Phillies: 3 players they could take in the 2020 MLB Draft
Which way will the Phillies go in the 2020 MLB Draft?
The Phillies enter the 2020 MLB Draft with the 15th overall pick coming off a disappointing 2019 season under now-former manager Gabe Kapler. Picking in the middle of the first round is never fun because it means you weren’t good enough to get into the playoffs but you were too good to have the opportunity to take a quality young player atop the draft.
This will be the latest Philadelphia has taken a player in the first round since J.P. Crawford went 16th overall in 2013. This is also the second-consecutive year they’ve had a later pick after taking Alec Bohm third overall in 2018 and Bryson Stott 14th overall in 2019.
There are a lot of different projections for the Phillies in the first round, so we’re taking a look at which players they could potentially select in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft.
The Phillies could take another local product, Nick Bitsko
Central Bucks East High School starting pitcher Nick Bitsko has been a fast riser on draft boards, jumping into the first round in recent mock drafts after his draft status was moved up one year.
The Doylestown native has committed to play for the University of Virginia, one of college baseball’s best programs. At 6’4 he was able to get his fastball to average 92-93 MPH but hit as high as 97 MPH with a breaking ball and changeup, according to MLB Pipeline.
His fastball and curveball both rank 60 out of 80 on the baseball grading scale and his control and overall abilities came in at a 55. His changeup is still a project, but it has potential to grow into a solid third pitch. High school players are typically more of a project than a finished product given the fast they typically grow more and can put on more muscle as they age. The Phillies could certainly use more pitching depth in their system and Bitsko would be a solid addition with the 15th pick.
This wouldn’t be the first time the Phillies take a local player in the first round. Jesse Biddle is the most memorable going 27th overall out of Germantown Friends High School in 2010. It was the first and (so far) only time the club has taken a player out of a Pennsylvania high school or college program.
The Phillies have taken three consecutive college hitters since using the first overall pick on Mickey Moniak in 2016. Going with Bitsko would certainly be a big change for the organization.
Are the Phillies really going to take a catcher in the first round?
There was a ton of debate swirling around where the Phillies could go in the first round. It wasn’t until recently that multiple mock drafts set their sights on high school catcher Tyler Soderstrom out of California.
Philadelphia has drafted six catchers in the first round, tied with shortstop for the most at an infield position. Two notable picks were Mike Lieberthal with the third overall pick in 1990 and Travis d’Arnaud in the supplemental round of the 2011 draft.
Lieberthal is arguably the greatest catcher in team history and d’Arnaud was subsequently traded to Toronto for Roy Halladay and played several years across a couple of teams.
Soderstrom’s father Steve was a 1993 first round pick out but played only three major league games for the San Francisco Giants.
Tyler Soderstrom hit .450 with 12 doubles and four home runs in 28 games his junior season. In 2020, his high school senior season, he got to play only five games hitting 5-14 (.357) with a double and home run.
The Phillies have certainly don’t have a dearth of catchers in the organization. Of course, they have the best catcher in the game with J.T. Realmuto, who is in the last year of his current contract with the team. Philadelphia has six legitimate catching prospects who are currently or have previously been ranked on national prospect lists, including Rodolfo Duran and Rafael Marchan.
Any of those prospects would be expendable if the Phillies sign Realmuto to a long-term deal or draft Soderstrom.
Will the Phillies take Cade Cavalli in the MLB Draft?
Cade Cavalli might be the most celebrated pick should the Phillies go this way on Wednesday.
As mentioned before, Matt Klentak has never selected a pitcher since taking over as the Phillies general manager. That could change if this collegiate arm, one of the best in the country, is on the board with the 15th overall pick.
Cavalli, a 6’4 right-handed starter from the University of Oklahoma, is one of the most developed arms in the 2020 MLB Draft. He has smooth mechanics and doesn’t have a lot of extra motion.
Going into the shortened 2020 collegiate season Cavalli averaging six walks per nine innings in his first two seasons at Oklahoma. In his first four games of the 2020 season (before it was canceled) his BB/9 was 1.9 with 37 strikeouts and just five walks. Hopefully that’s a sign that things have turned for the better.
In some of the 2020 tape that’s out there, you can see where Cavalli improved with missing bats and working both the top and bottom of the zone with a hard fastball and a nasty back-foot breaking ball that ran into lefties.
MLB Pipeline lists Cavalli’s fastball as 92-96 MPH and its touched 98 at times.
He’s also faced top-end talent pitching not only in the SEC but for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team last summer.
MLB Pipeline has ranked Cavalli as their 22nd best prospect this year, so he projects to be available when the Phillies pick 15th.
Adding an advanced pitcher like Cavalli could set the Phillies up to have a very strong, young rotation as early as mid/late 2021. Pairing Cavalli with Aaron Nola and top pitching prospect Spencer Howard would give the Phillies one of the best top-three starters in baseball.