2011 MLB Draft: Keith Law Reviews Phillies Day Two Picks

ESPN's MLB draft expert Keith Law weighed in on the Phillies haul on the second day of the 2011 MLB draft.

Roman Quinn (2) is an undersized infielder and plus runner who doesn't project to stay at short and needs to get stronger so his bat will play. Harold Martinez (3) has twice had the misfortune to play great a year before he's draft-eligible and struggle in his platform year; he looked slow when I saw him this spring but has played great in the past with bat speed, some power and at least an average glove at third. Tyler Greene (11) is their best tough-sign pick and would be farther over slot than I can remember them going in any recent draft.

The Phillies concluded the third round of the MLB draft today with a couple nepotism picks, including GM Ruben Amaro's cousin Andrew Amaro, and with their final pick, Kolya Stephenson, who is the son of the Phillies' long-time employee "Video Dan" Stephenson.

Apparently these late rounds picks are just for fun and charity as the Texas Rangers picked a young guy who is paralyzed.

2011 Phillies Draft Picks Update

The Phillies went with high school prospect for their first two picks of the 2011 MLB draft, but for their last three picks, they've delved into the college ranks. Here are the latest picks with some scouting reports.

#90 Harold Martinez, 3B, Miami

Martinez was drafted in the 19th round by the Rangers out of high school in 2008, but he elected to attend the University of Miami instead.

Martinez had a breakout sophomore season last year when he belted 21 home runs (up from nine in 2009). He batted .295 with a team-best 69 RBIs for a Hurricane team that fell to Florida in the Super Regionals. He missed the last game of that Super Regional in Gainesville due to injury and spent the summer rehabbing after surgery on his leg. Martinez had fouled several balls off the leg over the course of the season and had to have a lump removed as a result.

 #120 Adam Morgan, LHP, Alabama

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound product of Kell High School in Marietta, Ga., has been a fixture in Alabama's starting rotation for three years. He is 16-14 in 47 appearances, including 43 starts, in his college career. As a freshman, Morgan was 4-2 with a 2.96 ERA. As a junior, he was 7-5 with a 6.18 ERA in a Southeastern Conference-SEC-leading 18 starts. This season, he finished with a 5-7 record and 4.64 ERA.

#151 Cody Asche, 3B, Nebraska 3B

John Sickels of Minor League Ball had this to say.

I went to the KU/Nebraska game here in Lawrence on Friday night. The main guy who caught my eye was University of Nebraska third baseman Cody Asche. There wasn't a lot of pre-season hype about him, but he stood out. He's hitting .348/.443/.705 so far with nine homers and 18 doubles, 21 walks and 22 strikeouts in 132 at-bats. That's a great statline with the new metal bat, and he looks good in person, too. He's a 6-2, 200 pound left-handed hitter, with a batting stance reminiscent of a young Alex Gordon, although he doesn't have Gordon's athleticism. Asche has some bat speed, controls the zone well, and hit a long home run off a mistake changeup from Kansas starter T.J. Walz. He's got a good arm and decent range, but his fielding percentage hovers around .900 and Big 12 observers think a move to first base will be necessary in the long run, which hurts his draft stock. Still, the bat is very interesting and he could get picked on the first day.

Follow our full 2011 Phillies draft stream with scouting reports and reactions to all the Phillies top picks.

2011 MLB Draft Results: Phillies Select SS Roman Quinn

When the Phillies made their first pick of the 2011 MLB draft, everyone talked about how the team had eschewed its normal draft philosophy of taking "toolsy" athletic players. Well, with their second pick, the Phils got right back to the script with Roman Quinn.

Quinn is seen as potentially the fastest high school player in the draft and played multiple positions as well as multiple sports in high school. Many feel that his eventual spot in the big leagues could be centerfield.

Here’s a scouting report from MLB draft guide.

The first thing you will hear about Roman Quinn is that he is fast. He has recorded 60 yard dash times as fast as 6.35 and uses that speed in the field and on the bases. Offensively, Quinn is a line drive hitter with a quick bat. He does have a bit of pop in his bat and should end up getting his share of extra base hits. Quinn has played second, shortstop, and centerfield for Port St Joe. He has more than enough range for center and his arm is plus, as well. Beyond his obvious skillset, Quinn is also commended for his strong work ethic.

The Florida native Quinn has a commitment to Florida State, but scouts seem to think that he is sign-able and will elect to go pro.

Follow our full 2011 Phillies draft stream with scouting reports and reactions to all the Phillies top picks.

MLB Draft 2011: Reaction To Phillies Selection Of Larry Greene

The Phillies selected high school outfielder Larry Greene with their first pick last night in the MLB Draft. Greene is somewhat out of the mold of what the Phillies usually look for high in the draft, which are the so called “toolsy” athletic types who they hope to mold into good baseball players.

Greene isn’t a great athlete and doesn’t posses a lot of tools, but he does do one thing better than probably every high school player in this draft. Hit for power. At 6-1, 230 in high school Greene mashed pitching in Georgia and the Phillies could certainly use the power in the their system. Some scouts suggest that his limited athleticism may cause him to make a move to first base, but if he can develop as a power hitting corner outfielder, he could become quite valuable down the line.

He does have an offer from the University of Georgia, but at the draft, Greene made his intentions fairly clear.

“I’m going to go home and think about it,” he said. “But more than likely, I’m going to play pro baseball.”

