You could have easily blinked and missed it time has flown by faster than any of us noticed. We’re already halfway through May, meaning the All-Star weekend is just two months away. And because MLB is determined to make their presentation rival the NFL or NBA, the first-year player draft will also be here before we know it. We’ve made it clear we’re not fans of the league turning this into something it really isn’t, but still, why not go along with it?
With the MLB draft approaching quickly, people are starting to speculate about which amateur players will land where. This might be the last time the draft looks familiar, given the looming labor dispute that could upend everything we know about the sport. So while things still feel normal, let’s take a look at what experts who are far more knowledgeable than I am are saying about who the Phillies might pick.
Keep in mind: the Phillies have dropped ten spots in this year’s draft because they’ve exceeded the highest luxury tax threshold for several consecutive years.
Just Baseball Hunter Dietz, LHP Arkansas
Going back to the Arkansas well, the Phillies grab an exciting lefty in Dietz. He’s been in the conversation for the best southpaw in this class for a while now. Though his track record is shorter than some of his peers, the angle he generates makes his breaking pitches incredibly effective. His fastball has also touched the upper-90s.
MLB Pipeline Wes Mendes, LHP Florida State
An athletic 6-foot-1 left-hander, Mendes uses a deep five-pitch mix to keep hitters off balance. His fastball sits around 92 mph and tops out at 96, with good rise and angle to the glove side. His best secondary is an 80-mph changeup a plus pitch he sells well with arm speed, seeming to hang in the air with late arm-side drop. His low-80s slider shows short, sharp glove-side tilt, and he can back-foot it to righties. He’s also added a harder cutter with improved shape and control as the season has gone on. He’ll use his upper-70s curveball to grab early strikes.
Baseball America Hunter Dietz, LHP Arkansas
Like most pitchers mentioned in this mock draft aside from Flora, Dietz could go as high as the early teens depending on his performance down the stretch. He currently leads the SEC with 108 strikeouts, posting a 3.22 ERA over 13 starts and 72.2 innings by far a career high along with a 35.4% strikeout rate and 8.5% walk rate.
There will be many more mock drafts to discuss, so check back often as we continue to update our mock draft roundup.
Leave a Reply