Phillies: Greatest first round picks in team history
The Phillies have had their share of quality first round picks over the years
With the starting date for the 2020 baseball season very much a question mark, there is little to do but reminisce. As I pondered teams from the past, I made note of homegrown players that succeeded, particularly first-round picks.
Here’s a look at the Phillies top number one draft picks based on Major League success.
8: Larry Christenson (3rd overall 1972)
Selected straight out of Marysville High School in Washington in 1972, Larry Christenson dominated in the Rookie League, striking out 42 in 38 innings while posting an ERA of 2.84. He did so well that he started the 1973 season with the Phillies. Christenson walked six in nine innings during his debut, but allowed only a run in a win over the Mets. However, Christenson struggled in nine other appearances that season and ended up in Triple-A Eugene after a 1-4 record and 6.55 ERA.
Pitching much of 1974 at Triple-A Toledo, Christenson posted an 11-9 record with a 3.30 ERA and a 4.03 ERA in 10 appearances with the Phillies. The following season Christenson came into his own, posting an 11-6 mark with an ERA of 3.67 in 171 2/3 innings. He became an integral part of the rotation over the next three seasons, going 45-28 with a career-best 19 wins in 1977, logging over 200 innings in both 1977 and 1978.
Unfortunately for Christenson, injury issues began to surface. He missed the beginning of the 1979 season with elbow problems and several weeks with a broken collarbone. During the World Series run in 1980, Christenson missed time after undergoing elbow surgery. All told, he made only 33 appearances over the two seasons, posting a record of 9-11.
In the strike-shortened 1981 campaign, Christenson went a mediocre 4-7. However he was healthy and although winning just nine in 1982, had a 3.47 ERA and a career-best 145 strikeouts in 223 innings. After starting 2-4 in 1983, Christenson had elbow surgery and was released by the Phillies after the season.
Never able to return to baseball following several attempts, Christenson retired with a record of 83-71 with a 3.79 ERA and six shutouts in 243 games.
7: Lonnie Smith (3rd overall 1974)
Lonnie Smith was drafted out of Centennial High School in Compton, California wit the third overall pick in 1974. He hit .286 with 12 stolen bases in lower A ball in 1974 and .323 with 114 runs scored and 56 stolen bases in higher A ball in 1975.
After advancing to AAA Oklahoma City, Smith hit around .300 for the next three seasons, using his speed to swipe 137 bases, including 66 in 1978. He made his Major League debut with the Phillies as a pinch-runner against the Giants on September 2, 1978. Although he went 0-for-4 at the plate in 17 games the rest of the season, Smith stole four bases in as many attempts and scored six runs.
After a cup of coffee again in 1979, Smith became a key part of the 1980 Phillies title run, hitting .339 with 33 stolen bases in 100 games and finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting. Once again showing his hitting proficiency, Smith hit .324 in 62 games in 1981 with 21 stolen bases.
Smith was traded to the Cardinals in November of 1981 to the Cardinals in a three-way deal that brought catcher Bo Diaz to the Phillies. Smith had his best overall season in 1982, hitting .307 with a league-leading 120 runs, 35 doubles, eight triples, and 68 stolen bases. His efforts were good enough to earn second-place in NL MVP voting.
After three-plus seasons in St. Louis, Smith was off to Kansas City and then a five-year run in Atlanta from 1988-1992. His 21 home runs and 79 RBI in 1989 was a career-high, also hit .315 with a league-leading .415 on-base percentage.
Smith finished out his career with the Pirates and Orioles over the next two years, retiring with 1488 hits, 909 runs scored and 370 stolen bases.
6: Mike Lieberthal (3rd overall 1990)
Mike Lieberthal was drafted out of Westlake High School in Westlake Village, California with the third overall pick in 1990. After methodically making his way through the minor league system, Lieberthal made his Major League debut with the Phillies on June 30, 1994 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hit .266 in 24 games the rest of the season and returned to the minor leagues for much of 1995.
As a backup to Benito Santiago in 1996, Lieberthal hit .253 with seven home runs in 50 games. Becoming the starter in 1997, Lieberthal showed increased power, hitting 20 home runs with 77 RBI in 455 at-bats. After a bit of a down season in 1998, hitting just eight home runs in 313 at-bats, Lieberthal put together a career season.
In 1999, Lieberthal had 33 doubles, blasted 31 home runs and knocked in 96, while hitting .300. He made his first of two consecutive All-Star teams and was recognized for his glovework, earning a Gold Glove Award.
