Phillies 2016 Draft Picks: How Did the First 20 Fare?

Rounds Six-Ten

Round Six: OF David Martinelli– Martinelli was the second outfielder selected by Philadelphia in the draft, this time coming out of Dallas Baptist. He did not have an ideal start to his professional career, posting a poor .609 OPS in addition to striking out 24.5% of the time. Martinelli had swing-and-miss issues prior to being drafted, and it appears they only continued upon reaching Williamsport. There is a bright side to his game, as he made just one error in 462 innings in center field, and BA called him the second-best defensive player in Philadelphia’s draft class behind Moniak.

Round Seven: C Henri Lartigue– Lartigue was one of three catchers selected by the Phillies, and the only one selected in the first 15 rounds. He was a heavy hitter in college, but that did not translate to Williamsport. Lartigue managed a meager .212 average and .556 OPS in 167 plate appearances for the CrossCutters. He had a .988 fielding percentage behind the plate, which is certainly good for someone who only started catching full-time in college.

Round Eight: RHP Grant Dyer– Coming out of UCLA, Dyer pitched in numerous roles, both in the rotation and out of the bullpen. Dyer’s pitches played up significantly in the bullpen, with his fastball sitting around 94 in relief but only 90 as a starter in addition to a plus curve that BA called one of the best secondary pitches in the class. He appeared in 16 games between Williamsport and Lakewood, walking just six batters while striking out 57 in 42.1 innings. Dyer posted a 2.34 ERA and 0.78 WHIP across the two levels. He could rise through the system very quickly if he keeps up this torrid pace.

Round Nine: RHP Blake Quinn– Quinn and Dyer are similar pitchers in that they both rack up strikeouts as relievers, but Quinn does not have the same command. He walked 18 batters in 32.1 innings between Williamsport and Lakewood, but also struck out 45 in that same span. Being able to overpower hitters with strikeouts will work at the lower levels as he posted a 1.11 ERA this season, but it won’t work as hitters grow more patient and willing to draw walks at the higher levels.

Round Ten: RHP Julian Garcia– Garcia was drafted out of Metropolitan State in Colorado. Chris King of 20/80 and Perfect Game said Garcia pairs a 91-93 fastball with a sharp breaking ball, which proved true as he struck out 40 batters in 30 innings for Williamsport. King also said Garcia has solid control, which was partly true. He walked 12 batters in 10.1 innings as a starter, while walking 10 in 19.2 innings as a reliever. While both are small sample sizes and neither is particularly great, it appears Garcia will fare much better as a reliever.