Skip to content
Phillies
Link copied to clipboard

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.

Adam Haseley, the Phillies first-round pick in 2017, could be the Phillies center fielder of the future. He was recently promoted to triple A Lehigh Valley.
Adam Haseley, the Phillies first-round pick in 2017, could be the Phillies center fielder of the future. He was recently promoted to triple A Lehigh Valley.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

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).

Where ya at?
Alec Bohm, the Phillies first-round pick in 2018, is batting .325 at single-A Clearwater and had a tidy 9-game hitting streak snapped on Friday. Bohm, a third baseman and the No. 3 overall pick, started the season at Lakewood before being promoted at the end of April.

» 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.

Where ya at?
Adam Haseley, the Phillies first-round pick in 2017, is already at triple-A. He is hitting .300 in five games for Lehigh Valley, and had a two-run double in Sunday’s win.

» 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).

Where ya at?
Mickey Moniak, the Phillies first-round pick in 2016, has overcome a slow start and is hitting .310 at double-A Reading since May 2.

» 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.

Where ya at?
Cornelius Randolph, the Phillies 2015 first-round pick, is hitting .226 at double-A Reading. A notoriously slow starter, the clock is ticking for Randolph, who turned 22 on Sunday.

» 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

1. Baltimore
9. Atlanta-a
17. Washington
25. L.A. Dodgers
2. Kansas City
10. San Francisco
18. Pittsburgh
26. Arizona-b
3. Chicago White Sox
11. Toronto
19. St. Louis
27. Chicago Cubs
4. Miami
12. N.Y. Mets
20. Seattle
28. Milwaukee
5. Detroit
13. Minnesota
21. Atlanta
29. Oakland
6. San Diego
14. Phillies
22. Tampa Bay
30. N.Y. Yankees
7. Cincinnati
15. L.A. Angels
23. Colorado
31. L.A.Dodgers-c
8. Texas
16. Arizona
24. Cleveland
32. Houston

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

Rd.
1st
No.
14
Rd.
11th
No.
330
Rd.
21st
No.
630
Rd.
31st
No.
930
Rd.
2nd
No.
None
Rd.
12th
No.
360
Rd.
22nd
No.
660
Rd.
32nd
No.
960
Rd.
3rd
No.
97
Rd.
13th
No.
390
Rd.
23rd
No.
690
Rd.
33rd
No.
990
Rd.
4th
No.
120
Rd.
14th
No.
420
Rd.
24th
No.
720
Rd.
34th
No.
1020
Rd.
5th
No.
150
Rd.
15th
No.
450
Rd.
25th
No.
750
Rd.
35th
No.
1050
Rd.
6th
No.
180
Rd.
16th
No.
480
Rd.
26th
No.
780
Rd.
36th
No.
1080
Rd.
7th
No.
210
Rd.
17th
No.
510
Rd.
27th
No.
810
Rd.
37th
No.
1110
Rd.
8th
No.
240
Rd.
18th
No.
540
Rd.
28th
No.
840
Rd.
38th
No.
1140
Rd.
9th
No.
270
Rd.
19th
No.
570
Rd.
29th
No.
870
Rd.
39th
No.
1170
Rd.
10th
No.
300
Rd.
20th
No.
600
Rd.
30th
No.
900
Rd.
40th
No.
1200