2025 Draft, Days 1 and 2

2025 Draft

The 2025 Amateur Draft is completed.  The Phillies selected 20 players from 4-year colleges, high schools, and a junior college.

The Phillies had the 26th pick in the first round and selected Gage Wood, a right-handed pitcher out of Arkansas.  Gage threw a no-hitter during the college world series.  Their first 4 picks were junior pitchers from D1 programs.

Their first 8 picks were pitchers, one a prep player, before selecting a shortstop at nine before completing their first ten picks with another pitcher.  In all, they selected 14 pitchers (3 LHP), 4 shortstops, 1 catcher, and 1 outfielder.  They selected 9 four-year juniors, 3 four-year seniors, 3 four-year grad students, 1 JUCO player, 4 high school seniors.

The 2025 Draft Tracker is populated with this year’s draft data.

The Phillies had 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
  • 11th thru 20th:   $150,000 (only dollars spent above $150K count against the pool limit)

Here’s what MLB Pipeline had to say about the Phillies top pick.

26. Phillies: Gage Wood, RHP, Arkansas (MLB No. 23)
It’s unclear how much the College World Series enters into evaluations now that the Draft is after its conclusion, but there’s no question Wood helped his stock with his thrilling no-hitter in Omaha. Wood has an unhittable fastball and a power curve as his two best offerings. The Phillies went back to pitching in the first round for the first time since taking Andrew Painter in 2021.

Todd Zolecki link »

Some Q and A

Who was draft eligible?

Players attending four-year colleges are eligible to be drafted upon completing their junior year or turning 21-years-old. Players who have graduated high school but have not attended college are draft-eligible.  So are those who have completed at least one year of junior college. Players must also be a resident of the United States a resident of a U.S. territory (e.g., Puerto Rico), or Canada to be eligible for the Draft.

What’s next?

Teams have until Monday, July 28 at 5 p.m. ET to agree to deals with players they draft out of four-year colleges and high schools. For players who are selected out of junior colleges, teams have a draft-and-follow option, in which they can sign between the end of their juco season and the beginning of next year’s Draft for up to $225,000.

(I need to continue researching this.  Does this apply to a second-year juco player who is going on to a 4-year college for his junior year?  Does it apply to a first-year juco player who is continuing at his present juco or switching to a 4-year program?  Which juco season? The one that just ended in May or the one that ends next May?  If a juco player was drafted in rounds 11 thru 20 he would be limited to $150K before the overage went against the pool.  How does the $225K figure against the pool?  If a signing occurs for $225K next May, does any part of it count against the previous pool?  Can a team exceed the $225K and apply the overage against the pool?  As you can see this causes me some degree of angst.)

How do draft picks affect roster limits?

Draft picks do not count against roster limits until 15 days after they are signed, unless they are activated with one of the affiliates before that deadline.  This means that whether or not they are on a roster, they will count against the 165-man limit for stateside players.

Undrafted free agents (UDFAs) count against the roster limit as soon as they are signed.

Please remember that 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.

 

115 thoughts on “2025 Draft, Days 1 and 2”

  1. I don’t know if this is a big deal or not, but the Phillies and other teams might have to compete with college NIL money for some of their middle to lower picks in the top ten.

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    1. Can the NIL money be adjusted on the fly or do they already know what they are getting from the Colleges ? Will this essentially turn into a bidding war for the players or do the teams already have a good idea if they can sign the player before they draft them?

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    2. 100% – once you get to the 10th+ rounds – IF a player has eligibility left, and can somehow get his was to the SEC / ACC, he’s looking at $250-$400k.

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  2. In recent years, the Phillies have begun signing draft picks in Philadelphia and keeping them there for about a week of indoctrination before sending them in bulk to the Clearwater Complex. Keep an eye on this. If someone is going to be brought up to pitch out of the bullpen this season, he would likely be sent down sooner or assigned directly to an affiliate like Reading. I don’t think it’s likely, but it might bear some attention.

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  3. Perhaps the Phillies emphasis on drafting pitchers is a realization that they are pretty good at pitching development (and not so good at hitting development). Lean into your strengths.

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  4. The @Phillies have signed 2B Tyler Pettorini as an UDFA! Pettorini led the 1st half of the league with 37 hits in his 27 games with the Black Bears.

