USATSI_16307789 — © Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

The 2022 MLB Draft is Wide Open for the Philadelphia Phillies

Who might the Philadelphia Phillies select in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft?

Author:
Alex Carr
Jul 11, 2022 6:00 PM EDT

In this story:

The Philadelphia Phillies are in possession of the 17th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, which is set to kick off Sunday, July 17.

This draft class is loaded with prep talent, with names like Druw Jones (son of Andruw), Jackson Holliday (son of Matt), and others leading the charge. While this particular year doesn't have the superstar top-end that its predecessors have had, it is substantially deep, and features solid talent all the way through the middle rounds.

The Phillies have had a strong past two drafts. Three of their four top talents were selected in the last two years alone, and they've found some gems in later rounds.

With the draft less than a week away, what direction might the Phillies go this year?

What the Phillies Need:

Over the last few years, the Phillies have taken a major step forward from a pitching development perspective. Names like Andrew Painter, Mick Abel, and Griff McGarry have ascended to the upper echelon of pitching prospects in all of baseball, and Ben Brown is following close behind.

The problem is, the Phillies' bats have been nowhere near as impressive. Logan O'Hoppe has developed quite well, and Johan Rojas has taken a shocking step forward in Reading, but the dropoff is cliff-sized after those two. Both of their early round college bat selections of the last three years in Casey Martin and Ethan Wilson have had exceedingly disappointing campaigns since joining the organization.

The Phillies could really use a sure thing offensively. An argument can be made that they should play to their strengths and draft another pitcher, but they are already quite deep in that regard. Unless an arm like Dylan Lesko falls to 17, the Phillies should probably be looking at a bat.

Unfortunately, the strongest bats that are likely to fall to the Phillies are all outfielders, and Philadelphia has a pretty poor track record when it comes to drafting those (see Cornelius Randolph, Mickey Moniak, and Adam Haseley). Regardless, their outfield corners at the MLB level are set in stone for the next four years or so, should they choose to go the offensive direction, they may prefer a prospect with a strong glove. Someone like Justin Crawford (son of Carl) comes to mind: a dynamic outfielder with a plus-hit tool and blistering speed. Chase DeLauter, Drew Gilbert, or Gavin Cross are also possible bat targets in the Phillies' range, though they boast far worse gloves.

What the Phillies Will Likely Pick:

The Phillies are ready to win now. They're in the midst of a strong season, and have a core of explosive offensive talents in Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins, and even the scuffling Nick Castellanos. With the bats likely available at their slot not screaming "pick me," they'll probably go the safer direction, and select an arm.

That's where things get interesting. If the aforementioned Lesko falls, the Phillies have an opportunity to take an albeit injured arm, but one that was the consensus number one pitching talent in the draft prior to his injury.

They could also choose to go the fast-track route. When the Chicago White Sox selected Garrett Crochet 11th overall in the 2020 MLB Draft, he debuted with them months later out of the bullpen, and was dominant. The Phillies lack MLB-ready starting pitching depth, and could look to go the same direction with someone like Kumar Rocker, who would surely blitz through the Phillies' minor league system and serve as ready-to-go starting pitching or bullpen depth down the stretch.

Both are enticing options, and more than feasible. That being said, these are the Philadelphia Phillies we're talking about. Nobody ever really knows what their plan is until the moment comes.

What About the Later Rounds?

The Phillies are without a second round pick this year, and will likely use one of their mid-round picks in a similar manner to how they did in 2020, when they selected Casey Martin at a whopping $1.3 million signing bonus (nearly double the slot value of the 87th overall pick.)

Granted, there are far more picks in the 2022 Draft than there were in the pandemic-shortened 2020 draft, thus there are more bonuses to allot down the line. However, if an exciting prep bat should fall, or perhaps a college hitter like Jud Fabian is once again looking for first-round money, the Phillies could very well be a player.

Past the third round, however, it's likely that the Phillies will target arms with intriguing profiles, as they did last year when they found Griff McGarry in the fifth round.

The Phillies are quite confident in their ability to "fix" arms now, and there are a bunch of pitchers that could use some tweaking in this draft. RHP Blake Burkhalter, LHP Drake Batcho, or even knuckleballer Cory Lewis could be on the Phillies radar, among many others. Don't be surprised if, given their lack of MLB-ready starting pitching depth, the Phillies take a "safe" arm or two that they can attempt to fast-track.

You may see them select a bat here or there, but they'll probably play to their strengths in this one.

Whatever the Phillies' plan might be, this particular installment of the MLB Draft is due to be chaos-ridden. Outside of Druw Jones being the top talent in the class, there really is no consensus talent order. With teams finding more and more ways to get creative with their bonus pools and pick strategies, things are due to get crazy this time around.

That being said, the Phillies and Scouting Director Brian Barber have earned some trust after a killer last two drafts. It will be interesting to see how things shake out come July 17.