Phillies: Failure to draft the core reason behind historic struggles

Holding onto veteran players isn’t the biggest reason the Phillies have fallen behind on and off the baseball field

Monday night will be the most important day of the year for the Phillies organization. In a season critical to the club’s rebuilding efforts the Phillies enter the 2017 MLB Draft with the eighth overall selection.

The Phillies are in a position to draft as high as they will be for several outstanding reasons. A popular target is former general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. failing to enter into a rebuild and move on from franchise legends by trading young assets for older players.

However, the simplest, yet most critical reason, the Phillies haven’t sustained their success is the inability to draft young players.

It’s not just an inability to draft young players; it’s the inability to draft young players in the first round of the amateur draft.

Here’s a recap of the Phillies first round draft picks since 2006:

Mar 28, 2017; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Spectrum Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

2006: Adrian Cardenas

2006: Kyle Drabek

2007: Travis d’Arnaud

2007: Joe Savery

2008: Zach Collier

2008: Anthony Hewitt

2010: Jesse Biddle

2011: Larry Greene

2012: Mitch Gueller

2012: Shane Watson

2013: J.P. Crawford

2014: Aaron Nola

2015: Cornelius Randolph

2016: Mickey Moniak

With leniency given to Crawford, Nola, Randolph, and Moniak due to their lack of opportunities, it’s clear this team hasn’t found an All-Star through the draft in some time.

In fact, the Phillies haven’t drafted an All-Star in the first round since Cole Hamels in 2002.

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Drabek may have been the best chance for the team if not for the Roy Halladay, but injuries derailed the starter’s career before it could start in Toronto. Travis d’Arnaud joined Drabek in the trade but went to the Mets along with Noah Syndergaard in exchange for R.A. Dickey.

Cardenas was traded for Joe Blanton in 2008 and had 11 career hits with the Cubs.

Anthony Hewitt and Zach Collier have never reached the major leagues, and both have found themselves playing independent ball.

Biddle burned out due to injuries after being praised as the local kid coming out of Germantown Friends High School. He’s currently in the Braves organization down in Double-A.

Larry Greene retired after three seasons of minor league ball, and never got past Single-A.

Mitch Gueller was cut after 2016 and was last seen trying his hand at college football.

Next: Phillies look to rack up college pitching in draft

Then the guys since 2013 are all still a mystery in the Phillies organization. Can Nola be more than a number five pitcher in a major league rotation, and will Crawford ever be the “next Jimmy Rollins” fans expect him to be?

Both are unlikely at this stage, but it’s still early for the prospects to take a step forward in their career.

Now the organization will rely on kids such as Moniak to prove the new system behind the organization’s approach towards the MLB Draft is the best way to find talent going forward.

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