Phillies 2019 Draft Rounds 4-6

Round 4
Erik Miller, LHP
Stanford University

Miller is a 6’5” 240 lbs Lefty with a fastball that is inconsistently plus. He also has an inconsistently plus slider and inconsistently above average change-up. He also has inconsistent command. Essentially, he’s inconsistent. He could move quickly in a relief role, but the Phillies will keep him a starter as long as they can. This sounds like a lot to fix, but mostly it’s about stiffness in his delivery. If the Phillies can work some yoga into his routine and help adjust his release mechanics he could end up a mid-rotation starter. In relief, he could be a high leverage reliever if everything goes right and if he can get the change to stay average, at least, he could be a middle reliever. Video from Eric Longenhagen.

Round 5
Gunnar Mayer, RHP
San Joaquin Delta College

Well, rumors were the Phillies were going to take Gunnar this draft. Of course that was Gunnar Henderson, but hey, they did take a Gunnar. This Gunnar is a 6’6” 190 lbs RHP from Junior College with a big fastball, promising curve and good frame. He’s pretty new to pitching and there’s pretty high upside. I have now shared everything I can find on him. Enjoy the one video I found from aaronmayer40 (dad shoots pretty good prospect video, it seems).

Round 6
Andrew Schultz, RHP
University of Tennessee

A 6’4” 194 lbs righty, Schultz has a double-plus fastball, at minimum, maybe an 80 grade fastball that he kind of knows where it’s going. He has a wildly inconsistent slider, but at it’s best it has above-average potential. At it’s worst the slider is a bit of a meatball. That is problematic since there’s no third pitch. The Phillies have had some success in the past helping pitchers develop their slider, so if they can tighten up Schultz’s it could become a consistently above average pitch. There’s a Ken Giles ceiling here. The theme of these 3 picks is low risk - high reward. All 3 of these players could flame out before AA, but the ceilings are #3 starter, maybe #2 starter and shut down closer. Not bad for this point in the draft. Video from 2080 Baseball.