The Philadelphia Phillies have taken prep starting pitchers in the first two years under scouting director Brian Barber, selecting Mick Abel with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and Andrew Painter with the 13th selection in the 2021 MLB Draft.
Early returns on Abel and Painter — 20 and 19 years old, respectively — are encouraging. The Phillies also seem like they may have struck gold with 2021 fifth-round pick Griff McGarry, a right-handed pitcher that was recently promoted to Double-A Reading. Meanwhile, catcher Logan O’Hoppe and LHP Erik Miller were recently selected to participate in the 2022 MLB Futures Game.