Phillies 2014 4th -5th Round Pick Profiles

Round 4 - Chris Oliver, RHP - Oliver is probably a best fit in the bullpen and fits well with the Phillies strategy of apparently never drafting another High Schooler and opting for fairly safe College picks. Oliver has a huge arm. He dials his fastball up to 97 and in short relief bursts, maybe even higher. The drawback is that the Fastball is bolt straight with no real movement to it. His breaking ball is inconsistent thanks to a long wind-up and his Changeup is currently something he throws sometimes. Essentially, Oliver's Scott Matthieson with bad timing. Oliver was arrested for DUI a week before the Draft sending his stock plummeting. The Phillies have some work to do here to clean up mechanics and develop pitches. Oliver's a good pick, but he won't progress quickly. He'll need a few years of instruction and practice to work out kinks.

Round 5 - Rhys Hoskins, 1B - 6'4" 225 lbs and yet another College Junior. A change of strategy indeed. Rhys plays a bit of Outfield too, but he's really a First Base prospect. On the positive size, Rhys has above-average power potential, enough for First or Left Field, but likely not enough to be a star. He loads his hands high, but has good bat speed and lift in his swing. At the College level he showed good patience and contact skills. It remains to be seen if his hard swinging style will play or lead to more Strikeouts. An intriguing pick in what's shaping up to be a fairly quick moving Draft class.