The Phillies had a day to remember yesterday at the MLB draft. Not picking until the 36th pick thanks to their spending money on their major league team, they had to wait a while to make that first pick.
If there was anything this team needed in its farm system, it’s top flight hitters with power and starting pitching depth. Even with spending a large amount of capital on pitching last year, a simple scan up and down their various minor league rosters reinforces the idea that they can still use more.
With their first pick in the draft though, they went with Tyler Spangler, a shortstop from a high school in California. Reading this Matt Gelb piece ($), there is some risk that they were willing to take to land a bat like Spangler.
The Phillies selected Spangler, a somewhat ironic pick in 2026 because one of their best prospects has been sidelined by a back injury all season. Aidan Miller might not play in a minor-league game this season. But the Phillies believe Spangler will be on the field at some point this summer. (Provided the two sides agree on a signing bonus.) Spangler has been cleared to return to action, said Brian Barber, the team’s amateur scouting director…[s]o, given the inherent risk of picking so late, it might have prompted the Phillies to take a bigger swing. The 36th pick comes with a $2.76 million slot value, and Spangler will command a much higher bonus than that despite not having played a single game during his senior season.
From there, they went with another big bat in Caden Bogenpohl, a powerful outfielder from Missouri State, before focusing in on pitching with their next three picks. Those picks – Ruger Riojas, Deven Sheerin, Jaxon Jelkin – all look as though they can move fast to either reinforce the bullpen in a year or two, or maybe even be some depth for their rotation.
As far as reaction the picks, there was a mixture. Keith Law at The Athletic didn’t get it:
With their first pick (No. 36), they took high school shortstop Tyler Spangler, a teenager with a back injury that kept him from playing all spring. Their second pick was Missouri State outfielder Caden Bogenpohl, who has otherworldly power and is a pretty good athlete but whiffs on pitches in the zone a ton, even fastballs. Their third pick was Texas senior right-hander Ruger Riojas, a solid pick for the spot who’ll move fast if they put him in the bullpen, followed by a future reliever in LSU right-hander Deven Sheerin, fine value for the fourth round. Philly’s last pick (compensation fourth round) was 23 1/2-year-old Kentucky right-hander Jaxon Jelkin, who has injury and makeup questions on his resume.
Baseball America is on board with the Spangler pick, thinking they may have gotten a steal ($).
I love this pick for the Phillies. Coming into the season, Spangler was right behind Grady Emerson in the conversation for being a top two or three high school player in the 2026 class. Spangler didn’t play his senior season, which obviously dinged his stock, but the talent and upside is still commensurate with players who went in the top half of the first round, and the Phillies were able to get him despite not having a pick until 36th overall.
Obviously, there will be many years pass before we can definitively put a grade on this draft for the Phillies. The early returns are that they did well for themselves despite not having one of the top thirty five picks in the draft. Be sure to keep an eye on our draft tracker throughout the day to follow how the Phillies put the finishing touches on this draft.