Here’s some reactions around the web to the pick.

Jason Churchill, Prospect Insider

The Phillies love toolsy players but their top pick two years in a row has been off that trend. Larry Greene has plus power and should be adequate in a corner outfield spot. He’s considered an easy sign.

Phuture Phillies

The Phillies generally look for elite tools, normally they go for all around tools packages, especially guys with speed. Greene is the complete opposite, as his value is basically tied to his power. But that power could be really special, like, 40 HR power special. The system lacks legit power prospects, and Greene certainly fits the bill there. The Phillies obviously believe he can play LF, and that he can make contact and make adjustments. Can he? We’ll see.

Replacement Level Baseball

Larry Greene may be the very definition of man-child. Listed at 6’1″ and 230 lb, Greene is a hulking outfielder out of Berrien High School in Nashville, Georgia. On a purely physical standpoint, Greene may be one of most impressive high school prospects in this draft. With his strong arms and thick legs, Greene generates very impressive power to all fields. Greene’s swing also has good speed, which could result in decent averages going forward.

Here’s a youtube video of him taking batting practice, complete with a Skynyrd soundtrack!

Follow our full 2011 Phillies draft stream with scouting reports and reactions to all the Phillies top picks.

MLB Draft 2011 Results: Phillies Select Larry Greene

With the 39th overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, the Phillies have selected first baseman Larry Greene, a high school player from Berrien County, Georgia. Greene is known for one thing, power. Many scouts see Greene as the best power hitting high school bat in the entire draft. The general consensus seems to be that he’s a long way off, but if he develops the way a team hopes, his upside could be, according to ESPN, Ryan Howard. At 6-1, 230 pounds, he certainly looks the part.

He played outfield in high school, but there is a belief that he could move to first base thanks to a lack of speed.

But it will be several years before know anything like that. In the meantime, here’s a roundup of scouting reports and reactions to the pick.

Rivals.com

Green dealt with a lot of off-field adversity with the passing of his mother this year. His power is off the charts and could be one of the best high school bats in the draft.

ESPN’s scouting report

Green has the most present raw power of any high school bat in this class, and that alone should see him drafted in the top two to three rounds, even though it’s his only average tool.

He has one kind of swing, and it’s furious, generating power both with bat speed and hip rotation, with big juice that earns him comparisons to another African-American left-handed power hitter, Ryan Howard. He also swings and misses a ton and doesn’t have much experience facing good pitching. He doesn’t throw well and is a below-average runner with short strides, so he’s probably headed for first base.

Follow our full 2011 Phillies draft stream with scouting reports and reactions to all the Phillies top picks.

MLB Draft 2011: Keith Law Releases Final MLB Mock Draft

ESPN's Keith Law has released his final 2011 MLB Mock Draft. You'll need Insider to see it, but here are some highlights that may be of interest to Phillies fans, who unfortunately have no first round pick and aren't represented here. Instead of a first round pick this year, the Phillies got Cliff Lee. Not a terrible tradeoff.

Years of awfulness may continue to pay off the Nationals as Law has them taking OF Bubba Starling, who Law calls "the best athlete, bar none, in this year's draft." He also has a scholarship offer to play QB for Nebraska. He's seen as a high ceiling prospect, but also quite raw as a hitter. Could be a Josh Hamilton type player however. With the 23rd pick, he's got the Nats taking CF Brian Goodwin, who is a Juco sophomore who very well might attend South Carolina next year. RHP Alex Meyer is a possibility as well.

The Mets supposedly have an organizational mandate to acquire more pitching, which Law has them following at #13 with righty Matt Barnes from UConn. Other possibles would be Taylor Guerrieri or Brandon Nimmo.

The Florida Marlins pick at #14 and Law has them grabbing OF Mikie Mahtook from LSU. Cory Spangenberg, Jose Baez, and pitcher Jose Fernandez are other possibilities.

He says the Braves will "take the best high school player who'll sign for slot." In this case that's Jose Fernandez, RHP, Alonso HS (Tampa, Fla.)

With the pick the Phils surrendered for Lee, he's got the Rangers taking high school 3B Travis Harrison.

Follow our full 2011 Phillies draft stream with scouting reports and reactions to all the Phillies top picks.

MLB Draft 2011: Phillies Have Three Picks In First Two Rounds

The 2011 MLB draft takes place this evening at 7pm and lasts over the next three days. Tonight is the first round, which can be seen live om MLB network. Tomorrow at noon the draft will resume for rounds 2-30 and then conclude on Wednesday with rounds 31-50.

The Phillies have no first round pick, but they do own a compensatory pick in the sandwich round between the first and second round and that pick will be made tonight. The pick is the 39th overall and was awarded to the Phillies for losing Jayson Werth. The Phillies also received the Nationals second round pick (#66) as compensation for Werth. They gave up their first round pick to Texas when they signed Cliff Lee. The Phillies own second round pick is the final one of the second round.

As a result very few notable mock drafts have had anything to say about the Phils, but ESPN recently did a piece on overall organizational philosophy in regards to the draft and had to say about the Phils.

The Phillies have drafted upside for years but went for signability with local prepster Jesse Biddle in 2010. In a deeper class this time around, Wolever may get back to his risk strategy, though such a plan hasn't turned up a lot of big leaguers in the earlier rounds. Philly leans toward the high school player, but mixed it up a year ago. There are indications that Wolver and the front office are more open to the college player this time around. Stay tuned.