Philadelphia Phillies: 3 pitchers to target in the 2022 MLB draft

Major League Baseball is set to have its 57th draft this Sunday, and the Philadelphia Phillies are set to have the 17th overall pick. The question remaining is what their strategy will be. In the past two drafts, the Phillies targeted two hard-throwing right-handed pitchers in, Mick Abel and Andrew Painter. They have a chance to continue that trend tomorrow night.

Standing at 6’5″ with a fastball that now sits in the high-90s, Mick Abel has soared up prospect rankings. With solid size, athleticism, and a four-pitch rotation, Abel was selected with the 15th pick in the 2020 MLB draft and is set to be a near-top of the rotation level pitcher. He is far and away one of the best prospects in the Philadelphia Phillies’ entire farm system, perhaps second to only one.

The only prospect in the Phillies’ farm system that can not hold a candle to Abel but surpass him is Andrew Painter. Philadelphia selected Painter with the 13th pick in the 2021 MLB draft showing that they firmly believe in the 19-year-old. Like Abel, Painter boasts great size (6’7″) and a plus fastball. He’ll likely debut one year after Abel, and the hope is that the two will give the Phillies some high-end starts for quite a while. The plan has worked well so far, so does the team hit the well one more time?

Will the Philadelphia Phillies continue their recent first-round trend? Will they target yet another pitching prospect for the third year in a row?

There are certainly plenty of prospects who would be worthy of it at 17. While the Phillies may not have their pick of the litter, they can still have their choice of quality options mid-way through the first round.

Dave Dombrowski and the Philadelphia Phillies will have their pick of pitchers at the high school, college, and even independent level.