2025 Draft Information

2025 Draft

This is the Phuture Phillies 2025 Draft Discussion for comments about the upcoming draft.

The Phillies have the 26th overall selection in the first round of 27 picks.  Three teams dropped 10 spots and out of the first round because of luxury tax penalties (NYM, NYY, and LAD).  They resurfaced during the Competitive Balance Round A following the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI) Pick and four Free-Agent Compensation Picks.

The Phillies’ total bonus pool is only $7,849,400.

Their complete slot breakdown is as follows (round, pick, $) –

  •   1st:      26 – $3,492,200
  •   2nd:    63 – $1,416,600
  •   3rd:   100 –     $765,400
  •   4th:   131 –     $567,000
  •   5th:   161 –     $422,700
  •   6th:   191 –     $327,800
  •   7th:   221 –     $257,700
  •   8th:   251 –     $215,100
  •   9th:   281 –     $197,600
  • 10th:   311 –     $187,300

Schedule (All Times ET)

Sunday, July 13
Day 1
First 105 picks, rounds one through three, compensatory rounds, competitive balance rounds and prospect promotion incentive selections.
Live on ESPN, MLB Network, & MLB.com for the first 43 picks
Picks 44 through 105 will continue on MLB Network & MLB.com                                              Coverage begins at 6:00 p.m.
Monday, July 14
Day 2
Rounds 4-10
Live on MLB.com
Round four through twenty, including a FA Comp pick between the fourth and fifth rounds, begins at 11:30 a.m.

This is a forum for 2025 draft discussion to keep it separate from other conversations.  This is not a forum for you to continue complaining about past picks and the past/current draft philosophy.  That horse has been beaten to death in weekly open discussions.  If you must, keep it there.

As in previous years, I’ll post follow-up discussions as needed until the signing period is over.  Draft signings will be tracked here – 2025 Draft Tracker

Some of the mock drafts in the past several weeks by MLB Pipeline (Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo, Joe Trezza), ESPN (Kiley McDaniel), CBS Sports (Mike Axisa), and Sporting News (Dan Treacy) suggest the Phillies might pick from among the following prospects.  Eight mocks, eight different prospects.  So, not a scientific process.

  • Slater de Brun, OF, Summit HS, Bend, Ore. (No. 25):  The Phillies have used their previous five first-rounders on prepsters, a path that could lead them to de Brun, Xavier Neyens or pitchers Jack Bauer and Matthew Fisher. Riley Quick and Gage Wood are a couple of college pitching possibilities.
  • Tyler Bremner, RHP, UC Santa Barbara (No. 14):  They’ve gone high school with their last five first-round picks, but with so many prep targets off the board, Philadelphia could go with a college arm here.  Bremner dropped in our rankings because of a slow start this spring, but he finished strong and could offer some value and upside at the back of the first round.
  • Gavin Fien, IF, Great Oak HS (CA):  You have to go back to Bryson Stott in 2019 for the last time the Phillies used their top pick on a college player. Fien could hear his name called as early as the 10-15 range somewhere. Getting all the way to Philadelphia at No. 26 would be a great outcome for the team. Fien sets his hands up high at the plate and has an unusual setup, but it works for him, and he’s shown the ability to barrel up top competition in showcases.
  • Sean Gamble, 2B, IMG Academy (Florida); Top 150 rank: 23:  The Phillies are considering some high school players with upside, as you’d expect, and if the board plays out this way, Gamble, Daniel Pierce or Kayson Cunningham all fit.  There’s a good shot they would look to pair this pick with a prep arm at their next pick.
  • Ethan Conrad, OF, Wake Forest:  The second Wake Forest hitter off the board, Conrad isn’t as much of a sure thing as most other college prospects in this range. He transferred up from Marist ahead of 2025 but only played 21 games for the Demon Deacons before suffering a season-ending a shoulder injury. In those 21 games, he looked quite comfortable. Conrad hit .372 with seven home runs and a 1.238 OPS, briefly showcasing more power than he displayed at Marist. A speedy player who can cover plenty of ground in the outfield, Conrad would be an interesting pickup for a Phillies team that tends to prefer high school prospects.
  • Luke Stevenson, C, North Carolina (No. 20):  Though the Phillies have popped high schoolers with their first-round choice in each of the last five years, the best catcher in the Draft could entice them to end that streak. But Neyens, de Brun or perhaps right-hander Matthew Fisher could lead them to extend it.
  • Xavier Neyens, 3B, Mount Vernon (Wash.) HS (No. 26):  Neyens’ left-handed power rivals that of Holliday, though he comes with more questions about his bat.
  • Matthew Fisher, RHP, Evansville Memorial HS (Indiana) Top 150 rank: 40:  The Phillies have had some success with being more open to prep right-handers in the first round than the average team (Andrew Painter, Mick Abel), though they haven’t done it of late. This is the juncture in the draft where the next tier of prep arms behind Seth Hernandez (Schoolcraft, Cam Appenzeller, Aaron Watson, Landon Harmon) will go flying off the board and the Phillies seem to be most interested in Fisher of this group.