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  5. TR East’s Matt Ferrara indeed expects he will be signing with the Phillies, forgoing his commitment to Pitt. The deadline to sign is about 2 weeks away.

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  6. 16 year old Cuban-Italian IF Patrick Silva had a multi-hit game in Serie A today. He is signing next year with the Phillies and is considered among the best European prospects for 2026

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Years ago it would very surprising for draftee to pick college ball over the minor leagues. Times have changed, and a lot of college programs have amazing facilities… probably makes the kids feel like they already made it. MLB needs to get their minor leagues in shape if they don’t want to start losing prospects for NIL money. Thats the way I see it it

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    1. MLB is cutting minor league players…mandatory numbers have dwindled down over the last 5 years….draft rounds are now a total of 20 from over 50, a decade or two ago.

      IMO, MLB will eventually want all kids to go to college and learn their craft there….similar to the NFL..saves MLB money in developmental programs, and after three years those players get drafted….or two years if JUCO . Kids come out at 21 years old. Latin players could be the youngest minor leaguers. Times are changing.

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      1. not a bad take, seems like it. Ive seen some YouTubers touring the college programs… the facilities are pretty amazing. Excessive imo, but hey, let them live it up. I guess my memory is failing already… too much grunt work lately.

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    2. Draftees picked college ball over the minors all the time years ago. Mostly it was because they were hoping they would get drafted higher after college vs. where they were picked out of HS. It was common for major league teams to draft HS players in the later rounds expecting they were going to college but hoping that they might change their minds.

      Took a random season for the Phillies (1999) and they had 10 HS players that were drafted that didn’t sign. Every one of them eventually played in the minors so they were redrafted later.

      One of those players, Joe Saunders, was a 5th round pick who didn’t sign and was later drafted in the 1st round by the Angels after college.

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      1. It’s been 20 years since I’ve been i school. I just remember the mantra of “get an Education” starting to break back then. Why would someone go to college over a chance at the minors to majors route. You can always go back to college. Much harder to do it the other way around.

        Good info from you & Romus….

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  12. By the way, I completely read Brian Barber’s “long-term” comment as opening the door for Gage Wood to pitch out of the bullpen for the Phillies later this year and into the postseason. He’s done that before and the stuff is explosive. I see them giving him a chance to gear up in August and get promoted in time to get some MLB experience. Fingers crossed.

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  13. If Gage pitched in the Bigs in September (which I doubt very much will be the case), do you think that the Phillies really want to start his contract clock so soon?

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  14. If Wood were to make the roster this year it would be nearly unprecedented. Only 24 players in the modern era have made that jump. There are some names on the list. If he makes the leap (to the back end of the bullpen?!)…we’ve surely caught lightning in a bottle. Also probably a desperate measure.

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    1. He fits the bill for the type of prospect who could pitch the year he is drafted. Whether he does or not is anyone’s guess and is largely dependent on the team’s priorities and his minor league performance. But it could definitely happen.

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  15. Curious that the organization picked a bunch of pitchers given their dearth of hitting prospects. Maybe they are going to trade a bunch of their pitching prospects and this was their way to ‘balance’ the scales.

    Also, I’ve never heard of Lander University, but the Phils drafted two pitchers from that juggernaut.

    Joe O

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  16. Love the Wood selection, as well as 2nd and 4th round picks. The real determining factor to me though is the Fischer pick, who I believe was ranked between the high 20’s through 60’s (depending on the outlet). If they’re able to sign him and get 3 top 100 picks + some real upside arms, then this draft is outstanding.

    It also seems (and I may be wrong) that this pitcher heavy draft will allow us to package up some starter arms for established and upside bats for the near and long terms.

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    1. If Fischer wants over $2 million i dont think the Phillies can swing it. Ferrera is gonna get his little pot of gold. Wood should come in a little underslot but maybe not by much.

      I figure they are going super cheap on 5/6/8/10.

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      1. I think Wood could be signed for $3M…..close to $500K underslot.

        If 2nd thru 6th come in at 80% of slot….then there is a chance Fisher can get that high signing bonus.

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        1. Romus agreed. I think they knew the number for Ferrera and knew the ballpark number for Fischer. Which is probably close to that of Logan Dawson. Maybe they figure they can’t get one they get the other?

