With the 24th pick, the Phillies have selected shortstop Anthony Hewitt.
Hewitt, from the Salisbury School in Connecticut, is a 6’1″, 190 pound high school senior. He possesses a lot of hitting promise.
From MiLB.com:
Hitting ability: Hewitt’s swing has become much more efficient this spring, though he’s still a little bit rigid in his approach.
Power: He has some big-time strength and projects to have good power in the future.
Runinng speed: A power runner, he’s got above-average speed.
Baserunning: He uses his speed well on the basepaths.
Arm strength: He’s got a strong arm, strong enough to play at short.
Fielding: Unlike his arm, the rest of his defensive game doesn’t profile as a middle infielder. Most feel a move to center field makes sense.
Range: Due to his athleticsm, he’ll make some plays, but he’s not a natural shortstop.
Physical description: Hewitt has a terrific athletic body and some big-time strength.
Strengths: Tools galore and perhaps as much upside as anyone in the Draft class.
Weaknesses: He’s a little raw, and hasn’t faced stiff competition in the Northeast.
Summary: As the spring wore on, few players had more helium than Hewitt, a toolsy high school shortstop. He can run and should hit for develop his considerable offensive tools. As a Northeast kid, he’s a little raw, but has shown good improvement this spring. His name had been climbing up charts everywhere and the only thing that could hold him back is signability due to a commitment to Vanderbilt.
He might be tough to sign, and like most Phils’ choices, he has tools galore. Looks like the Phils have a lot of outfield depth now. Keith Law says the kid might be up to six years from seeing Big League time. Wow. Another project. Phils really know how to find these high-risk/high-reward guys in the draft.
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The Phillies will pick 24th in the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft. The draft begins at 2 p.m. Phuture Phillies is running a full draft board. Baseball Prospectus has a roundtable.
I’ll be updating throughout the day with who the Phils select. Of course, with the game happening at the same time, it’ll be a busy day.
Most major analysts are predicting the Phillies to pick outfielder Zach Collier. Kevin Goldstein:
“Collier is a nice find here. Once seen as a top 15 pick, Collier’s game is a bit on the crude side, but his tools all grade out well, and many think his potential ranks with any high school position player out there.â€
He’s toolsie. Phillies love toolsie. And they need a corner outfielder. Boom.
Of course, things aren’t always what they seem with this draft. Follow us all day as we tell you what the Phils do.
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