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Phillies: 3 players they could take in the 2020 MLB Draft

By George Stockburger

A general view of Philadelphia Phillies baseball hats (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)
A general view of Philadelphia Phillies baseball hats (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images) /
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BATON ROUGE, LA – JUNE 08: Members of the Oklahoma Sooners gather in the outfield prior to game 2 of the NCAA baseball Super Regionals against the LSU Tigers at Alex Box Stadium on June 8, 2013 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LA – JUNE 08: Members of the Oklahoma Sooners gather in the outfield prior to game 2 of the NCAA baseball Super Regionals against the LSU Tigers at Alex Box Stadium on June 8, 2013 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /

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.

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