That Balls Outta Here
FanSided

Phillies: Recapping a decade of terrible MLB Drafts

By George Stockburger

09 JUN 2016: The 2016 Draft Board with Mickey Moniak the first overall pick to the Philadelphia Phillies and Nick Senzel the second overall pick to the Cincinnati Reds during Round 1 of the 2016 MLB First Year Player Draft. The draft is held at Studio 42 of MLB Network in Secaucus NJ.(Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
09 JUN 2016: The 2016 Draft Board with Mickey Moniak the first overall pick to the Philadelphia Phillies and Nick Senzel the second overall pick to the Cincinnati Reds during Round 1 of the 2016 MLB First Year Player Draft. The draft is held at Studio 42 of MLB Network in Secaucus NJ.(Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – APRIL 27: Rhys Hoskins #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies fist bumps Aaron Nola #27 after the top of the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park on April 27, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies defeated the Braves 7-3. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Here’s a look at the players drafted by Philadelphia in 2014 who reached the big leagues.

2014

The Phillies only had three players reach the big leagues from the 2014 MLB Draft, but two of them have the talent to be cornerstone pieces for the franchise.

Philadelphia changed their draft strategy when they took Aaron Nola out of LSU after years of taking high school hitters. The Phillies needed a starting pitcher who could move through the system quickly and help the big league team as soon as possible.

A little after one year following the draft Nola made his big league debut, allowing only one run with six strikeouts in six innings to Tampa Bay, who’d win 1-0.

PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 30: Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on August 30, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA – AUGUST 30: Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies throws a pitch against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on August 30, 2019 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Over five seasons Nola has the makings of an ace, finishing third in the Cy Young voting in 2018 and facing a league-high 852 hitters in 2019. If Nola can remain on the same path he’s been on for the last couple of years, the Phillies have their game one starter for the postseason.

Taken 135 picks after Nola was Rhys Hoskins, who hit .319 with 12 home runs in 59 games for California State University Sacramento that season. Little would the Phillies know what kind of raw power would develop with Hoskins, who broke out to hit 38 home runs for Reading in 2016.

Hoskins would hit 29 home runs in Lehigh Valley before the Phillies called him up in 2017. His 18 home runs in 50 games, including eight in nine games, set records for both the team and the entire league. He became the fastest Major League player to hit his ninth, tenth, and eleventh career home runs, and tied a Phillies record by hitting a home run in five consecutive games. His electric rookie campaign led to a fourth place finish in the Rookie of the Year voting.

Hoskins hit 34 home runs the following season, but struggled in 2019 under Gabe Kapler and his staff. The hope is that a new hitting approach will unleash the power and success Hoskins had in his rookie season and allow him to be the cornerstone middle of the lineup bat Philadelphia needs.

Austin Davis has become the Phillies swingman between Lehigh Valley and the big league bullpen. He’s got a 5.04 ERA in 46 relief appearances and will compete for a big league job in 2020.

The Phillies, unfortunately, lost second round pick Matt Imhof to a freak eye injury when a piece of workout equipment malfunctioned in 2016 and crushed his eyeball.

While only three players reached the big leagues, the 2014 class is considered one of the Phillies best draft classes in recent memory.

Notable 1st round picks drafted after Nola: Michael Conforto, Trea Turner, Sean Newcomb, Matt Chapman, Luke Weaver, Derek Fisher

Notable draft picks missed: J.D. Davis, Paul DeJong

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