77 thoughts on “2025 Draft Information”

  1. With velocity the rage today, if the Phillies go pitching in the first, it’s a must that the pitcher throws 95+. Yes, if the pitcher lasts to the Phillies’ pick, he will have warts, but the Phillies need to take that shot if we go this route.

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  3. So I was informed by my buddy, who recently denounced the Blue Jays as his team, that the Angels draft strategy is to get their first round pick into the majors as quickly as possible. In the last 3 drafts, it started with Zach Neto, then Nolan Schanuel, and now Christian Moore. They hit it big with Zach Neto, the jury is still out on Schanuel and Moore was recently called up. It’s an interesting strategy. Obviously the drafted players want it because they get their service time started quickly. The Angels clearly don’t want these players wasting their time in the minors, and I could understand playing the cheap younger players than signing say veterans on 1 year deals.

    Would the Phillies consider this? Let’s say the Phillies draft a college catcher in July, bring him up to ST in 2026, and have him battle it out for the starting job. That drafted catcher will likely have a higher ceiling than Marchan or Stubbs. If he gets the job, he’s on a cheap salary with Realmuto money headed elsewhere. There’s obviously risk that he’s really overmatched but would you rather have the drafted catcher or Marchan/Stubbs?

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      1. Exactly. Also, why from a financial standpoint would you want to start the FA clock on a prospect while he struggles to learn to play the game at the ML level?

        Angels do what they do because their team is going nowhere. They are not competing for a playoff spot.

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        1. Whatever problems the Angels have, it’s not because of Neto, Schanuel or Moore (who happens to be a top 100 prospect).

          The Angels are absolutely trying to make the playoffs every year, based on the money they spend on FAs. Now, whether they spend wisely on FAs is another story. And they can’t seem to develop pitchers either.

          But just looking at Neto and even Schanuel, it’s not hurting the Angels at all.

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    2. Angels have been drafting fairly high lately with their out-of-the-play-off record…..so those players were heavily scouted and graded higher. So it would easier for the players to make the jump form college to the pros. Phillies need some luck…like they did with Miller…when drafting deep ito the 20s.

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      1. Romus, are you confident that we hit the mark with Miller! I haven’t observed that this guy is something special …… fielding is meh ……. hitting .23x to .24x. Don’t think he’s close to a slam dunk.

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    3. A team that drafts the best catching prospect available in one of the first three years EVERY YEAR will never go hungry. Might be a high schooler one year, a guy with 3 years of college the next.

      Quality catchers are in short supply. Having too many quality starters for the rotation is not a bad problem to have. Having too much catching depth isn’t a bad problem either in this day and age.

      Why ignore other positions, you say? You wouldn’t be. You’d trade from a catching surplus and do quite well.

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  4. BA comes out with another version of the draft – Phillies take high schooler Gavin Fien – 3B – a similar pick to Aidan Miller ; i.e., a solid hitter with power who through injury or a slightly down year may be available but is still a solid pick.

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  5. Should be there when they draft…Cardinals’ RHP Patrick Forbes would be my selection. Big and strong and velo ranges in mid-90s. Graded out at….FB: 60 …Sldr: 55…..CU: 45 ….Control: 45.

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  6. I don’t know enough about the kids in the draft, but of the ones listed, I’d go M. Fisher. Seems like this scouting team has a grasp on those type players… if not I wouldnt be upset if they took a Gamble 🙂

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  7. Keith Law’s latest mock has the Phillies taking Riley Quick, a college pitcher from Alabama.

    Not sure I agree with that since they seem to prefer HS players in the 1st round.

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  8. Sean Gamble is the name I’ve seen most mocked to us; I also wouldnt mind the hs 2 way player out of North Carolina.

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  9. Really like Josh Hammond but I think he is now very likely to be gone. Also like Slater de Brun. Sometimes if you are stuck between a few guys, go with the guy whos name sounds like the name of a star. Slater de Brun would be the winner there.

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    1. I believe it was done to force the small market teams to draft and sign the player (i.e. spend money and make their teams better) instead of trading the picks for cash (or to spend less cash). For example, let’s say that you have the #2 pick in a poor draft. As a small market team, you don’t want to pay the cash for a #2 pick, so you can trade back (and pay less cash) and let somebody else (likely a big market team) pay the #2 cash. The problem with this strategy is that the small market team will likely never get better in the draft if they’re always willing to trade back to save cash.

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  11. Because the powers that run the game are dense. Initially it was done so that big market teams could not trade up for the next best prospect, that’s not an issue anymore. The ability to trade picks for picks or players would only add more discussion about the sport, thus growing the game. Trades draw people’s interests. I still do not understand how we didnt get a LA/far east draft. I thought during the last lock out that it was resolved. Again, an international draft would bring more attention to the sport. Rob Manfred not only doesnt care about growing the sport, his actions/comments over the years leads me to believe he doesnt much care for baseball.

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    1. You really can’t blame Manfred for not permitting the trading of draft picks. The owners don’t want that and that’s why he hasn’t pushed on that. And the owners don’t want that because of their bizarre economic system which has been crafted to give all teams the same amount of money for the top 10 rounds – it’s a screwy puzzle that just doesn’t work (like the old bowl system in college football), but the owners think it does so there it stays and interest in the draft, the sport, and the ability of teams to draft well and improve quickly, remains illusory.

      I will say that Manfred pushed the pitch clock which has worked to near perfection. Games are 2 and a half to 3 hours again, which will help save the sport – that was a necessary change.

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      1. The bonus pool money in the top ten rounds is not crafted to give all teams the same amount of money….in this 2025 Rule 4, from BA, some of the teams with the largest bonus pools include….Seattle ($17M), Tampa Bay ($16.7M), and LAA ($16.7M) …Phillies are at : $7.8M)

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        1. Exactly it’s a slotted allotment system, not equal. Rounds 11-20 are equal $ where I believe you can spend $125,000 or if you saved $ on signing kids 1-10th round, then use it there. Also whatever your team allotment is, you can spend 5% over that number. Also if you don’t sign a pick in rounds 1-10, that allotted $ for that particular pick cannot be used.

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        2. I stand corrected, but it’s a weird ass system with fixed amounts of money where, if you acquired a pick, your money wouldn’t necessarily increase. It’s, by the far, the oddest and least flexible of the draft systems.

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          1. Long overdue for an overhaul……do not understand why the commissioner cannot work on that. They wanted more media hype over the draft like the other sports’ draft days……so they decided to put it in the middle of the season in conjunction with the hype around the all-star break. Can understand why it is not in Nov…..up against the NFL season, still they can do something with the draft itself.

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            1. The commissioner is a tool of the owners. The owners don’t want the draft to change. Therefore, the commission will not push to change the draft. The days of having an independent commission ended with Bowie Kuhn – a stuffed shirt who both the owners and players hated by the way.

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    2. Latin American draft…….MLB Latin Caucus were against it and would strike if MLB tried implement it….since 30% or more of the league are Latin players it was tabled for another future CBA. MLB even offered the very same slot money as the Rule 4’s top ten rounds.

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  12. If the Phillies go HS again on Sunday…..;looking to see if they go with one of these four……they should be there in the 20s…...Slater de Brun… Xavier Neyens……Josh Hammond… or Sean Gamble

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  13. Kyley McDaniel at ESPN has a new mock up.

    26. Philadelphia Phillies

    Matthew Fisher, RHP, Evansville Memorial HS (IN)
    Rank: 44

    This one would be another curveball, but the Phillies likely can’t get Fisher to their second pick and would be set up for an overslot move at their next pick(s), similar to what they did last year. Andrew Fischer is also mentioned here. Alec Blair (a top 100 basketball recruit in the country) and Sean Gamble are among the prep position players they could target to move down the board.

    https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/45709226/2025-mlb-mock-draft-30-kiley-mcdaniel-predicts-top-picks

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    2. v1. Thanks for posting this. I forgot of this and put it on the last Phillies.

