The Howard selection caused some comments about overreaching. This is something that we often see on these drafts, both MLB and the NFL. The Phillies are saying that they rated Howard as the best RHP available in the draft. If this is so, then it is not an overreach just because the player is rated lower by the various services available to fans (MLB, BA). If they are going to use these services, then there would be no need to scout players extensively prior to the draft. Why wouldn't a team take the player they feel has the highest chances of success, even if the player is not rated all that highly by BA? The bottom line is that many highly drafted players and many players rated very highly by the published "experts" will not make it to the majors. Some few players will exceed projections. At this point, we have no idea if Howard was the best pick at that spot or not, but the Phillies have to go with their internal evaluations of the available players.
Of course, we know there is a 99+ % chance that a player taken after Howard will turn out to be a much better player. We just have no idea who that player or players are at this point.