Lieberthal was limited to 34 games in 2001 after tearing his MCL and ACL attempting to dive back to the bag on a pickoff play. He bounced back to have four more solid seasons as starting catcher for the Phillies, hitting 57 home runs and continued excellent defense.
After 67 games and a .273 batting average with the Phillies in 2006, Lieberthal signed with the Dodgers as a free agent. He played one season in Los Angeles as a backup before retiring with 1155 hits, .270 average and 150 home runs. Lieberthal ranks first in franchise history among catchers in hits, home runs, doubles and second in runs and RBI.
5: Pat Burrell (1st overall 1998)
After being drafted by the Red Sox in the 43rd round in 1995, Pat Burrell opted to play at the University of Miami. After the Phillies used their first ever number one overall pick to select him, Burrell made his way through the farm system quickly, showing power to the tune of 29 home runs in 450 at-bats in 1999.
Burrell went two-for-five against the Astros in his Major League debut on May 24, 2000. He finished the season with 18 home runs and 79 RBI, earning enough votes to place fourth in NL Rookie of the Year.
After hitting 27 home runs in 2001, Burrell had his best season in 2002 with 39 doubles, 37 home runs, 116 RBI, and an OPS of .920. The tides changed quickly for Burrell in 2003 as his numbers plummeted to 21 home runs, 64 RBI and a woeful .209 batting average.
Burrell rebounded to a solid .257 average with 24 home runs and 84 RBI in 2004 and finished seventh in MVP voting in 2005 after 32 home runs and a career-high 117 RBI. Burrell narrowly missed the 30-home run mark in 2006, but went deep 30 times in 2007 and 33 for the World Series Champions in 2008.
The nine-year run with the Phillies ended after the team granted Burrell free agency following the 2008 season. He played three more seasons in the Major Leagues with dwindling production, hitting just 41 home runs with the Rays and Giants combined.
Burrell retired with 1393 hits, 292 home runs and 976 RBI. He ranks fourth all-time in Phillies history in home runs and tenth in RBI.
4: Aaron Nola (7th overall 2014)
Aaron Nola was drafted out of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with the seventh overall pick in 2014. He spent less than a year in the minor leagues, flying through the Phillies farm system with a combined ERA in the mid two’s.
He made his Major League debut with the Phillies on July 21, 2015 and although he took the loss against the Rays, he was impressive. He allowed only one earned run on five hits, struck out six and walked only one. All told, Nola finished the 2015 season with a 6-2 and a mediocre 3.53 ERA.
Entering 2016, Nola looked to continue to build on his success the season before. However, things rarely go as planned. After an 0-2 start, Nola found a groove, posting an ERA just under 1.70 over his next nine starts. His ERA ballooned to nearly ten over his next eight starts and an elbow strain ended his season on August 3.
Nola’s 2017 didn’t start any better, pitching to an ERA over five starts. The rebound began and Nola was very good the rest of the way, finishing with 12 wins, a 3.54 ERA and 184 strikeouts in 168 innings.
With the signing of Jake Arrieta, many believed Nola would be the number two starter in 2018. Nola quickly became the ace and had his best season to that point. Earning an All-Star spot and third in the NL Cy Young Award voting, Nola went 17-6 with a 2.37 ERA and 224 strikeouts in 212 1/3 innings.
Nola signed a contract extension before the 2019 season that would keep him in the Phillies red and white for the next four seasons. He struggled compared to 2018, but still had 12 wins, against seven losses with an ERA of 3.87, striking out 229 in 202 1/3 innings.
Nola has 53 career wins, a 3.49 ERA and over a strikeout per inning pitched. Nola is just entering the prims of his career and will likely continue to climb the ladder among Phillies greats.
3: Cole Hamels (17th overall 2002)
The Phillies selected Cole Hamels out of Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, California with the 17th overall pick in 2002. Although he was limited due to injuries, Hamels dominated in eight starts across three levels of the minors in 2006, posting an ERA of 1.10 with 68 strikeouts in 49 innings.
On May 12, 2006 Hamels made his Major League debut against the Reds. He didn’t allow a run on a single hit, five walks and seven strikeouts. Hamels went 9-8 with a 4.03 ERA in 23 games the rest of the way.
Coming into his own in 2007, Hamels was an All-Star and sixth in the NL Cy Young Award voting. He finished 15-5 with a 3.39 ERA. Heading into the 2008 season with increased confidence, Hamels won 14 games, logged 227 1/3 innings and posted an ERA of 3.09. He dominated in the postseason, winning MVP honors in the NLCS and World Series, going 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA.
