Phillies Select SS Crawford with 16th Overall Pick, Catcher Knapp Taken in 2nd Round

The Phillies took another player out of Lakewood High School with their first pick in the MLB amateur draft on Thursday night. J.P. Crawford became the third player taken by the Phils from the southern California school with an early round pick in the past seven seasons. Last year, righty pitcher Shane Watson, who played with Crawford since both prospects were very young, was taken by the Phils with their first pick, 40th overall. Watson's older brother Scotty played with the other of the Phils' Lakewood High draft picks, Travis d'Arnaud.

Crawford, a lefty batting shortstop, is highly touted and is said to have tremendous defensive abilities at his position with exceptional range and a strong arm. The 18-year-old hit .432 in 25 games in his senior season this year and is his school's all-time leader in hits and runs scored. Offensively, he has a high ceiling, but does not project to hit for great power.

The youngster is a cousin of Dodgers outfielder Carl Crawford. Additionally, his father Larry played professional football in Canada.

The 6-foot-2 175-pounder is committed to playing college ball at the University of Southern California on a full-ride scholarship, but according to Phillies assistant general manager in charge of amateur scouting Marti Wolever, as told to CSNPhilly.com, Crawford is ready to sign his first pro contract.

"All indications are that he’s ready to start his professional career, but that’s a difficult decision to make,” Wolever said. “Southern Cal is a great option for him to have, but as far as development goes, I think what we have to offer is a leg up on what he might entertain by going to school."

And when gauging how likely a player is to sign, it's important to keep in mind that while a full scholarship is not something to scoff at, that it is standard for contracts of high school draft choices to include full college tuition paid at a time of the signee's choosing over a four-year period.

Crawford was selected 16th overall by the Phillies with their highest pick since they took Gavin Floyd with the 4th pick in 2001.

Also drafted on Thursday by the Phillies was catcher Andrew Knapp. The 21-year-old is a University of California product and led the Golden Bears in batting average this year with a .350 mark, and slammed eight homers with 41 RBI.

The lefty hitting Knapp is not related to righty hurler Jason Knapp, who was the Phils' 2nd round selection back in 2008 and ended up being a key trade chip when the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee from the Indians.

I suppose there's not much wrong with taking the best player available, but if there is one position the Phils don't need more depth in, it's catcher. With currently injured 21-year-old Tommy Joseph, 22-year-old walking trade bait Sebastian Valle and emerging 23-year-old Cameron Rupp all making progress at the upper levels of the organization's developmental ranks, this early draft spot could have been better used.

The Phillies will make their next selections in the draft on Friday. Their upcoming spots in the draft are in the 3rd round with the 89th and 96th picks. Selections of the 3rd through 10th rounds will take place beginning on Friday at 12:30 PM, while rounds 11 through 40 will take place on Saturday starting at 1 PM.

A sampling of Crawford's on-field skills can be viewed in the media player below.

Batting practice and game hitting footage of Knapp can be seen in the media player below.

Diekman a Late Addition to Mesa AFL Roster

On Wednesday, Phillies lefty pitching prospect Jacob Diekman made his Arizona Fall League debut. Diekman, who was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 amateur draft, was assigned to Mesa late, in order to increase his 2010 innings total, according to Mesa hitting coach Mark Parent, who managed Diekman in Lakewood this past season. Diekman, 23, posted a 2-0 record with 1.90 ERA in 21 games with Class A Lakewood before being promoted to High-A Clearwater on June 24th. In 24 games with the Threshers, Diekman went 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA. Combined, Diekman tossed 55 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average against at two levels in 2010. However, after not pitching in an official game since he threw a shutout inning to wrap up the Clearwater season on September 5th, Diekman was unable to record an out as all seven batters he faced reached base, six with hits, one on an error. Diekman was charged with 5 earned runs in the outing. Diekman had spent time at instructional ball from

McGwire Stays Phony, Despite Admitting Drug Use

Mark McGwire made an effort to publicly come clean today, admitting to the world that he took performance enhancing drugs during his playing career. Steroids and human growth hormones were among the drugs that McGwire admitted to using. MLB Network featured a one on one interview with Bob Costas and McGwire on Monday evening. The broadcast was virtually garbage, thanks to McGwire. Ahead is a list of quotes from McGwire's interview. McGwire repeatedly stated his point of view that there were no dishonorable intentions involved when taking steroids, and that he was merely using them as a means to recover from varying ailments. When asked if he felt like he cheated... "As I look back now...I can see how people would say that. As far as the talent goes and the hand-eye coordination, the ability, the genetics I was given...I don't see it." "I did not take this for any strength purposes." Denial. Read on for similar B.S. He whined about the abuse he's taken at

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against. The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball wi

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