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  18. love looking over past drafts. 2019 draft picks Erik Miller is relief pitcher for giants. Did we trade him? Can’t find anything

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  19. For whatever reason, the Phillies don’t draft black ballplayers. Every year you get one guy drafted, maybe. I know that black kids aren’t playing baseball in the numbers they used to. But is there no one deemed draftable by this team? Doesn’t make sense.

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    1. Since 2019 :

      Camron Hill

      Marcus Morgan

      Justin Crawford

      Marcus Lee Sang

      Avery Owusu-Asiedu

      Kendall Simmons 

      Jamari Baylor 

      TJayy Walton

      Alex McFarlane

      Emaarion Boyd

      Cade Fergus

      Ty Collins 

      Malik Binns

      Herbert Iser

      Jaylin Smith

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      2. Exactly. 15 guys in seven drafts. 140 players drafted approximately. 2 guys per draft. Not a huge number. They should take the best players, no doubt. It just seems strange that the numbers are so low.

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  20. Phillies have been very good in prior drafts ar knowing the number for HS picks and knowing the number for the other picks and putting the pieces together. I am very confident that they will get it done with the HS picks this year.

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    1. v1 – Agreed but the NCAA money is a new caveat we have to take into consideration. Also, kids numbers change unfortunately. I think they sign everyone except the 2 HS kids in the later rounds.

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      1. I’ll admit that I know little about this, but isn’t the bulk of the money going to be committed to the football programs.

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        1. Not necessarily. Caitlan Clark walked away from substantial NIL money ($910K). Endorsements brought that figure up to $3.1M. Her first-year, rookie salary will be less than $80K and less than $350K her first 4 years. However many if not all of her endorsement deals would likely remain intact. Still as things stand, her one-year $910M NIL would have far exceeded her salary over her first, four-year contract.

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          1. Basketball and football are revenue producing sports. That’s where all the NIL money goes. Baseball players get very little NIL money. Certainly a pitcher going to Indiana baseball isn’t getting $1 mil in NIL. Zero chance it is anything close to that. Maybe $50k or $100k max.

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            1. All the money goes to football and basketball?

              NiJaree Canady a women’s softball pitcher got over a million dollars in NIL money to attend non-softball powerhouse Texas Tech last season to play a non-revenue producing sport.

              NIL money doesn’t have to all come from the university. Alumni supporters can help arrange money for athletes either through donations or endorsement deals. For instance, PSU’s Carter Starocci made $1.25M in NIL money during his 5th wrestling season in 2024-5.

              Liked by 1 person

    2. Agreed – when they take a one-off HS kid who wants big money with a later pick – usually those details are all worked out in advance.

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  21. The Phillies first four UDFAs as reported by Baseball America, link.

    • Keegan Batka, RHP, Davenport (Mich.)
    • Peyton Havard, RHP, Lamar
      30.3% strikeout rate this spring, 90-94 mph fastball, mid-80s changeup, low-80s slider, curveball around 80 mph
    • Nate Humphreys, OF, Dallas Baptist
      slashed .353/.457/.679 with 17 home runs, 18 doubles, 21 stolen bases, a 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, legitimate chance to stick in center field.
    • Tyler Pettorini, RHP, Ohio State

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  22. Regarding NIL, the numbers in the SEC for baseball are quite large (it’s a revenue sport in the SEC, with schools like LSU drawing 10,000 fans per game) — though not disagreeing with you, v1, about Indiana or schools like that. The high example I heard was that Braden Montgomery transferred from Stanford and reportedly got $850K for one year at Texas A&M. As a more generic example, I heard on good authority that a starter at Arizona (but not a draft prospect) transferred to LSU for the 2024 season and got $150K for one year (and started at LSU but didn’t get drafted). Good for those kids.

    But, yes, if the bonus is $1M – $2M I don’t think NIL money will be close to that for all but a superstar prospect (who would be a surefire first rounder).

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    1. Also, we may be forgetting something else. It was my understanding that, as part of foregoing college, the big leagues provide college tuition to certain draft picks so they can get an education or finish their education. That’s at least how it used to be, but I’m not sure how that works at this time. But if that offer remains, it’s an important part of the compensation for draft picks who are serious about getting a college degree.

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      1. Correct. I know the family of a 1st round draft pick out of high school from 10 or so years ago, and the mom insisted that the kid take classes at UCLA while he was in the minors (UCLA is on a quarter-based academic calendar, so the fall quarter starts like Sept. 20th, after the minor league season is over). He’s now a veteran MLB player, earning north of $15M per year, so I don’t think he ever finished at UCLA . . . but if his career had gone in a different direction it might have been worthwhile.

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      1. Romus. Give him a break. LOL They almost all K’d I read McDaniel summary of draft. I do not think it is out of the possibility that Wood is in Philly sooner than later. Maybe not.

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        1. Don…I am wondering how long they will sit Wood out after they sign him. I really don’t his workload at Arkansas was all that overburdensome …38 innings pitched , in 10 starts.

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            1. Romus. I have no idea, but we will know plans soon, I think. He finished the CWS about a month ago. Not sure what he has done since. So, around a month off now maybe. I saw him pitch one other time and he was good then as well. He did not go over 5 or 6 innings that game. He has really good stuff. Someone compared him to Strider and that is not bad. He is 22. There are guys that age playing in majors. Could it be 50/50 he makes his way to Philly in 25. We will see.

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  24. An OF who hit from the right side? I had thought those had been banned, they’ve become so rare!

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    1. They aren’t banned, but if you sign one it costs you intl’ money and automatically puts you in the next penalty threshold, at least that’s what Rocco told me.

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      1. Romus, it’s a crazy program. Markinson never started at catcher in high school (the future UCIrvine starting catcher was a year ahead of him, and the future USC starting catcher was a year behind, so Markinson hit and played first) but became a starting D1 catcher and a pro!

        Four current MLB players, including two all-stars this year (PCA, Fried, Giolito, Flaherty) and another half-dozen or more in the minors (including Bryce Rainer).

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  28. Teams are now signing their first round picks…many are signing for below slot…….between $500K up to $1M.

    I still think the Phillies can sign Wood for $3M, almost $500K below slot.

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  31. Not announcing signings is standard operating procedure for the Phillies.

    The 2024 draft was held on July 14-16.

    They announced signings en masse a week later, including some UDFAs, 20 on the 23rd (16 picks) and 3 on the 24th (3 picks including #2, #3, and #5).

    They continued to sign a couple more UDFAs but didn’t sign #14, Jared Spencer out of Indiana State who transferred to Texas and was picked in the 11th round and signed for $165K, $15K over slot for rounds after ten.

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  32. So far only first round pick to sign a little above slot was Sean Gamble out of a FL HS…..most all of them have been below slot. Many anywhere between 200K to 500K below. Wondering if the Phillies will sign Wood for below slot.

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      1. Yeah….I suppose that was the plan….Fisher drafted in the 7th round but ranked in the top 50, so other teams may have thought he would be a hard sale. Phillies did a good job. Lets hope now he progresses and materializes into a stud pitcher.

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      2. They also saved another 7 figures for #20 but he chose Arkansas. They did their homework and put themselves in a position to sign all 20. It’s up to the kids to accept.

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        1. So they have signed all but their 20th pick? IF so, that’s a pretty successful draft. Callis reported Obermueller signed for $1,197,500. They must have really went below slot on the rest of the top 10 picks

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    1. He wants to make changes in the draft…make it more interesting. Have prospects there at the site…like NFL, NBA and NHL….they use to have that when it was in the MLB network studio. Not sure much can be done…maybe give teams the ability to trade a top ten round pick, that could be an option.

      IMO, he is leaning on having only college players drafted, like the other pro sports do, except the NHL which has a hybrid in those regards. Manfred probably wants kids to come with three years of experience at a college level….saves money in the minor league development area.

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      1. Allow teams to trade draft picks, not just comp picks. When you have a Bryce Harper coming out, the build up to the offers for 1.1 can last months. Look at the NFL Draft and a lesser extent to the NBA Draft. Those events were not always must see tv.

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  37. Per Jim Callis:

    “2nd-rder Cade Obermueller signs w/Phillies for $1,197,500 (slot 63 value = $1,416,600).”

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  40. Every season I look at the draft tracker and see some names to be excited about and I love how the Phillies use their resources. And then it hits me… Man, what could they do if they had $10M+ bonus pool to work with?

