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Phillies pick college third baseman in latest BA mock draft

By John Town

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 27: The bats of J.P. Crawford #2 of the Philadelphia Phillies in the dugout prior to the game against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park on April 27, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 27: The bats of J.P. Crawford #2 of the Philadelphia Phillies in the dugout prior to the game against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park on April 27, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /
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In Baseball America’s latest mock draft, the Phillies select Wichita State third baseman Alec Bohm with the third overall pick.

Baseball America released their latest mock draft Friday alongside their updated draft prospect rankings. In this mock draft, they have the Phillies selecting Alec Bohm, a junior third baseman from Wichita State University.

Bohm moved up 23 spots to No. 6 overall in the latest rankings. This is what BA had to say about Philadelphia picking Bohm:

"After drafting hit-first outfielders three years in a row—none of whom currently rank in Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects—we can safely expect Philadelphia to go in a different direction this year. The track record for college third baseman taken in the top 10 picks is nearly impeccable over the past 20 years, and Alec Bohm is considered by most evaluators as a worthy top 10 pick."

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The Phils lost their second and third round picks this year to sign Jake Arrieta and Carlos Santana, who both had qualifying offers extended by their former teams. BA says that getting the first round pick right will make or break this year’s draft class.

Bohm is knocking the cover off the ball so far this season for the Shockers. In 36 games, he has a .353/.464/.596 line with eight home runs and 36 runs batted in. He is a career .316 hitter with a .922 OPS through his college career.

Perhaps even more impressive is Bohm’s tremendous plate discipline: he has a 16.87 percent walk rate and 9.64 percent strikeout rate so far this year.

That high walk rate is a key skill the team is focusing on, making Bohm all the more attractive to the team.

Bohm is obviously a strong hitter, and that is the main tool carrying him so high in the draft. He has above-average power potential and a strong enough hit tool to allow him to tap into it.

What makes Bohm questionable as a prospect is his defense. He isn’t quick and doesn’t have much range at third. There is a strong chance he winds up moving to first base before he reaches the majors. Bohm does have the offensive ability to stick at first base.

Next: Phillies have second-best odds to land Josh Donaldson

Third base is a position that doesn’t have much depth in the organization. There is no third baseman on the team’s top 30 prospect list. The team just signed veteran Trevor Plouffe to a minor-league deal to fill out the Triple-A roster. If the Phils did draft Bohm, he would easily become the top third baseman in the organization.

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