Phillies 2016 Draft Preview: Familiar Names

Bo Bichette - Bo's last name might sound familiar as his Father Dante was an MLB star for several years and his brother Dante Jr. was a sandwich pick a few years ago (51st in 2011, which would be an early second round pick under the new compensation rules). Bo looks to be entering the same year his Brother may be working his way out of baseball, but Bo's a much different player than his Brother, who got his Father's power. Bo seems to have gotten more of his father's contact skills, as he's a fairly natural line drive hitter. He's a 6'0" 200 lbs. SS/3B who likely stands no chance of sticking at either position as a pro. His arm is likely not good enough for Third or throws from deep in the hole at Short. His range may be an issue and he has to prove he can make routine plays up the middle of the Defense. He's a good bet to start his pro career at Third to try his arm or Second to try his range and glove skills. His advantage is he knows the game really well and plays very smart and intense. He'll position himself well and make the right plays, the questions are more about whether his average arm and speed will allow him to make them. If he need to move to Left Field he'd probably do fine and he may eventually unlock the power for the corner as he did win the Under Armour Home Run Derby, so the raw power is there if he can tap into it in-game. Here's some video from Steve Givarz in which you can see Bo sink his hips and tap into that raw power by tilting his shoulders and getting some loft into his line drive swing. Good bat speed too.

Willie Abreu - Abreu is a rather huge Outfielder who has been on scouting radars since his Junior year of High School (if not earlier). He's 6'4", 225 lbs and can play either corner OF spot though his Plus arm is best utilized in Right. He currently plays there for the Miami Hurricanes.His speed is average, at best, but he's a pretty smart baserunner, like Dylan Cozens, and steals a few steals he probably shouldn't steal. His swing has rather sizeable holes and his Power is tantalizing, but not entirely present. I feel like there's a little Harold Martinez here and everyone's been waiting for his bat to take off and it never quite has. Still, the power is potentially special and in the 3rd or 4th Round he'd be a great pick to see if you can fill some of his swing holes and get that raw power in games. You probably can't, but that's why he's not a First Round prospect anymore; high risk, high reward. Video from George Bianchi.

Ryan Howard - No, seriously, it worked well the first time. Mostly. This Ryan Howard is unrelated, but also from St. Louis. He's a Shortstop at University of Missouri. That sentence should be the first hint that there's not much more in common with our current RyHo. This one is 6'1" and 190 lbs. He was taken in the 31st round last year by the Giants as a draft eligible Sophomore. This year, he's more likely a 6th Round or later pick. He's a great contact hitter with a relative allergy to Strikeouts (and power). His ceiling is likely as a utility player. He has just enough rango to possibly play Short in spurts, but his Plus arm and average speed should let him fill in anywhere on the diamond. I'm not confident that any of his tools are good enough to be a Major League starter at any position, but all of his tools might be just good enough to fill in as a super utility player with a solid contact profile for Pinch Hitting.  Video from Jesse Burkhart.