7/15/25 : Recap - Day Two - Phillies Draft

Phillies Assistant GM - Amateur Scouting Brian Barber discussed day two of the draft last evening about a half hour after the final pick was made via a Zoom call with reporters.

He talked about seventh round draft choice high school RHP Mathew Fisher and his overall athletic abilities, Fisher was an All-State QB in addition to his baseball prowess. They had seen his fastball up to 96 mph coupled with the ability to spin the baseball and that he’s very athletic. Mr. Barber said they were ecstatic to be able to select the nineteen year old where they did. Later in the call when asked about their chances of signing him he said that the club believes they can but that nothing is ever definite till the contract is complete.

The club took two pitchers from little known Lander University in South Carolina in 11th round pick Tyler Bowen and 17th round selection Richie Cortese. Mr. Barber said that the area scout for South Carolina had identified both relatively early in the spring and that they saw both pitchers up to 96/97 mph. He said they had Cortese (pronounced Core-Tay-Zee) at CBP last week for a workout where he showed a really good sweeping slider as well, they also scouted Bowen in the MLB Draft League. They see both guys as having good potential and albeit from a smaller school they weren’t going to pass that up.

When talking about RHP Gabe Craig who they drafted in the fifth round from Baylor he said that his slider graded as a 70 on their scale which is at the major league level. Cross checker Bryce Harman who was the area scout at the time drafting Orion Kerkering noted Craig’s sweeping slider as a comparable. Mr. Barber said that when he heard that he got excited, Craig will be a reliever akin to how Kerkering was developed and potentially could have a fast track upwards. Craig also has a mid nineties fastball but the slider is what they see as a potential wipe-out put away pitch.

Mr. Barber talked about 16th round high school selection shortstop Logan Dawson as a local player who’s a huge Phillies fan and how it was nice to be able to select a young man who grew up in the area as a lifelong fan. Dawson also worked out for the club last week at CBP and they see potential in him becoming a very good player. In regards to selecting highly rated shortstop Landon Schaefer with the 20th pick he said they did so to take a run at giving it their best shot to sign him with the belief there could be some opportunity to do so on a player they have long liked. The high schooler has made it known he intends to honor his commitment to attend the University of Arkansas. They also had ninth round high school choice Matt Ferrara at CBP last week for a workout but had identified him earlier as a potential pick, they like the eighteen year old’s hitting tools and defensive versatility - he can play shortstop but also has the ability to move around the infield to other positions. From Matt’s instagram posts it seems that the University of Pittsburgh commit is eager to bypass college and begin his pro career.

Mr. Barber said that he had seen eleventh round draft choice catcher Will Vierling as a high schooler in the area code games and that they’ve watched his progression from the University of Louisville to this year with Murray State where he had more of a chance to play. They like his catching tools, the offensive skills as a left handed hitter and his makeup which reminds folks of his cousin Matt.

College pitching stood out in this year’s draft in their evaluation, in particular the depth. Mr. Barber said that there’s opportunities for the pitchers selected to develop in the system and that the club felt they couldn’t pass on selecting as many pitchers as possible given the quality in this year’s draft class. They didn’t particularly target either relievers or starters but generally speaking selecting a player with starting potential would be the path most often taken. That being said he stated that they also use the mindset that it’s better to take a big league potential reliever as opposed to a pitcher who’s initially seen as a minor league starter with development opportunity.

As one of the idiots who sits thru every pick annually I think this year’s group is an exciting one. In years past I would be there to greet them in their initial workouts at Carpenter Complex in Clearwater however this year that won’t be the case as we’ve moved back north. Regardless the cutover from draft selection to player development will take place for each player with the PD coordinators gathering at the complex alongside the amateur scouts for knowledge transfers on the fellas signed. Draft picks don’t count towards the minor league player roster limit for fifteen days after signing if not activated so there’s a maximum of two weeks and a day to initiate a developmental plan. Good stuff!

As per usual there will also be un-drafted free agent signings in the coming days, I will track them as best I can.

Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️

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