Day 2 Phillies Draft Notes

With their initial pick on the second day of this year's amatuer draft, the Phillies selected college outfielder Ethan Wilson.

The 21-year-old posted a .313 average with seven homers, 30 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 54 games this year in his junior season at the University of South Alabama.

Listed at six-foot-two, 213 pounds, Wilson was touted as one of the best all around hitters in the 2021 draft class. The lefty batter is described as a contact hitter that sports a favorable strike out rate and can really unleash some raw power when he has the right approach.

Chosen number 49 overall, Wilson had been considered a possible first round pick prior to the draft this year. He projects to be a contributor in the middle of a big league batting order.

The Phils' 3rd round pick (84th overall) was high school outfielder Jordan Viars. Another lefty batter, Viars is listed at six-foot-four 215 pounds.

The 17-year-old has a wide-shouldered frame and boasts some solid speed.

Viars is an Arkansas commit who was ranked as the top high school outfielder in the state of Texas.

Fourth round pick Micah Ottenbreit is a right-handed pitcher selected out of high school in Michigan. The 18-year-old was ranked by some as a top-100 talent in this year's draft. The Phillies got him at 114th overall.

The Phils chose right-handed hurlers with their 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th round picks (three collegiate arms and one high schooler) as well. 8th rounder Jason Ruffcorn is the son of former Phils pitcher and 1991 first round pick of the White Sox, Scott Ruffcorn.

High school outfielder Gavin Tonkel was the team's 9th round choice. A righty batter, the 18-year-old was a .400 hitter this year in his senior season. He's committed to play college ball at Sacramento State, the same school that produced Rhys Hoskins.

The final pick of day two for the Phils was Logan Cerny, a right-handed hitting outfielder out of Troy University. In 51 games this year for the Trojans, the 21-year-old posted team-bests in each of the following- .332 average, 17 doubles, four triples, 15 home runs and 47 RBI.

The 2021 MLB amateur draft is set to conclude on Tuesday with rounds 11 through 20 taking place.

Comments

Jealous Ones Envy

Joe Blanton continues to excel and prove his worth in the Phillies pitching rotation. In his latest outing on Sunday, Blanton threw 8 strong innings, striking out 6, while walking just 1 and surrendering 2 earned runs, improving his record to 7-4. This season in July, Joe is 3-0 over four starts with 22 K's, 5 walks and a 1.21 ERA. Over his last 6 starts, Joe's ERA is 1.94. As a member of the Phillies, Blanton has a 3.84 ERA after the all star break with a 5-0 record. The Phillies are 20-12 (.625 winning percentage) in games that Blanton has started, since being acquired last July. Combined this season against other National League playoff contenders St. Louis, Chicago and Los Angeles, Blanton has a combined 1.67 ERA in 4 starts with a 2-0 record. Blanton is on such a sizzling run that the Bowling Green Hot Rods, a Tampa Bay Rays farm team, will host a Joe Blanton bobble head give away tomorrow. Bowling Green will host Joe's mother, father and sister for the event, as Joe...

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 71

Gene Kelly was the radio voice of the Philadelphia Phillies from 1950- 1959. Born in Brooklyn NY, Kelly pitched in the minor leagues after graduating from Marshall College in 1941. He would soon experience arm trouble, which ended his playing days. Kelly managed to continue a career in sports by turning to radio. When legendary announcer By Saam, who pulled double duty beginning in 1939 calling both Phillies and Athletics games, moved over to the A's side exclusively, Gene Kelly was the man who would fill the void and took over as the Phillies play-by-play man. The Phillies began broadcasting their games over the air in 1936, but until the 1950's, the broadcasters only attended home games and did not travel with the team. All road games were recreated, on the air, by the announcers who read a Western Union teletype account of the games from the studio in Philadelphia. During the decade of the 50's, Kelly was partnered with several different broadcasters, including Claude Ha...

Heroes- Fight of the Century

VS. It's a big day for your boy, Jay Ballz . No work, X-Men Origins: Wolverine premieres, our Phillies face the Metropolitans for the first time this season and tailgating for BOTH doesn't sound all that absurd to me. Anyway, I surveyed some qualified phans and got several opinions on how exactly a fight might go down if the mutant hero Wolverine faced off against Phillies hero Matt Stairs. Well known blogger, Chris, of I've Made a Huge Tiny Mistake , kept it real and said the following- "Wolverine has adamantium ( indestructible metal substance) claws, so that's a great advantage. Stairs' Wonder Bat is neutralized there. See, the problem becomes Wolverine's ability to recover (he has a regenerative power) faster. Stairs is merely human. Sure, he has a goatee, and goatees are great, but they're great for saving sauce, not for defeating mutants. I think Wolverine takes it in a fight to the death in about 15 minutes because Stairs simply doesn'...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog