MLB draft: How the Phillies and the rest of the NL East have done in the first round
The Phils have had their share of draft busts, but not nearly as bad as the rest of the division.
Every team has skeletons in its draft closet, as the Phillies do with Anthony Hewitt and Cornelius Randolph.
The Braves, for instance, have picked an astounding 32 players in the traditional first round or the supplemental first round of the draft in the last 20 years. The best player from that group is Adam Wainwright — and he had his best days with the Cardinals.
The Phillies hit early on with Chase Utley and Cole Hamels and it led to a championship, the only title won by an NL East team in the last 14 years.
Here’s a closer look at the division.
» READ MORE: Data-driven Phillies’ first-round pick could be another college hitter
Total number of players selected in the first round since 2000, including supplemental picks acquired when veteran players signed elsewhere as free agents:
Braves: 32
Marlins: 26
Mets: 24
Nationals: 24
Phillies: 20
Phillies note: The Phillies did not have a single top-15 pick from 2004-13. Joe Savery, the No. 19 overall pick in 2007, was probably their best first-rounder in that era. He pitched in 41 games for the club from 2011-13.
Positional players picked since 2000
Phillies: 12 of 20 (60.0 pct.)
Marlins: 11 of 26 (42.3 pct.)
Mets: 10 of 24 (41.7 pct.)
Braves: 13 of 32 (40.6 pct.)
Nationals: 7 of 24 (29.2 pct.)
Phillies note: The Phillies have picked a positional player in each of the last four first rounds (3B Alec Bohm, OF Adam Haseley, OF Mickey Moniak, SS Cornelius Randolph).
» READ MORE: Alec Bohm has ‘the ability to hit the ball with a big-time thump’
Pitchers picked since 2000
Nationals: 17 of 24 (70.8 pct.)
Braves: 19 of 32 (59.4 pct.)
Mets: 14 of 24 (58.3 pct.)
Marlins: 15 of 26 (57.7 pct.)
Phillies: 8 of 20 (40.0 pct.)
Phillies note: The last three pitchers taken by the Phils in the first round are Aaron Nola (7th in 2014) and 2012 supplemental picks Shane Watson (40) and Mitch Gueller (54). Watson reached double-A Reading. Gueller never got past single-A Lakewood.
College players picked since 2000
Nationals: 16 of 24 (66.7 pct.)
Mets: 14 of 24 (58.3 pct.)
Marlins: 7 of 26 (26.9 pct.)
Phillies: 5 of 20 (25.0 pct.)
Braves: 7 of 32 (21.9 pct.)
Phillies note: The last time they took collegiate players in three consecutive first rounds was 1997-99 (J.D. Drew, Eric Valent, and Pat Burrell; Valent was a supplemental pick). The Phils took Alec Bohm (Wichita State) last year and Adam Haseley (Virginia) in 2017.
» READ MORE: Adam Haseley promoted to triple A
High school players picked since 2000
Braves: 25 of 32 (78.1 pct.)
Phillies: 15 of 20 (75.0 pct.)
Marlins: 19 of 26 (73.1 pct.)
Mets: 10 of 24 (41.7 pct.)
Nationals: 8 of 24 (33.3 pct.)
Phillies note: They’ve taken four high school pitchers with a top-20 pick since 2000. Cole Hamels (2002) panned out. Gavin Floyd (2001) played most of his career for the White Sox. Kyle Drabek (2006) and Jesse Biddle (2010) had arm troubles.
Number of college players to make the majors since 2000
Braves: 7 of 7 (100 pct.)
Nationals: 13 of 16 (81.3 pct.)
Marlins: 5 of 7 (71.4 pct.)
Mets: 9 of 14 (64.3 pct.)
Phillies: 3 of 5 (60.0 pct.)
Phillies note: Two of the five college players picked by the Phillies are Adam Haseley (2017) and Alec Bohm (2018). The other three are Chase Utley (2000), Joe Savery (2007), and Aaron Nola (2014).
» FROM THE ARCHIVES: Bryce Harper spends some time with Mickey Moniak
Number of high school players to make the majors, 2000-18
Mets: 8 of 10 (80.0 pct.)
Marlins: 11 of 19 (57.9 pct.)
Braves: 14 of 25 (56.0 pct.)
Phillies: 8 of 15 (53.3 pct.)
Nationals: 4 of 8 (50.0 pct.)
Phillies note: The seven high schoolers who made the majors, besides Cole Hamels, did not help the Phillies much (Gavin Floyd, Travis d’Arnaud, Greg Golson, Adrian Cardenas, Kyle Drabek, Jesse Biddle, and J.P. Crawford).
Avg. draft position of all first-rounders, 2000-18
Nationals: 16.8 (0 championships, 0 pennants)
Marlins: 19.1 (1 championship, 1 pennant)
Mets: 21.5 (0 championships, 2 pennants)
Phillies: 21.6 (1 championship), 2 pennants
Braves: 28.5 (0 championships, 0 pennants)
Phillies note: Six top-10 picks, five were 11-20, three were 21-30, six were 31 or later.
» FROM THE ARCHIVES: Cornelius Randolph, son of a preacher man
Notable first-rounders since 2000
Phillies: Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Aaron Nola
Braves: Adam Wainwright, Kelly Johnson, Jeff Francouer, Jason Heyward
Nationals: Chad Cordero, Ryan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon
Mets: Matt Harvey, David Wright
Marlins: Adrian Gonzalez, Christian Yelich, Jose Fernandez
2019 first-round picks
Marlins: 4th and 35th (competitive balance pick)
Braves: 9th (comp. pick) and 21st
Mets: 12th
Phillies: 14th
Nationals: 17th
About the 2019 draft
Monday, June 3: Rounds 1-2 (MLB Network, MLB.com, 7 p.m.)
Tuesday, June 4: Rounds 3-10 (MLB.com, 1 p.m.)
Wednesday, June 5: Rounds 11-40 (MLB.com, 12 p.m.)
First round
a — Atlanta, No. 9: Compensation for unsigned 2018 first-rounder Carter Stewart.
b — Arizona, No. 26: Compensation for unsigned 2018 first-rounder Matt McLain.
c — L.A. Dodgers, No. 31: Compensation for unsigned 2018 first-rounder J.T. Ginn.
Note: The Red Sox, who surpassed the luxury-tax threshold in 2018, do not have a first-round pick.
Phillies 2019 picks