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Tag: MLB Draft

  • Yardley’s Aiden Robbins and Moorestown’s Ryan Lynch selected in third round of MLB draft

    Yardley’s Aiden Robbins and Moorestown’s Ryan Lynch selected in third round of MLB draft

    The All-Star festivities continued this weekend as the MLB draft was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, marking the first time that Philadelphia has hosted the event.

    However, for the second consecutive year, there wasn’t a single draftee in attendance. Spectators certainly showed out. Fans repping jerseys from across the league filled the space to celebrate future MLB talent.

    MLB Network’s Siera Santos and Robert Flores, along with Eliza Andrus served as the draft hosts, and fans were treated to a parade of mascots, karaoke, and Home Run Derby prize tickets while teams were on the clock. The West Powelton Steppers, also known as the Phillies Bassline, also contributed to energizing the crowd.

    Phillies select shortstop Tyler Spangler, Missouri State outfielder Caden Bogenpohl in the MLB draft

    League commissioner Rob Manfred was met with a chorus of boos as he offered his opening remarks, where he highlighted the city and America’s 250th.

    “There’s no place more fitting to celebrate the games future than a city that has helped define its past,” Manfred said.

    Fans cheer during the 2026 MLB draft at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Saturday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    “From Hall of Fame legends Dick Allen, Richie Ashburn, Steve Carlton, and Mike Schmidt, to World Series champions Cole Hamels, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, and Chase Utley, generations of Phillies greats have inspired the passionate fans in this city. [On Saturday], that historic spotlight turns to a new wave of players who may one day evoke the same type of admiration for these young men and their families. Today marks a life-changing milestone on their journey.”

    Rollins was in attendance and made an appearance on stage with Greg Luzinski. Hamels was also present as one of the analysts for the draft coverage, alongside Mark DeRosa, Harold Reynolds, and Dan O’Dowd. MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger was the broadcast’s host.

    Saturday consisted of the first four rounds and Sunday will conclude the remaining 16. Here’s a look at the locals who were selected on Day 1.

    Texas outfielder Aiden Robbins during an NCAA baseball game against Coastal Carolina on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke).Michael Wyke

    Third round

    The first area player off the board was Holy Ghost Prep graduate Aiden Robbins, a Yardley native, who was selected by the New York Mets with the 92nd overall pick.

    The 6-foot-2 outfielder transferred to Texas this past season after spending his first two years of college at Seton Hall, where he led the Big East with a .422 batting average.

    With the Longhorns, Robbins was among the team leaders in average (.333), OPS (1.122), runs (68), hits (79), total bases (165), and slugging percentage (.696). He also was a key contributor to Texas’ run to the College World Series. The Longhorns were eliminated by Georgia and finished fifth nationally. Robbins capped his junior season with 24 homers and was named SEC Newcomer of the Year.

    Moorestown High product Ryan Lynch was drafted 97th to the San Diego Padres.

    Lynch, a 6-3 right-handed pitcher, spent most of his freshman year with North Carolina in a reliever role, before earning starts in the postseason. Following his freshman season, Lynch earned freshman second team All-American honors by D1Baseball and Baseball America, along with a spot on the 2025 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.

    As a sophomore, Moorestown native Ryan Lynch started in 18 of his 19 appearances, finishing the season with a 4.21 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 98⅓ innings pitched.Vera Nieuwenhuis

    This year, as a sophomore, he started in 18 of his 19 appearances, finishing the season with a 4.21 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 98⅓ innings pitched. He finished his two years with a 10-5 record, 161 career strikeouts, 61 walks, and a 3.72 ERA.

    During the Tar Heels’ run in the College World Series, Lynch pitched in North Carolina’s first win over West Virginia, throwing 4⅔ innings, giving up two runs. In Game 2 of the final series against Oklahoma, Lynch left the game in the fourth inning with an oblique injury after recording five strikeouts and giving up two earned runs.

