The Philadelphia Phillies selected 18-year-old pitcher Mick Abel with the 15th overall pick in Wednesday's MLB Draft. For the first time in awhile, GM Matt Klentak and the Phillies' front office went against the grain, and took a risk on a high-school player with upside, rather than the safe college bat.
Angelo Cataldi is not a fan of the strategy.
"I have a philosophical problem more than a problem with the individual player," Cataldi said on Thursday's 94WIP Morning Show. "Don't draft high school players, unless they're Bryce Harper. If they are, epic. If they are Mickey Mantle...There's one of them every few years, but that's all.
"But otherwise wait until you get to see three more years of him, let alone not getting to see him this year because of the pandemic. So you didn't even get to see his (age) 18 year! The last time he pitched he was 17. And you went out and blew a first-round pick on that guy when A, you could some help sooner than later. You're not gonna get it now. You gotta wait five years. And it probably, most likely, will not work!"
The Phillies selected RHP Mick Abel with the 15th overall pick. pic.twitter.com/pC1K6mtD27
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) June 11, 2020While Cataldi is skeptical of the pick, 94WIP's Jack Fritz is much more optimistic.
"Overall, Brian Barber hit a home run with his first draft pick as the scouting director of the Phillies," Fritz wrote. "Abel has ace-level upside, and in a normal year, wouldn't have been available for the Phillies to select at 15. I am relieved that the Phillies took a shot on the upside and didn't just play it safe.
The Phillies have not selected a pitcher in round one since Aaron Nola in 2014 at No. 7 overall. Their last four first-round selections have all been position players in Cornelius Randolph, Mickey Moniak, Adam Haseley, and Alec Bohm.
