to say the Phillies have done well with their last several first-round selections.
Last season, the Phillies selected high school outfielder Dante Nori with the 27th overall pick in the first round. Nori is currently the team’s 8th-ranked prospect according to MLB.com’s pipeline rankings.
In 2023, the Phillies selected Aidan Miller, a high school shortstop, with the 27th pick in the first round. Miller, of course, has been on both the organization’s and fans’ radar as he rises in the team’s system. Miller is currently in Double-A Reading, where he sits as the organization’s second overall prospect.
In 2022, the team selected Justin Crawford, a high school outfielder, with the 17th pick in the first round. Crawford is on the cusp of joining the Phillies’ major league roster and has become the center of many trade rumors over the past several weeks. Crawford is the team’s third-ranked prospect.
Other Notable Selections
2021: RHP Andrew Painter, No. 13 overall (HS)
2020: RHP Mick Abel, No. 15 overall (HS)
2019: SS Bryson Stott, No. 14 overall (College)
2018: 3B Alec Bohm, No. 3 overall (College)
MLB Draft
On Sunday, July 13th at 6 pm EST, the draft will kick off live on the MLB Network and ESPN.
Similar in presentation to other leagues’ drafts, panels of experts will break down the talent as they move along the first three rounds. The draft is a total of 20 rounds, which will continue starting Monday, July 14th at 11:30 am EST on MLB.com.
Players to watch for the Phillies include Gage Wood, RHP, Arkansas. Wood threw a no-hitter for the Razorbacks in this past season’s College World Series tournament. Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina, is one of the top-ranked catchers of this year’s class and a potential option for Philly. In the high school realm, Slater de Brun, OF, Summit HS, would continue the trend of high school outfielders for the team.
The next great Philadelphia Phillie might be hearing his name called on Sunday evening. Follow along with Philly Sports Network for the latest regarding the MLB Draft.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