      Romus. Fisher is an Indiana kid. My grandson played against him and said he is really good. So, we will see. He is presently an IU commit but doubt that happens. I told Ruff he must be good because I really like another kid in Indiana but did not see him on list. He is the kid who had TJ as a freshman a few years back. Word is now he throws both R & L. I have seen him play, he also is an excellent SS and CF. I have not seen him pitch since before TJ. Colin Osenbaugh. He is the best Indiana kid I have seen in person over the years.

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        1. Romus. They do. I saw Max a few times. He was on 2-year older Black Bulls than grandson in early years. His group was very good. All the teams played at same facility, so you saw different age groups play while you waited. Also, back when Dan Held was in charge of Bulls, had a Bulls Roundup one night a week so that all the teams were on the same page. Dan came up and spoke with me when he saw my Phillies hat on one night.

          I most likely have seen the Fisher kid a few times and not known who he was. Grandson told me on Wednesday that he was a Midwest Canes player. Said he played against him a few times. Canes are more of an outlier group. They bring kids from all over the country, one who had played a couple years with grandson told me they brought different kids each weekend. He said they had 24 kids on their roster.

          I looked up all I could find on Fisher this Spring for Ruff. Thing that stood out to me was that his high school team lost in the Sectional. A team beat them they had beat twice. If the Phillies go that route, I hope it works for both.

          Scott Rolen was ok. Bryan Bullington back a number of years was the 1-1 pick by Pirates. I played against his dad several years in the summer. Southridge kid just a few years ago Colin Montgomery I think was first round pick by White Sox. Pretty recent. Forget if before or after Covid.

          Hoosier state produces a few good ones. Most famous is our TJ guy.

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  14. OK, it’s draft day, is anybody else excited besides me? Curious what the board thinks on how the Phillies lean philosophically, understanding that they will (should), take the best player available at 26. Do they tend to lean towards high school bats over college bats, high school arms,over college arms? There are some teams that definitely lean certain ways. Just don’t know if the Phillies do

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    1. The Phillies as of late have leaned towards prep players. This entails high risk, along with (potential) high return. I think it is a strategy that makes sense, generally speaking, given the inclination of many teams that have been drafting in the first 15-20 picks to generally lean towards less-risky college picks.

      I saw a post on youtube this AM that talked about MLB draft ‘rankings’. It listed the number of players who made MLB that were drafted between 2010 and 2024. The Phillies were last. Some of the lack of players making the majors can be linked to the success of the early 2010’s teams (where the Phillies were drafting late each round). But, the lack of success helped contribute to the dreary days of the mid 2010’s. Unfortunately, the Phillies missed on several early picks in the 2010’s, but did hit a home run with Nola.

      If you want to be depressed, look at the Phillies first pick from 2004 through 2012. There is 1 player – Travis d’Arnaud – that has a positive WAR.

      Hopefully today’s pick does better.

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  15. Latest Kiley Mcdaniel prediction:

    Caden Bodine, C, Coastal Carolina
    Rank: 23

    Philly normally takes high-ceiling high school players, but this is too good of a value to pass up. Matthew Fisher, Sean Gamble and Blair are the leading prep targets, and Fischer is also mentioned.

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    1. I saw that and then he had Fisher at 63 now. Also, one had Phillies taking the NC catcher and one other had them with one of the hs SS. Forget which one.

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  16. The Angels just took Tyler Bremner, a college pitcher. Remember that name, because he’s going to be making his debut for the Angels by summer 2026.

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    2. Probably as a reliever. A two pitch pitcher with durability questions isn’t likely to fare well as a major league starter.

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    1. I love this pick. Big game pitcher with a big arm. I think he’s going to be a fast riser. I hope he gets placed at JS to start.

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    2. Romus. I saw him a couple times. He has some Chase Burns in him for me. Some of these guys believe he may be in Philly very soon. Time will tell on that. I really felt Arkansas had the best college team. Crazy that Tennessee had 8 picks last night.

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  21. Phillies must be planning on losing Ranger as they drafted Gage Woods from Arkansas in the first round.

