The Phillies opened the second day of this year’s amateur draft by selecting SS Cole Stobbe out of Millard West High School in Nebraska with the initial pick of the 3rd round (78th overall).
The six-foot-two 195-pounder features incredible bat speed, which scouts were very high on. The righty batter hit .437 with 14 home runs as a senior this spring.
Stobbe, who had a commitment to play college ball at Arkansas, told the media that he intends to fly to Philadelphia to sign a pro contract.
Defensively, it has been said that the Phils would likely change Stobbe’s position to third base or possibly second base.
In the 4th round, the Phillies chose lefty pitcher JoJo Romero out of Yavapai College, the same school they drafted Ken Giles out of in 2011.
The five-foot-11, 190-pounder sports a fastball that gets as high as the mid-90’s. He also features a slider, curve ball and a change up that is said to have nice potential.
I would expect Romero to be best suited for a bullpen role once he turns pro.
In the 5th round, the Phillies drafted another Cole…this one was lefty pitcher Cole Irvin. The 22-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014, but pitched well this season with Oregon.
He’s a strike thrower that pitches to contact. Irvin’s fastball was clocked in the 93 MPH range this season, when, as a junior, he finished with a 6-4 record and a 3.17 ERA. In 105 innings pitched he notched 93 strikeouts and issued just 16 walks.
Irvin is described as polished and is said to be a high probability big leaguer.
David Martinelli, an outfielder, was taken by the Phils with their 6th round pick. The lefty batter has been praised for flashing five-tool talent.
In 51 games as a junior this year for Dallas Baptist, the 21-year-old batted .301 with six homers, 37 RBI and nine stolen bases.
Defensively, Martinelli can play all three outfield positions, but was primarily a right fielder this season.
With their 7th round pick, the Phils selected catcher Henri Lartique who tallied a .353 batting average with four home runs and 31 RBI in 57 games for Ole Miss this year in his junior season.
The 21-year-old switch-hitter was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award, an honor given to the nation’s top college catcher.
Grant Dyer, a righty hurler, was the Phils’ 8th round selection out of UCLA. This year, in his junior season, the six-foot-one 195-pounder features nice command. Dyer posted a 4-4 record with a 4.50 ERA while holding opponents to a .243 batting average over 13 starts.
In the 9th round, the Phillies chose righty pitcher Blake Quinn out of Cal State Fulerton. The 21-year-old went 4-3 with a 2.16 ERA, notching more than a strike out per inning.
The Phils’ 10th round pick was right-handed pitcher Julian Garcia. The 21-year-old posted a 5-7 record with a 2.90 ERA and a 10.2 K/9 mark in 12 games for Metro State College.
The 2016 draft will wrap up on Saturday with rounds 11 through 40.
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