Phillies 2014 Draft Preview - More 1st Rounders

Sean Reid-Foley, RHP - Reid-Foley is a 6'3" 210 lb High School pitcher. He works upper 80's to low 90's with his Fastball combo (including a 2-seamer with good movement). Reid-Foley has pretty good control of his stuff, but his mechanics get a bit wonky and will likely need some work to iron out. His Slider is currently an Average offering and lacks tilt at times. His Changeup exists. His mechanics are cleaner than Toussaint's, but Toussaint's raw stuff is better. Reid-Foley might be a bit of a reach at pick 7. His ceiling is a good #2 Starter. but more likely a #3. His heat isn't there yet, but it's not unheard of for teenagers to add 3-4 mph to their fastball as they fill out and build muscle. I think Reid-Foley is probably less than a 5% chance for the Phillies at 7, but with the rate top 10 guys are blowing up their elbows this week, it doesn't hurt to dig a bit deeper. Especially since you could see the Phillies go underslot here and hope to get someone dropping in the Second Round (one of the Pitchers with injuries - Hoffman who I doubt escapes round one and Erick Fedde, who could. or spend it on a hitter with an injury hurting his stock - Derek Fisher and his broken Hamate- or who underperformed and will need to be lured out of a College commit - Braxton Davidson, for example). Video from Big League Futures.

Sean Newcomb, LHP - Newcomb is a Hartford product.  a College hurler with more rawness than you might like. Reports on his stuff vary, but he's solidly reported as working 90-94 with his Fastball. Newcomb's pretty big at 6'4" and 245lbs, so there's not really any projection left on the table. The best you can hope is that his control and consistency improves. This is where scouts differ. Some reports note a quality Curveball, while others talk of a more loopy pitch that Pro-hitters would eat for breakfast. His Slider is his best pitch and flashes plus potential. His Changeup is pedestrian, especially for a College arm and is likely nothing more than a show-me pitch without significant development. Like the other Sean, he'd be a reach at 7, but his ceiling is probably solid #3 inning eater, while his floor is more of an Ethan Martin type reliever whose stuff plays up in short bursts that hide his consistency issues and allow him to abolish his changeup and probably the loopy Curve with it.

 Brandon Finnegan, LHP - Finnegan is the Ace of the TCU staff he works mid-90's and maintains the heat late in games. His fastball is a present Plus pitch with no real projection left. He has a slurvy Slider that should be a bit of an above average pitch. His third pitch is a changeup that's average and should end up slightly above average. He pitches with a low 3/4 arm slot, and therein lies the flaw. You see, Finnegan is only 5'11". While he can maintain his velocity deep in games and his control is relatively reliable, he has no downward plane. He'll be prone to flyballs and obviously there will be durability questions. Is he more Pedro Martinez or will he end up being Billy Wagner 2.0. Both are pretty good outcomes, but for the 7th pick in the draft an elite Closer would be a bit of a letdown with so many potential Starters available. (video from Katsutaro01. Finnegan has a ton of videos uploaded by Japanese users. He's the Cheap Trick of the 2014 Draft)

 Michael Conforto, OF - Players from the Pacific Northwest are in the Phillies' wheelhouse. College hitters might be out of the ordinary for the Phillies in Round 1, but Conforto may draw enough interest to get taken. Conforto is arguably the best College power bat in this draft. He has a quick swing, good bat control and should be able to maintain and above-average triple-slash. He's likely a solid First baseman or Left Fielder as his arm and speed are both Burrell-ish. Now, the rub here is that the Phillies are basically the one MLB team that can't, realistically, select Conforto. You see, Conforto is a College Junior at Oregon State. In case you didn't follow baseball over the winter, the Phillies essentially pantsed Conforto's teamate Ben Wexler by turning him in to the NCAA for working with an agent. I can't imagine Conforto would be keen on signing with the team that ruined his former fellow Beaver's eligibility, regardless of whether the Phillies did it out of spite or simply because the NCAA was investigating. Now for a video that's cooler in theory than practice as it makes me a bit dizzy.