Phillies 2020 Draft: Matt Klentak talks adapting, four picks

Round 1: RHP Mick Abel, the next Aaron Nola?

"“Our mentality was that we weren’t going to shy away from a high-upside player, even if it was a slightly riskier demographic historically. That’s how it played out.”"

Ever since Klentak’s first draft with the Phillies in 2016, they have steered clear of selecting a high school or prep arm with their first-round pick:

• 2016: Mickey Moniak, OF, La Costa Canyon High School
• 2017: Adam Haseley, OF, University of Virginia
• 2018: Alec Bohm, 3B, Wichita State University
• 2019: Bryson Stott, SS, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Things changed in the 2020 draft, as the Phillies went in with the mentality that they were not going to shy away from a high-upside player, “even if it was a slightly riskier demographic historically.”

Klentak says they know the risks associated with the demographic of a high school or prep arm pitcher, adding, “frankly, that’s part of the reason we’ve taken so many bats in the first round the last few years.”

RELATED | Phillies news: Mick Abel drafted 15th overall in 2020 MLB Draft

Yet, despite precedence, the Phillies rolled the dice by taking right-handed prep arm Mick Abel out of Jesuit High School in Oregon with their No. 15 overall pick in the 2020 draft.

“Going into this draft, we thought long and hard about how this draft might unfold differently than in prior years,” Klentak says. “Obviously, the fact that there were no games this spring, or very few games, that was going to have an impact.”

“The way we thought about it was, there are going to be players in this draft who if you had a crystal ball and you could know exactly what would have happened if they performed this year, they could have gone out, performed really well and moved way up the draft board,” Klentak continued. “Or, you could have someone that struggled, got hurt or something else happened to him who fell by several rounds.”

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 198 pounds, Abel was ranked by MLB.com as the 11th-best prospect prior to the draft, praising him for “showing flashes of three plus pitches, starting with a fastball that was regularly in the 93-95 mph range.” Abel’s 82-86 mph slider is also described as a “very effective pitch,” along with him having a feel for a curveball “with more over the top rotation to it.”

Klentak noted that, inherently, “there were going to be some additional risks and rewards associated with the draft like this.” Therefore, they were really open to the “risk-reward concept in this draft.”

He says that going into the first round, the Phillies did nit know exactly who would fall to them at the No. 15 pick, and that it is “a lot easier to project” when they pick earlier on.

“You have to play the draft out and just see who’s there,” he says.

RELATED | Phillies: Draft pick Mick Abel FaceTimed with Bryce Harper

Klentak then noted that had this spring gone on without interruption, Abel could have risen to be a top-five pick: “It’s also possible it could have gone the other way,” he says, “but we felt like in a typical year a guy like Mick Abel probably doesn’t get to 15. We were really happy to select him where we did because we think he’s got a really tremendous upside.”

Frandsen and the Phillies general manager then praised Abel for his maturity and competitiveness. While Klentak says a lot will just come down to Abel’s “right arm, how he performs, and how he stays healthy,” the team gravitates toward those kinds of guys like the right-hander who have proven to do things the right way with the right work habits.

“[Aaron] Nola is a great example,” Klentak continued. “He’s not the loudest guy in the clubhouse, but his actions are incredible. The guys follow that. There are all kinds of ways people can be leaders; it’s not just through talking, standing up in front of a room, and talking to people. There are a lot of ways to lead and motivate. The best thing is when it comes naturally to someone and it’s authentic. I think Nola, that’s him — he’s doing what he does and what makes him great. It works and the rest of the group appreciates that.”

RELATED | Phillies: Shortened MLB season makes Aaron Nola a Cy Young favorite

Klentak said that you can just tell that by talking to Abel, how prepared, passionate, disciplined, and confident [he is]. And, whatever resources Abel has at his disposal, he’s going to use — pandemic or not — because the Phillies general manager says “he’s all about getting better, learning, and growing.”

“We’ve had conversations with him about that. The tools that we use today are very likely not going to be all the same tools that he uses 2-3 years from now or 10 years from now,” Klentak says. “That’s part of evolving as a baseball player and evolving as an organization.”

“He is really wise beyond his years and he’s got a very bright future as a player, both because of his physical talents but also what he’s got upstairs.”