Phillies Surprisingly Land College Pitcher in New MLB Mock Draft

The Philadelphia Phillies have historically leaned into a trend that will define the 2025 MLB draft.

The draft class features a plethora of talented prep position players and a notable lack of college ones.

Only one of the top 15 prospects on the MLB Pipeline rankings is a college position player, and there are only six in the top 20.

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This aligns perfectly with the Phillies' draft strategy. They haven’t selected a collegiate player in the first round since 2019, when they took Bryson Stott.

That said, Stott was the third consecutive college position player that Philadelphia used their first-round pick on, drafting Adam Haseley in 2017 and Alec Bohm in 2018.

For what it's worth, Bohm and Scott currently comprise half of the Phillies' starting infielders.

As the Phillies head toward the trade deadline, looking to address bullpen needs, they’ll have to deplete their strong farm system to do so.

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They have that luxury with a tried-and-true method of developing high school players out of the earlier rounds and giving them the time to do so with a contending Major League roster.

However, with the No. 26 overall pick this year, they may deviate from their usual approach.

Keith Law with The Athletic (subscription required) released his latest MLB mock draft and projects that Philadelphia will select Alabama right-handed pitcher Riley Quick.

“I don’t think the Phillies have changed approach, as Brian Barber has had some huge successes taking high schoolers in the first round, but rather that they might go for a fast-moving arm to try to bolster their contending roster (or provide some trade value). If they go high school again, it’d be someone like Xavier Neyens, Sean Gamble, or maybe Josh Hammond,” Law wrote.

Quick is the No. 38 prospect on the MLB Pipeline rankings and is the eighth-best collegiate pitcher.

Of all the pitchers ranked above him, which include two high schoolers, all but one are projected to be taken before the Phillies’ pick by Law.

Quick would be the first pitcher taken in the first round by Philadelphia since Mick Abel and Andrew Painter were drafted in back-to-back years in 2020 and 2021.

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That ended a drought since 2014 of no pitcher selections, when they took righty Aaron Nola out of LSU.

Scouts have touted Quick’s fastball/slider combinations as among the best of college prospects.

After recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2024, Quick went 8-3 with a 3.92 ERA and 70 strikeouts to 24 walks in 62 innings pitched in 2025, earning Second Team All-SEC honors.

It would be a noteworthy change in the Phillies’ approach, but they’ve restocked their farm system considerably over the last several years, giving them some freedom to take a major-ready arm should they elect to draft Quick.

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