Looking ahead to the 2018 draft

[schooldoc]

Through 9/10--three weeks to go, with this week's schedule at right

PHI 54-89 (.378) vs. MIA (3), vs. OAK (3)
SFO 56-89 (.386) vs. LAD (3), vs. ARI (3)
CHW 56-86 (.394) at KC (3), at DET (4)
DET 60-82 (.423) at CLE (3), vs. CHW (4)
CIN 62-82 (.431) at STL (3), vs. PIT (3)

[fish]

If you want to get excited about next year's draft, watch The perfect game All American Game or the Under Armour All American Game..

Kumar Rocker, Ethan Hankins, Jared Kelenic, Tristan Casas- incredible tools for guys entering their senior year of high school.

[Squire]

I do agree that mathematically it would be really hard for us to fall out of the Top 3 at this point.

[bigegypt0417]

Some very exciting HS players this coming season...

[allentown]

Very true, but I'm still hoping for an uber college talent to emerge and be there for our pick.

[zambonir]

Well, the Giants play today while the Phillies don't. The Dodgers have lost 10 games in a row so, speaking negadelphian, SF will probably lose tonight.

[teabag259]

Brady Singer sits now as the pretty clear 1-1 guy. As far as pitchers go Rocker and Hankins seem like the next two in either order. I know high school pitchers are such a crapshoot but we need pitching so badly we may not have a choice.

[fish]

Brady Singer sits now as the pretty clear 1-1 guy. As far as pitchers go Rocker and Hankins seem like the next two in either order. I know high school pitchers are such a crapshoot but we need pitching so badly we may not have a choice.

The thing with Singer is that the Blue Jays didn't sign as a second round pick for 'non-financial reasons'. It would give me great pause to take him without being able to give him a physical first. But maybe that's every pitcher. I would ordinarily never even consider a high school arm with the top 3 picks, but Rocker for his size looks like he has more athleticism than Tyler Kolek. Hate to see kids throwing that hard that young, but he's massive and controlling it with a good breaking ball (I like Hankins fastball even more, but his breaking ball is currently 'meh').

Then you have a guy like Kelenic who is basically the muscled up version of Moniak that you would have hoped for 2 years ago.

[teabag259]

You don't draft any pitcher without a full physical.

[fish]

You don't draft any pitcher without a full physical.

Almost all players do not offer a pre-draft physical. That's how you end up with a Brady Aikens showdown.

[bkox]

You don't draft any pitcher without a full physical.

There's good and bad with the MLB's new voluntary MRI program for draft...

[fish]

Interesting, I wonder what kind of participation rate they saw.

[Squire]

Giants and White Sox both win. Booyah.

[Philsmania]

Every time it looks like the 1-1 is going to slip away, we have a bad series that allows us to rebuild our lead.

Anyway, as of this morning, here is where the race to the bottom stands, including the records in the last 30 games.

Phillies 54-89 -- (12-18)
Giants 56-89 1 (11-19)
White Sox 57-86 3 (12-18)
Tigers 60-83 6 (8-22)
Reds 62-82 7.5 (15-15)

No one else is reasonably in the running, in my opinion, so I exclude them.

[California_Dreamin]

As I mentioned in another thread, Giants continued the Dodgers woes with an 8-6 win last night that started after 11 pm and ended at 2:15 am. Phils have a 1.5 game lead over SF as play begins today.

Biggest concern is the final schedule really favors the Phils...16 of last 19 at home, only a 3 game series against the Braves on the road. In the good news, bad news department, 4 of those games are against said Dodgers, who will now need those wins to stay ahead of the Nats. Of course, thats the good news, the bad news is that the Dodgers are playing so poorly right now the Phils might have a chance of winning a couple of the games.

[teabag259]

Let's have the Dodger free fall last 2 more days.

[teabag259]

How the Phils won last night is awesome. The young guys are really proving themselves.

THAT we won last night....damnit.

[harrisburghusker]

Given the lineup that played last night, I dont think there's any way the Phils finish with the worst record

[Austinfan]

If that lineup keeps playing well, they don't need to finish with the worst record.
If you have 3 solid OFs, an IF who can be a plus fielder at 3 spots and will eventually learn to hit, and a 1B who is the kind of player you want at #1 (Pujols, Goldschmitt, etc), what me worry?

Now if a college 3B who's a year away or a top college pitcher is there at #3, we'll be just fine thank you.
But no more OFs or 1B!

[zambonir]

I agree with your decision to quote Alfred E. Neuman on this topic.