  • Phillies shrug off Tyler Spangler‘s injury concerns to select the shortstop in MLB draft’s first round

    Phillies shrug off Tyler Spangler‘s injury concerns to select the shortstop in MLB draft’s first round

    In 2023, the Phillies used their first-round pick on an infielder who graded highly among high school hitters but slipped in the draft because of an injury.

    There were echoes of Aidan Miller again this year.

    With the 36th overall selection — a 10-pick penalty for exceeding the second luxury-tax threshold last year — the Phillies took Tyler Spangler, an 18-year-old shortstop from De La Salle High School in Northern California who didn’t play at all this year because of a back injury.

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    “We have an extensive medical review on the player and just felt comfortable taking him,” scouting director Brian Barber said Saturday from the Phillies’ draft room in Citizens Bank Park. “We’ve looked at everything that there is to look at there and felt completely comfortable taking the player.”

    Barber declined to discuss the nature of the back injury.

    Spangler, a 6-foot-3 left-handed hitter, was projected in early mock drafts as a first-round pick, in which case he would’ve been off the board long before the Phillies picked. But he injured his back after a mid-January tournament that the Phillies attended, Barber said, and missed his senior season.

    Teams were finally able to see Spangler hit last month at the MLB draft combine in Phoenix. The Phillies watched him again in a workout on June 30. Barber said he has been given “a clear return to action,” and the Phillies are “hoping to see him on the field in [minor-league] games at some point this season.”

    That would suggest the Phillies are confident that they can sign Spangler, who committed to attend Stanford. It may require a bonus larger than the $2.76 million slot value assigned to the 36th pick. But without a pick in the first round, the Phillies are likely to meet Spangler’s price.

    Clubs have until July 27 to sign their 2026 draft picks.

    If Spangler’s injury saga sounds familiar, Miller slid to the Phillies at No. 27 overall three years ago because of a broken hamate bone in his left hand. He recovered from that injury and became the organization’s top prospect, but hasn’t played this season because of a lower back condition that necessitated a spinal procedure in June.

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    In Spangler’s case, there’s also the matter of De La Salle suspending its varsity baseball team for the first five games this season for what the school described as “violations of school policy, team rules, and code of conduct.”

    Barber said the Phillies interviewed Spangler at the combine and were confident that whatever happened (De La Salle officials didn’t specify the violations) “had nothing to do with Tyler.”

    The Phillies drafted Spangler one pick before catcher Daniel Jackson went to the Rockies. Jackson won the Golden Spikes Award this year as the top collegiate player in the country.

    Spangler is tall for a shortstop, prompting comparisons to lefty-hitting Corey Seager. Barber said the Phillies believe Spangler “probably moves a little bit better than, let’s say, Corey did at 18″ and that he won’t need to switch positions.

    But it’s his bat that most impressed the Phillies.

    Barber said Spangler showed “a little bit of rust and stiffness” at the combine. But when the Phillies saw him hit a week later, he appeared “more loose and free,” as they remembered when they scouted him as a junior.

    “We think it’s just a really advanced 18-year-old swing,” Barber said. “The path is just perfect to be able to add to his power game, as well. It’s a hit-first with a really good feel for the power in the future.

    “The opportunity to be at pick 36 and get this player that we identified going back two years, saw him play all throughout the summer and fall last year, we just think he’s a very good player.”

    Here’s how the Phillies rounded out the first day of the draft:

    Caden Bogenpohl broke Ryan Howard’s Missouri State school record with 20 homers as a freshman in 2024 and finished with 39 homers in three seasons.Colin E Braley

    Round 2

    Caden Bogenpohl, OF, Missouri State

    A few weeks ago, after the college season, the Phillies took the unusual step of inviting the 6-6 left-handed hitter to their facility in Clearwater for a one-on-one workout with farm director Luke Murton.

    “Unfortunately, we did that before the Combine, where he was able to [go to] the Combine and put on an absolute show out there,” Barber said, laughing. “But it did help us answer some of the questions about why the exit velocity was at the elite level, but the home runs didn’t go with it.”

    Indeed, Bogenpohl broke Ryan Howard’s school record with 20 homers as a freshman, then hit only 19 over the last two years. But after their private workout, the Phillies believe they can unlock the power that has gone missing.