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  41. Tracker is up-to-date. Phillies have $249,570 available under the penalty limit. This plus the $150K untaxable for picks #11thru #20 gives them $399,570 to offer to Dawson at #16 without incurring a penalty.

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    1. Is it a forgone conclusion that he’ll sign or is there a chance that’s not enough money to get it done ?

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      1. A friend who also tracks signings asked me for my source on Walters. It was the MLB Tracker. When I went back to verify a couple hours later, the signing info had been deleted. So, now I’m not sure Walters has reached agreement.

        In either case, it may be difficult to reach an agreement. He has expressed a desire to play at Boston College. I didn’t know they played baseball in New England during hockey season. Apparently, he likes the coaches and may be a tough sign.

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  42. Regarding Walters in particular, he’s a 22-year-old red-shirt junior. I’m sure that he will eventually come to an agreement. Next year, he will have no leverage and could likely have to settle for a minimum deal unless he pitches well enough to be an early round selection.

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    1. Here’s some facts about Walters’ 2025 season.

      • Served as Miami’s primary closer in 2025, making 21 appearances and seven starts
      • Finished the season with 11 saves, leading the Hurricanes’ pitching staff and ranking second in the ACC
      • Logged a 2-3 record with a 4.94 ERA across 51.0 innings pitched
      • Struck out 56 batters and held opponents to a .279 average
      • Ranked third on the team in strikeouts (56)
      • Returned to Coral Gables for his redshirt junior season after being selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 19th round of the 2024 MLB Draft
      • Registered a career-high ten strikeouts in five innings of work against Niagara on Feb. 16, leading the Hurricanes to an 11-1 victory
      • Struck out nine Princeton batters on Feb. 23, allowing just one walk in a 10-0 shutout victory
      • Recorded eight consecutive saves, allowing just nine hits and striking out 10 during the dominant stretch.

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        3. Composite bats probably lend to more scoring. Lots of these college guys tend to have control issues. Sure, that inflates the ERA to a degree. Rocco, just my thoughts. No specific data.

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  44. MLB’s Draft Tracker has #8 Brian Walters signing for $309, 400. That’s considerably higher than the slot value of $215,100. That’s $94,300 over slot. That would limit the bonus available for #16 Logan Dawson to the $92,670 remaining before penalties are incurred plus the $150K limit of the slot for a total of $242,670.

    Dawson has reached an agreement.

    I’m not sure of the bonuses now. Walters is a 4th-year senior. It doesn’t seem like he would have the leverage to command an over slot bonus. And $240K seems low for a high school student. We’ll see when they publish the bonus amounts.

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  45. I don’t know about this but Walters, Ferrera, and 5 of the UDFAs have been assigned to the FCL Phillies. The FCL Phillies season concluded last week.

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    1. Jim. I looked at your draft tracker this morning. I noticed the IU pitcher Gilley signed for $7,500. Like $180,000 under. Is this a normal thing that happens? Saw a while back where it was stated the Dodgers signed a catcher for like $2,500. I realize seniors have basically zero leverage so take it or leave it. But on your page, it looked like 6 of the 11-20 got the $150 or more bonus. Just wondering. Thanks.

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      1. Yes. In order to have money to add to the bonuses of prospects who will need over slot money to sign, teams regularly sign 4-year seniors among their top ten picks with the understanding that they will sign for a low amount. I don’t know about the Dodgers’ catcher, but I noticed that the Braves signed their 8 thru ten picks for a total of $12.5K for savings they could apply elsewhere. I looked at them early since they were one team that was signing players immediately after the draft. I think they signed 8 of their top ten picks to sign 3 HS picks in their top ten. They got their #1, a HS player, to sign under slot.

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  46. The Phillies have reached agreement with their top 19 draft picks. #16 Logan Dawson is in the fold with a $242.5K bonus.

    The Draft Tracker is up-to-date.

    The Phillies spent all but $170 of their allotment plus 5%.

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  47. Jim. Thanks for clarifying. I am amazed though at the $7,500. But even more with Braves at $12,500 for 3 players. As you stated the college seniors have NO leverage. But in reality, back in the day I would have probably taken $5 to say I had signed a deal.

    Looks like the Phillies had things budgeted well.

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