Phillies: Top five MLB Draft classes since 1998

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CHICAGO, IL – JULY 25: Cole Hamels #35 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws his final pitch of his no hitter to Kris Bryant #17 of the Chicago Cubson July 25, 2015 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. Hamels pitched a no hitter and the Phillies won 5-0. (Photo by David Banks/Getty Images) /

Few draft classes have stood out for the Phillies with the exception of these five

Phillies baseball hasn’t seen great days in recent years and much of that has to do with their draft classes. Dating back 20 years the franchise has only seen a handful of successful drafts with multiple major league players emerge out of 40 rounds.

5. 2002, Cole Hamels & Scott Mathieson

Cole Hamels headlines the 2002 draft class for obvious reasons for his efforts in 2008 and beyond. Drafted 17th overall Hamels has been more than the Phillies could have imagined from the lefty out of Rancho Bernadino High School.

Hamels earned his first of four All-Star appearances in his second season and capped the 2007 season by finishing sixth in the Cy Young race. The lefty went on to earn NLCS and World Series MVP honors in 2008, but received zero Cy Young votes.

In 2014 Hamels pitched six innings in a combined no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves and in his final start with the Phillies he no-hit the Cubs on the road.

He’s sixth in franchise history with 114 wins, second in strikeouts per nine innings, fourth in starts, third in strikeouts, and fourth in WAR among pitchers.

Mathieson’s career was much-less heralded as a 17th round pick out of Canada, appearing in just 15 major league games. Making eight starts in 2006 Mathieson was converted to the bullpen and made just six appearances from 2010-11 before the club released him. From 2012-17 Mathieson has pitched in Japan with tremendous success owning a 2.30 ERA in 359 relief appearances.

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