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    1. Sounds like he could potentially help the bullpen this year. Next year and forward who knows; could try him as a starter and see how he develops.

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  24. Really changing the approach so far. Another college pitcher who’s on the shorter side but lots of velocity.

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  25. There are some people who think that Gage Wood can step into the Phillies bullpen right now and help them out. So the question is, will the Phillies pull a Nolan Schanuel and promote him this year?

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    1. No, was on the post draft zoom call. Mr. Barber said they plan on keeping him as a starter and that given his workload this year they will be careful with him. They aren’t concerned about his shoulder issues but will be cautious. Often times the Phillies don’t throw draft picks in games till the next season.

      Steve Potter

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    1. i think he is worth the risk. We need to develop bullpen arms. I think we have some bats in our system.. like Anthony, Mendez. Tait. Escobar. And couple others. Besides crawford

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    2. I am no doctor, but my understanding is that a shoulder impingement is usually caused by a muscle imbalance and is treated with rest and PT to strengthen certain muscles. It is not a structural injury.

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      1. Yeah….that is why I see them in no hurry to put him back on the mound for awhile…probably mid-to- late August. Arkansas already had him sit out awhile a few months ago during their SEC season.

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        1. I don’t know if any of these pitchers, will make it. I feel we needed to try to develop bullpen arms. If you look at the ages of the guys, at LHV and Reading . I think some of them are already collecting ssi

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  29. As I wrote on the other/main thread both Glavine and Maddux were listed at six feet tall. I know it’s a different era and in no way am I comparing these 3 college kids to the Braves greats.

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    1. This is sort of an interesting draft. I think, secretly, they would be very happy to have Wood available to pitch out of the BP for the stretch drive and if so, that could save them from having to trade more prospects. As for selecting pitchers when they have pressing needs for hitting – I am okay with it because: (a) you should always pick the BPA – and it looks like they tried to do that: (b) recently, this team has shown itself to be MUCH better at selecting and developing pitchers than hitters; and (c) talent is, to a degree fungible – if you have great pitching, you can always try to trade that for hitting if your pitchers develop.

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      1. It is interesting that these pitchers are 6 foot. It’s less of an issue for the lefty (because you can throw out most of the traditional rules for lefties – if they have command and movement they can still be effective without overpowering stuff), but most organizations are very reluctant to draft a righty pitcher who is under 6’1″ or 6’2″ and there is something to this – as shorter righty pitchers, as a group, tend to wear down faster. That said, because of that, you can find a gem if you look hard. Spencer Strider is only 6 foot, but he shows the downside of that too – as he has already had 2 TJ surgeries. Still, I like they are thinking outside of the box and love pitchers with rising FBs.

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      2. On this current team, they developed basically four pitchers….Nola, Suarez, Sanchez and Kerkering. As for positional players….Bohm, Stott, Rojas, Marchan and Kemp. No doubt…they could do a better job in the hitters department….and maybe Crawford can be added to that list soon.

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  30. I was thinking when Gage Wood will get signed so that he can get slotted into the Phillies top 30 when I saw that Mariners already reached an agreement with the #3 pick Kade Anderson (under slot no less).

    Anyways, I think it’ll be easy to slot Wood at #7, behind Escobar. The next 2 guys will likely be in the 15-30 range.

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  31. Big fan of the draft this year. Phillies have neglected pitching these last couple drafts. Only drafting one in the top 10 last year. Can’t even find a middle relief pitcher to help the club in the org is a joke. I was so sick of these light hitting center fielders they been so focused on. Crawford, Boyd, Moniak, Nori, Burkholder, Spikerman. I know I’m missing a few. The top 5 picks this year are all very interesting and could get two potential studs in Wood and Fisher. I Like It.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I did Lander basketball on radio in the 70s. They were the Senators back then. Now they’re the Bearcats.

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  33. I feel the Phillies sign 18 of the 20 drafted. I’m thinking maybe one of the later HS guys could be a back up to someone not signing.

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    1. I “believe” if they don’t sign a drafted player they lose that allotment of money. They need to sign all their players they drafted in the 1st 10 rounds to get their full allotment of money. They are banking on alot of under slot signings to get those high schoolers signed

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      1. correct Bishop. I think some of the later HS picks are there as backup in case Fisher or Ferrera don’t sign.

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