Ranking Four Worst First-Round Draft Picks in Philadelphia Phillies History

The Philadelphia Phillies have a done a good job of procuring talent in the MLB draft. But these were some of their worst decisions.

A Philadelphia Phillies cap and glove sit in the dugout during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have had a first-round pick every season since 1965, when Major League Baseball started the common draft era. You win some, you lose some.

For instance, 21 of those selections never made it to the Majors. To be fair, that includes several recent selections that are still in the farm system and on the verge of a promotion. But, it still underscores how hard it is to find good talent in the draft.

Here, we rank the four worst draft picks in Phillies history based on bWAR, or wins above replacement, at baseball-reference.com. For the purposes of this exercise, only first-round picks taken in the traditional summer amateur draft were considered. In addition, only players that reached the Major Leagues were considered.

Eric Valent (1998, -0.9 bWAR)

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It’s a tie for third place so it’s the four worst draft picks by bWAR and Parent goes first. Selected No. 42 overall in 1998 as a supplemental pick, the UCLA product and outfielder never lived up to what the Phillies had hoped for.

Valent reached the Majors with the Phillies in 2001 and ended up playing just 29 games for the franchise. Philadelphia dealt him in 2003 to the Cincinnati Reds and the New York Mets took him in the 2003 minor league draft. He later signed with the San Diego Padres and played in their organization until 2006.

He slashed .234/.307/.389 with 13 home runs and 37 RBI for his career. The outfielder and first baseman returned to Philly as a coach and later a scout. He was most recently a national cross-checker in the Miami Marlins scouting department.

Mike Adamson (1965, -0.9 bWAR)

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The left-handed pitcher is Parent’s partner in the third-place tie. Adamson is not only one of the Phillies’ worst first-round picks he also has the distinction of being their inaugural first-rounder. He was selected No. 18 overall in the first MLB amateur draft out of Point Loma High School in San Diego, Calif. But he never played for the Phillies.

He passed on signing with them in 1965 and was drafted two years later by the Baltimore Orioles out of USC. He did reach the Majors with the O’s in 1967 but only pitched in 11 career games. He went 0-4 with a 7.46 ERA. He was the first player to go straight from the draft to the Majors since the draft was implemented.

Carlton Loewer (1994, -1.7 bWAR)

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The Phillies went after more pitching when they selected Loewer No. 23 overall out of Mississippi State. That was three years after the Toronto Blue Jays took him in the seventh round as a prep player but he passed on a contract.

Loewer made his debut with the Phillies in 1998 and made 21 starts, going 7-8 with a 6.09 ERA. He made 21 appearances in 1999 and that wrapped up his Phils career with a 9-14 record and a 5.68 ERA. The Phillies included him in a trade that netted them Andy Ashby. With the San Diego Padres, he pitched in seven games, all starts, and went 1-4 with a 9.69 ERA. The Padres released him after the 2003 season. Post-baseball he went into real estate.

John Russell (1982, -3.2 BWAR)

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Russell is one of those interesting first-rounders that, even with the worst bWAR of any Phillies first-round pick, he still carved out a solid career. The catcher was taken No. 13 overall out of Oklahoma.

Russell made his Phils debut in 1984, played five years for the franchise and later played for the Atlanta Braves and Texas Rangers. In a 10-year career he slashed .225/.282/.371 with 34 home runs and 129 RBI in a career that ended in 1993. He has the distinction of catching Nolan Ryan’s sixth career no-hitter in 1990.

He went into coaching in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and was their manager from 2008-10, during which he went 186-299. He coached for the Baltimore Orioles for several years after that until 2018. He went back in managing with the Tacoma Rainiers in 2023.