Professional sports drafts are among the most exciting events to watch and follow live. With the 2025 MLB Draft now complete, it’s a great time to look back at the history, highlighting some of the biggest successes, surprising downfalls, and notable busts that didn’t pan out for the Phillies. For the Phillies, in particular, the draft timeline since 2010 has been a disappointing one, especially during those middle years.
In this year's draft, the Phillies loaded up on college pitching arms, trying to implement a different strategy for the organization. However, in most recent memory, the 2015 draft for the Phillies was one of the worst in memory, creating a setback for the organization.
A look back at some of the Phillies' worst MLB Draft selections since 2010
Baseball could be argued as one of the hardest drafts to perfect, with the amount of time it takes prospects to rise or be traded. In the past 15 years, since 2010, there have been some big busts from Phillies' draft picks. The Phillies also did not have a first-round pick in the 2011 or 2012 drafts. These are some of the biggest busts in recent Phillies history, but there are plenty of picks to be mentioned over the course of the franchise.
Related: 15 worst draft picks in Philadelphia Phillies history
Scott Kingery (2015, Round 2, 48th overall)
Scott Kingery is an interesting pick since he did see time at the major league level. However, after being selected in the second round of the 2015 MLB Draft, there was a lot of hype around the pick.
Kingery emerged after being selected and quickly became a favorite in the organization as the Phillies locked Kingery into an MLB contract before he made his MLB debut. The deal was a six-year, $24 million deal with options. Unfortunately for the Phillies and Kingery, it backfired as he saw a total of 325 games, bouncing back and forth between the pros and minor leagues. A deal like this not working out earns a spot on this list. The pick after Kingery was Tony Santillan to the Cincinnati Reds, who is currently in their bullpen this season.
Cornelius Randolph (2015, Round 1, 10th overall)
In the 2015 MLB Draft, Cornelius Randolph was the Phillies' first-round selection at pick No. 10. There were high hopes at the time for the young high school prospect. Randolph reached as high as Double-A for the Phillies with a career minor league track record of 527 games, finishing with a slash line of .251/.340/.373.
After Randolph was drafted, a few notable names in the first round included Tyler Stephenson to the Reds, Josh Naylor to the Miami Marlins, Trent Grisham to the Milwaukee Brewers, Walker Buehler to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Taylor Ward to the Los Angeles Angels.
Adam Haseley (2017, Round 1, 8th overall)
Adam Haseley saw five years in the big leagues for a total of 158 games, not even equaling a full season. He played with the Phillies and the Chicago White Sox. The eighth overall pick in the 2017 Draft, the Phillies struck out with the selection in a bad period of draft picks.
Haseley finished with a slash line of .259/.319/.356. The Phillies moved on from him in 2022 with a trade for minor league arm McKinley Moore. A few major league players were selected with picks after him, like Jo Adell to the Angels at No. 10, Jake Burger to the White Sox at No. 11, Shane Baz to the Pittsburgh Pirates at No. 12, and David Peterson to the New York Mets at No. 20.
Mickey Moniak (2016, Round 1, 1st overall)
Mickey Moniak is trying to make a name for himself in Colorado this season. However, in terms of Phillies draft picks, he finds himself on this list after being selected first overall in the 2016 MLB Draft. As a first overall pick, he earned his first MLB action in 2020, totaling 79 games with the Phillies and slashing .129/.214/.172. The Phillies then traded him to the Angels for Noah Syndergaard. Notable selections after Moniak included Ian Anderson, A.J. Puk, and Kyle Lewis, who won Rookie of the Year in 2020.
Jesse Biddle (2010, Round 1, 27th overall)
The Phillies took the hometown kid in the 2010 Draft, with the first-round selection of Jesse Biddle out of Germantown Friends School. After being drafted in 2010, it took him eight years before making his big league debut in April 2018. He pitched in a total of 99 games in his big league career, finishing with a 5.07 ERA, mostly throwing with the Atlanta Braves (over two stints). Other players selected after the Phillies' pick in the compensation round before round two were Aaron Sanchez, Noah Syndergaard, Taijuan Walker, Nick Castellanos, and Luke Jackson.