    A farm system that lacks home-run hitters can use it.

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    Round 3

    Ruger Riojas, RHP, Texas

    After pitching as a reliever for two years at Texas-San Antonio, he transferred and became a starter. That’s how the Phillies plan to use him in the minors because of a five-pitch repertoire from multiple arm slots.

    The 23-year-old righty is on the older side, but Barber believes he’s also more advanced than most draftees.

    “It’s now stuff,” Barber said. “It’s now strikes. It’s now pitchability.”

    Round 4

    Deven Sheerin, RHP, LSU

    Most relief pitchers get drafted as starters and move to the bullpen as they go through the minors. But Barber left no doubt about the 20-year-old righty’s future role.

    “We see him as a high-upside leverage reliever,” he said.

    Sheerin throws a slider and upper-90s fastball from a low-slot delivery, a combination that Barber described as “just completely loud stuff.”

    Oh, and he grew up in Reading, home to the Phillies’ longstanding double-A club.

    Kentucky pitcher Jaxon Jelkin had a 4.08 ERA in 17 games last season.Mike Buscher

    Jaxon Jelkin, RHP, Kentucky

    A collegiate nomad, he left Nebraska as a freshman for junior college in Arizona, then transferred to Houston, where he had Tommy John elbow surgery before going to Kentucky. But he’s 6-5 with four pitches from a low three-quarters arm slot. At age 23, he could start at a more advanced level of the system than younger draftees.

    Phillies prospect Gage Wood will start in the MLB Futures Game at Citizens Bank Park

    “It’s older, but we’re just not using a lot of projection there,” Barber said. “What we try to do with these [older college] guys is acclimate them to pro ball, get them on a professional routine, and then just try to optimize their pitch package a little bit more.”

  • The MLB draft in Philly has a few firsts, including the Phillies being penalized

    The MLB draft in Philly has a few firsts, including the Phillies being penalized

    The 2026 Major League Baseball draft kicks off Saturday in Center City Philadelphia as part of the All-Star festivities, taking place in the City of Brotherly Love for the first time since the production hit the road in 2021.

    Another first? NBC will broadcast the first hour and a half of the draft, which kicks off at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. It’s the first time since MLB started televising the draft live in 2007 that it’ll air on broadcast TV, at least until it switches over to the MLB Network at 2:30 p.m.

    The MLB draft hasn’t historically been a big TV draw because of how long it takes players to make it to the big leagues. Last year’s No. 1 pick, shortstop Eli Willits, is just 18 and is currently playing for the Washington Nationals’ single-A team in Fredericksburg, Va.

    The fastest top pick to be called up? Former third baseman (and one-time Phillie) Dave Roberts, who started just one day after being taken with the No. 1 pick by the San Diego Padres in 1972.

    For the fourth-straight year, the first six picks of the draft were determined by a lottery that took place in December. The Chicago White Sox enter the draft with the No. 1 pick for the first time since 1977, when they took future Hall of Famer Harold Baines.

    The Phillies don’t technically have a first-round pick; they were pushed back 10 spots because their 2025 roster exceeded the second surcharge of MLB’s luxury tax. As a result, they have the No. 36 pick, the first time in franchise history they’ve received such a penalty.

    Here’s everything to know about the MLB draft:

    2026 MLB draft TV schedule

    Former Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels will be among the analysts on TV for the 2026 MLB draft. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    The 2026 MLB draft is scheduled to begin Saturday at 1 p.m. Philly time at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and run through 7:45 p.m., but not all of it will air on TV.

    NBC will broadcast the first hour and a half, covering the first 10 picks, before handing off to MLB Network at 2:30 p.m. The event will shift to streaming only at 4:30 p.m., with both Peacock (which is streaming the entire draft) and MLB.com carrying the proceedings through the fourth round.

    Rounds 5 through 20 will stream on Peacock and MLB.com Sunday beginning at 11:30 a.m.

