The 2024 Philadelphia Phillies Draft Picks, UDFAs, and Signings

[Squire]

He gets credit for Kerkering and Klassen. And I still have hope for McFarlane. But you need like 11-12 pitchers on a team and only 4-5 outfielders.

[allentown]

Has that EVER worked?

It worked in the past with Rollins, Utley, Hamels in building the 2008 WC. Phillies have failed on just this sort of OF so many times in past. Nori already plenty heavy for 5'-10". A problem with Phillies in past has been inability to adjust young players evaluations when they were old for the level they were playing. This guy is a REALLY old HS kid. I wonder what happened to cause him to still be in HS. Either they just spent the money because they refused to acknowledge a mistake or admit they were cheated, but we heard the same from Phillies on Yhoswar: yes he's a year older than they evaluated him as, but they still love the elite talent even at a year older. Nope, total flop.

[allentown]

He gets credit for Kerkering and Klassen. And I still have hope for McFarlane. But you need like 11-12 pitchers on a team and only 4-5 outfielders.

Yes. I think pitching and IFs is where we have had the most success. I don't understand why they've given up on signing pitching. The system is certainly short on good pitching.

[Austinfan]

I';m not worried about being maxed out if he's got an elite defensive tool/speed and can hit.

A top defensive OF doesn't have to hit 30 HRs, give me good plate discipline and gap plus power and that's more than sufficient. Plus CF defense with a .350+ OBP is a ML starter.

But at his age he should already be close to a polished hitter - but that's still only freshman college age.
So the real breakout should occur with 2 years, i.e., when he'll college junior age.

[fish]

On my wish lit today:
Iowa lefty Cade Obermueller- he's like a short Josh Hader. Maybe just a bullpen arm, but he can get his fastball into the mid-90s and spin the ball at a funky angle, and that's fine by me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9kT7jkcDOs

LSU RHP Thatcher Hurd. Griff McGarry stuff with Griff McGarry command.

Arkasas RHP Brady Tygart- his season ended with a shoulder injury that apparently didn't require surgery, but before that his stuff was worthy of being a day 1 pick. Super spin curve and 93-95 mph stuff.
https://x.com/PitchingNinja/status/1508246928252932110

[andyb]

Matt's thoughts on day 1. Note day 2 starts at 2 PM.

Phillies 2024 Draft – Day 1 Thoughts

[Austinfan]

Nori comes down to whether they correctly evaluated his hit tool. He doesn't have to develop further, if he's already a mature hitter with plate discipline and alley power who doesn't have holes in his swing or an issue with picking up breaking balls.

At #27, if he can hit, he's good value. Defense tends to be underrated, but having two good defensive OFs allows you to carry someone like Castellanos (though in the future, hopefully a better hitter).

But he's got to be able to post a .350+ OPB to take advantage of that speed, that's the problem with Rojas so far, not the lack of power but lack of plate discipline and struggles with contact.

If they made the right choice, I'd expect him to be a fast riser, both his age and his mature physique. With him, it'll be about polishing his skill package, with Buckholder, more like a rebuild. Buckholder may have more upside, but also a much higher chance of being a total flop.

[andyb]

The real question with the Nori pick is value for where he was drafted. Short of a huge underslot bonus which is rare for HS signees (remember he could play college for 2 years and hit the draft because of his age), there is an argument that they could have gotten Nori with their second round pick or at least gotten a more high-ceiling player with their first round pick.

The Phillies DO tend to zero in on players that are not anywhere near as high on other teams' boards like Saltiban and Viars. They have a mixed record with those bets and this is really the first time Barber has done it with his top pick. Hopefully we'll see the value strategy a bit more as day 2 plays out.

[ahb]

Glad they were unanimously behind a bad selection.

That’s what teams in every sport say when they make a questionable pick (see Flyers, Philadelphia and Luchanko, Jett or Eagles, Philadelphia and Reagor, Jalen)

[andyb]

Has a team ever NOT said they were unanimous about drafting a certain player?

[Austinfan]

I don't buy the pre-draft hype in any sport, the media guys aren't working for teams, which already makes their judgement somewhat suspect, even if they're as good at scouting, they don't have nearly the resources. Teams all have video groups as well as enough personnel to cross scout, so they have a lot more information in every sport.

What it comes down to either you're good at scouting or you're not, if you're good, trust your scouts, if not, replace your scouts. But don't worry about media rankings, if you're not self-scouting and dumping dead wood, then your problem isn't matching media rankings but not improving your competence.

[ahb]

AF, I could not disagree more.

We hear this every year in every sport when teams make questionable picks. “Gotta give them the benefit of the doubt, they know more than we do.” Then the player totally flops.

Especially these days. There is so much information out there now and so many reporters that dedicate themselves to this, it’s VERY rare that the consensus is just gonna flat out miss. Of course it happens, but over the long haul if a team is going off board to reach for someone the consensus has much lower, it’s a negative value play.

And it’s not just these days. Look at Hewitt or Randolph for the Phils. Reagor, Marcus Smith, Danny Watkins, or Jon Harris for the Eagles. Mike Ricci, Ryan Sittler, or Jay O’Brien for the Flyers. Zhaire Smith for the Sixers. And so many others.

Truly, if/when the Phillies go off the board and this board thinks it’s a bad pick, I’d bet this board is more right than the Phillies 80% of the time.

[bkox]

I would 100% trust Squire and Fish to run a draft for the Phillies. I still remember Squire almost screaming anyone but Hewitt... and then we picked Hewitt.

[phillychuck]

Squire is Barber's burner account. And fish is clearly Almaraz. Check the IP addresses...

[zambonir]

I reckon both the team and the media still get it wrong more than they get it right, because most of these guys fail regardless. Some teams are better at it than others but even then there are so many other reasons a player works out (including luck as well as development).

You can see both the potential pitfall and the potential value in Nori's pedigree and connections. They could overrate/be wrong about that, or it could be a good scouting job that is beyond his skill set, if they're right.

[zambonir]

Squire is Barber's burner account. And fish is clearly Almaraz. Check the IP addresses...

They're actually both Mike Arbuckle.

[Squire]

In the 3rd Round of the 2024 MLB Draft, the Philadelphia Phillies select:

John Spikerman, OF, University of Oklahoma, Jr.

MLB.com #126
BA #146

This just seems really dumb to me.

[andyb]

Another speedy OF. Can we play more than 3?

Are we about to trade Crawford?

[phillychuck]

Phils know there are new rules coming--you have to sub out your CF after every inning.

[Squire]

Some are saying the Phillies announced him as a shortstop?