Hamels had a bit of a World Series hangover in 2009, winning just 10 games with an ERA of 4.32 and 16 earned runs allowed in 19 innings during the playoffs. After the rough 2009 campaign Hamels bounced back to win 43 over the next three seasons, including a career-high 17 in 2012. He was also in the middle of eight straight seasons with at least 200 innings pitched.
In his final start in a Philies uniform on July 25, 2015, Hamels pitched one for the ages by no-hitting the Cubs in a 5-0 win. He was traded to the Rangers on July 31 and went 7-1 for Texas the rest of the way.
Hamels was an All-Star in 2016, going 15-5 with a 3.32 ERA and hit the 200-strikeout mark in a season for the fifth time. Injuries have hampered Hamels’ effectiveness over the past few seasons with the Cubs. Although a reunion in Philadelphia seemed possible, Hamels signed with the Braves this offseason.
If 422 career games, Hamels has a record of 163-121 with 2558 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.42.
2: Greg Luzinski (11th overall 1968)
Greg Luzinski was selected as a first baseman out of Notre Dame High School in Niles, Illinois and at just 17-years old, Luzinski belted 13 home runs in only 57 games at low Class A Huron. After hitting 64 home runs combined at Raleigh-Durham and Reading the next two years, Luzinski made his Major League debut on September 8, 1970.
In 1971, Luzinski devoured pitching at Triple-A Eugene, smashing 36 home runs with a .312 batting average. He hit his first three Major League home runs late in the year, hitting .300 in 28 games. Luzinski displayed some of his raw power as a rookie in 1972, going deep 18 times to go along with 33 doubles and a .281 average.
After a 29-home run season in 1973, Luzinski has hampered by injuries in 1974, limiting him to just seven home runs in 85 games. The next four seasons Luzinski became one of the top hitters in the National League. He finished second in NL MVP voting after hitting .300 with 34 home runs and league-leading 120 RBI in 1975.
Luzisnksi’s best season was his 1977 campaign in which he hit 39 home runs, knocked in 130 runs, had a .309 batting average and once again finished 2nd for NL MVP. His last of four straight All-Star appearances was the following year when he went deep 35 times with 101 RBI.
The All-Star level production dropped to relative mediocrity over the next two seasons for Luzinski, who combine to hit just 37 home runs and a career-low .228 for the World Series championship team in 1980.
Luzinski was traded to the White Sox and had some success over his last four seasons, particularly a 102-RBI season in 1982 and 35 home runs the following year. Luzinski retired with 1,795 hits, 307 home runs, and 1,128 RBI.
1: Chase Utley (15th overall 2000)
Originally drafted by the Dodgers out of high school, Chase Utley opted to play collegiately at UCLA and was drafted by the Phillies in June 2000. Methodically working his way through the Phillies farm system moving from third base to second base, Utley made his first appearance in the big show on April 4, 2003.
Utley made an early impression, recording his first hit with a bang by smashing a grand slam into the right-field bullpen at old Veteran’s Stadium in his second game, April 24 against the Rockies. Utley hit .239 with two home runs in 43 games with the Phillies and 18 home runs with a .323 average in Triple-A.
Platooning with Placido Polanco for the 2004 season, Utley became the starter in 2005 and went on a five-year run as the best offensive second baseman in the majors. He averaged 29 home runs and 101 RBI per year during that span, three times blasting over 30 home runs and four times knocking in over 100 runs.
Utley hit three home runs in the 2008 postseason, then went on a tear the following year in the 2009 World Series. His five home runs against the Yankees tied Reggie Jackson’s mark set in 1977 for most home runs in a single World Series.
Unfortunately, injuries took their toll on Utley, derailing what was likely a certain Hall of Fame career in the making. His production was still solid, but not typical Utley, as he hit only 67 home runs over the next five season and didn’t come close to another 100 RBI season.
After the last of six All-Star appearances in 2014, Utley was traded to the Dodgers on August 19, 2015. Clearly near the end of a great career, Utley had one more solid season in 2016, hitting .252 with 26 doubles and 14 home runs. Two of those came in his return to Philadelphia, including a grand slam to the delight of the sold-out crowd at Citizen’s Bank Park.
Utley retired following the 2018 season with 1,885 hits, 1,103 runs, 411 doubles, 259 home runs and 1,025 RBI. He ranks fifth in Phillies history in runs and doubles and sixth in home runs.
As the late, great Harry Kalas said, “Chase Utley, you are the man!!” Those words hold true again as the most successful first-round draft pick in franchise history.