    While NBC is dipping its toes into broadcasting the draft, MLB Network will be handling the production. A new face this year will be 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels, who will provide analysis alongside Mark DeRosa, Harold Reynolds, and former Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd. Coverage will be hosted by Greg Amsinger.

    Phillies 2026 MLB draft picks

    The 2026 MLB draft will take place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Center City.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    The Phillies have five picks Saturday: Nos. 36, 64, 100, 128, and 135.

    They’ll get 16 more Sunday, beginning with the No. 161 pick in the fifth round and ending with the No. 209 pick in the 20th round.

    Yes, the MLB draft is long, but a lot shorter than it used to be. The draft used to last 40 rounds before being cut down during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to 2011, it ran upwards of 50 rounds.

    Who will the Phillies draft with their first-round pick?

    It’s really anyone’s guess who the Phillies will take with the No. 36 pick, but experts have some thoughts.

    In his final MLB mock draft, ESPN insider Kiley McDaniel has the Phillies selecting 2026 grad Archer Horn, a shortstop prospect who already committed to Stanford after batting .406 with six homers this year for St. Ignatius Prep in San Francisco.

    One other name McDaniel mentioned is Taj Marchand out of South Carolina, another high school shortstop, who hit .531 with 13 home runs this year. But Marchand is expected to be taken before the Phillies are on the clock.

    MLB Network’s Jonathan Mayo predicted the Phillies would take Notre Dame pitcher Jack Radel in his most-recent mock draft.

    The Athletic’s Keith Law, who correctly predicted the Phillies would take Gage Wood last year with the No. 26 pick, didn’t include the Phillies in his final mock draft.

    Recent Phillies first-round picks

    The Phillies drafted pitching prospect Gage Wood with their first-round pick last year. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer

    The Phillies have had some success landing major league players in recent years, with three former first-round picks — Justin Crawford, Bryson Stott, and Alec Bohm — currently starting for the team.

    Andrew Painter, the Phillies top pitching prospect, struggled during 12 starts for the team this season and was demoted to triple A last month. The Phillies haven’t outlined a timetable for when he could return.

    Two former first-round picks play for other teams. Mickey Moniak, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft, was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in 2022 and currently plays for the Colorado Rockies. Pitcher Mitch Abel, taken with the No. 15 pick in 2020, was traded to the Minnesota Twins last year in the deal that landed closer Jhoan Duran.

    Here are the Phillies recent first-round picks:

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    MLB draft first-round order

    This year, the first round of the draft has just 25 true picks. Three teams — the Phillies, New York Yankees, and New York Mets, exceeded MLB’s surcharge tax threshold in 2025, pushing their first-round picks 10 spots down into the second round.

    The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros were awarded picks for promoting prospects

    There are also a handful of compensatory picks that will take place after all the first-round picks have been made.

    Here is the order for the first round, including supplemental picks that begin with No. 26:

    1. Chicago White Sox
    2. Tampa Bay Rays
    3. Minnesota Twins
    4. San Francisco Giants
    5. Pittsburgh Pirates
    6. Kansas City Royals
    7. Baltimore Orioles
    8. Athletics
    9. Atlanta Braves
    10. Colorado Rockies
    11. Washington Nationals
    12. Los Angeles Angels
    13. St. Louis Cardinals
    14. Miami Marlins
    15. Arizona Diamondbacks
    16. Texas Rangers
    17. Houston Astros
    18. Cincinnati Reds
    19. Cleveland Guardians
    20. Boston Red Sox
    21. San Diego Padres
    22. Detroit Tigers
    23. Chicago Cubs
    24. Seattle Marines
    25. Milwaukee Brewers
    26. Atlanta Braves (prospect incentive)
    27. New York Mets (luxury tax penalty)
    28. Houston Astros (prospect incentive)
    29. San Francisco Giants (via trade)
    30. Kansas City Royals
    31. Arizona Diamondbacks
    32. St. Louis Cardinals
    33. Tampa Bay Rays (via trade)
    34. Pittsburgh Pirates
    35. New York Yankees (luxury tax penalty)
    36. Philadelphia Phillies (luxury tax penalty)
    37. Colorado Rockies