2023 Phillies draft tracker (UPDATED)

Here is our draft tracker for all of the Phillies’ picks through the next few days. We’ll post the pick plus whatever scouting report we can muster up (while giving due credit, of course).

If you want to talk about all of the other picks by other teams, be my guest! Have some fun.

1st round (27th overall) - Aidan Miller, SS/3B - high school

MLB Pipeline:

Miller is a corner infielder with the kind of offensive profile pro teams want at that spot. The right-handed hitter has easily plus raw power and has shown he can get to it in games against good competition, showing no difficulty in turning around elite velocity. He already has a lot of strength. When he first got to high school, a leaner Miller played shortstop. As he’s physically matured, he’s slowed and is bigger and more of an average runner. He has the arm, hands and actions to play third base, his current position, at least in the short-term. Even if he had to move to first, his bat looks like it will play, with the kind of offensive upside that could land the Arkansas recruit in the first round.

2nd round - no pick

3rd round - Devin Saltiban, SS - high school

The state of Hawaii has produced some very good hitting talent, with a guy like Shane Victorino signing out of high school and Kolten Wong going on to college before turning into a first-round pick. Saltiban is hoping to follow in their footsteps and become the latest prep outfielder from the Aloha State to get taken in the early rounds after Kala’I Rosario (2020), Shane Sasaki (2019) and Micah Bello (2018) all went in the top five rounds of their respective Drafts. A right-handed hitter, Saltiban has worked with Kaha Wong, Kolten’s father, who has helped him develop into an outfielder with a solid all-around toolset. He has the chance to really hit, with a quick swing and excellent bat speed, which could point to decent power in the future. Challenging himself by competing in MLB’s Draft League ahead of the Draft, Saltiban held his own, putting up some good exit velocities and punishing fastballs, albeit in a small sample.Saltiban runs and throws well, with a chance to play center field in the future. If he slows down as he matures, that arm would play well from a corner. He would go on to the University of Hawaii if the Draft doesn’t go his way, but he’s done everything he can to increase his exposure, going from the Draft League to the Combine in June.

4th round - TayShaun Walton, OF - high school

Followers of high school baseball in Virginia talked about the Walton brothers — Antwan, who is older, and TayShaun — often a few years back. When Antwan graduated and initially headed to Old Dominion to pitch, TayShaun brought his offensive potential to Florida and IMG Academy. He’s jumped on radars with a strong spring at the plate, showing well when scouts came in to see teammates like Cameron Johnson and Zion Rose. Walton is big and physical with the chance to be an impact hitter. Though he’s 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, he’s been hit-over-power at IMG, but he has shown an excellent approach at the plate and an ability to hit the ball hard consistently. He doesn’t lift or backspin the ball much right now, focusing on being a hitter first, but there’s considerable strength and raw power for him to unlock at the next level. Athletic for his size, Walton is an above-average runner who records plus run times occasionally. He’s destined to be a corner outfielder, likely left, because of a fringy arm. That puts a bit more pressure on the Miami recruit to become a run producer, but a team willing to be patient could take him on Day 2 and work with him to develop into an impact bat.

5th round - no pick

6th round - George Klassen, P - Minnesota

Klassen is the 2023 version of Ben Joyce, who went in the third round to the Angels last July after hitting 105 mph with his fastball at Tennessee. He missed his first season at Minnesota in 2021 after having Tommy John surgery and worked just 7 2/3 innings last spring, allowing 14 runs and 14 walks. But he touched 100 mph in those brief looks, reached 102 while making progress in the summer Northwoods League and has continued to bring the heat this spring. Klassen may have the quickest arm in the entire Draft, producing a fastball that averages 98 mph with running action, and he has reached triple digits in most of his outings. He has an 82-86 mph curveball and a sharper 83-88 mph slider, and both can be plus breaking balls when he can command them. He almost never throws his changeup, an upper-80s offering with fade and sink that he can’t land in the zone. While his arm speed helps him overcome a lack of physicality, Klassen has significant effort in his delivery and has yet to prove he can throw strikes. A well above-average athlete, he made significant strides improving his timing and keeping his mechanics in sync during the fall, when he pounded the zone, but his control has been well below-average again this spring. He still has a lot to prove, especially if he’s going to be a starter, but his fastball definitely demands attention.

7th round - Jake Eddington, P - Missouri State

8th round - Bryson Ware, 3B - Auburn

9th round - Avery Owusu-Asiedu, OF - Southern Illinois University

10th round - Cam Brown, P - TCU

On his best days, Brown can look like one of the best college starters in the Draft and an easy top-three-rounds pick. But he confounds scouts because he completely loses his control and command and never has strung together consistent success. After pitching his way out of Texas Christian’s rotation by mid-April, he got another start in the Big 12 Conference tournament and walked six in 3 1/3 innings against Kansas State. Brown regularly works at 93-97 mph with his fastball and he can blow it by hitters up in the zone, but it lacks life and gets hammered when he doesn’t locate it well. His mid-80s slider reaches 90 mph and shows flashes of becoming a plus pitch but he struggles to land it for strikes. He barely trusts or uses his upper-80s changeup, which has some fade. Brown’s difficulties stem from his inability to repeat his arm slot or his mechanics. While he has cleaned up his delivery some in college, his walk rate has risen each season. He still offers starter potential with three pitches and a 6-foot-3 frame built for durability, but he comes with a high probability that he’ll be a reliever.