Phillies Draft History : Studs, Thuds and Duds
By Jason Slater
There have been several top picks, such as Trey McCall (1985-16th overall), Jeff Jackson (1989- 4th overall), and Chad McConnell (1992- 13th overall) who never even played an inning of big league ball.
What makes that even more disheartening is going back and skimming through the list of players who the Phillies could have had in some of these drafts.
In the case of Jackson in 1989, Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, ‘The Big Hurt’, went three picks later. Manny Ramirez went three picks after Tyler Green in 1991.
Tino Martinez, Royce Clayton and Charles Nagy were all drafted after Pat Combs in 1988. Instead of taking John Stearns with the 2nd overall pick in 1973, we could have had Robin Yount or Dave Winfield, who were taken with the next two picks.
If the past few years are any indication, the Phillies are doing a lot better with their picks. Their #7 overall pick in 2014, pitcher Aaron Nola out of LSU, is enjoying success in his second big league season, while 2013’s selection at 13th overall, SS J.P. Crawford, is finishing his development and waiting in the wings at AAA.
So, while we may not get the next Chase or Cole on Thursday night in Secaucus, here’s to hoping we don’t end up with the next Scott Munninghoff (1977 – #22), Johnny Abrego (1981 – #20), or Mike Adamson (1965 – #18) who appeared in a grand total of 20 MLB games between the three of them. That’s the beauty of the MLB Draft though, there’s really no way to know until you KNOW.