Phillies 2022 MLB draft tracker: Breaking down all 19 picks

The Phillies might not be playing games, but there has been no shortage of action over the last three days. On Sunday, with the 17th pick in the MLB draft, they selected Justin Crawford — son of Carl Crawford — with their first-round pick. Eighteen more picks followed over Monday and Tuesday.

In many ways, this was an atypical draft. COVID-19 restrictions aren’t as stringent as they were in previous years, which affects how teams are able to evaluate players. In previous years, the draft was held in June, but this year and in 2021 it has been held in July.

“You know, what we do is simple because we’re just trying to find the best players,” Phillies scouting director Brian Barber said Tuesday. “But it’s just so difficult when you’re when you’re out there and really trying to project what these guys are going to become in future years.

“So, is it easy? I think things have slowed down a little bit maybe during the draft that you have an idea of which direction you want to go, but it’s definitely never easy.”

Here’s what you need to know about all of the Phillies’ picks.

Justin Crawford may be known for the being the son of four-time All-Star left fielder Carl Crawford, but the Phillies believe that he may be a more polished player than his father was at his age (Justin is 18). Phillies scouting director Brian Barber projected Crawford to be “an elite center fielder,” adding that the Phillies were drawn to his contact skills at the plate. They were also drawn to his speed; the father and son have similar running strides, although Justin thinks he’s faster than his old man.

The Phillies didn’t have a second-round pick because they forfeited it after signing Nick Castellanos, who was extended a qualifying offer from the Reds before hitting free agency.

With their second pick, the Phillies chose Rincones, a corner outfielder out of Florida Atlantic University. He brings a pure left-handed swing and a consistent track record throughout his collegiate career, batting .346/.451/.658 at FAU and .415/.523/.636 at St. Petersburg College, where he played from 2020-21. He controls the zone well and has some potential to be a middle-of-the-order power bat.

Rincones has said his fielding and speed have been somewhat underrated, and Barber tends to agree.

“This is a kid that played center field at times this year some at FAU,” Barber said. “He’s not a slug. He’s a guy that has a chance to be a really good defender. Where he ends up ... I wouldn’t project him to be a center fielder in the big leagues like we do, whether it’s Justin or Emaarion Boyd, that has the ability to do that, but he’s a better defender than people have given him credit for and he’s a better mover than people have given them credit for. And maybe some of the power and hit has even been undersold there with him.”

McFarlane brings good stuff — with a particularly sharp fastball and slider — and a high strikeout total (120 whiffs in 91 innings through 49 career games). He was used out of the bullpen and as a starter during his time in college. His ERA is a bit high (4.35 over three seasons). He played a season in the Cape Cod League in 2021, posting a 4.03 ERA over seven games with 28 strikeouts.

“With Alex McFarland, we view him as a potential starter,” Barber said. “It’s frontline potential starting stuff, fastball, changeup, breaking ball all on the plus side of the scale. So it was just an exciting guy that we think has projection.”

Kerkering has a very good slider and good peripherals (167 strikeouts and 57 walks through 129⅔ innings). He was used as a starter and a reliever during his time at South Florida. Like McFarlane, the ERA is high (4.79 over three seasons) but his walk and strikeout numbers could suggest better results in the future.

“Kerkering probably is more on the end of a bullpen guy, but has shown the ability to do both,” Barber said. “He has two dominating pitches, his fastball is up to 97 with a really good slider.”

Graves is an 18-year-old left-handed pitcher/first baseman. He’s tall — 6-foot-4 — with a good frame, and will only get stronger. His fastball is listed at 91 mph, and also throws a curveball and changeup.

A senior left-handed-hitting catcher, Ricketts brings some power and is coming off a good platform year, leading his team in batting average (.373), and multihit games (26). Ricketts’ senior season was by far his best — he batted .253, .351, and .280 his first three seasons at San Diego.

Rao is another tall (6-4) collegiate pitcher. He has a good four-seam/splitter mix. The splitter is his calling card, and he gets a lot of swings and misses with it. Rao posted a 3.83 ERA in 2022 through 47 innings with 54 strikeouts.

Castillo is a left-handed corner outfielder. He’s had consistent production throughout his college career — batting over .300 over four seasons. He has a nice swing and some pop.

Sosa is an athletic backstop with a strong arm. His strikeout totals are a bit high (48 through 187 at-bats), but he has some power potential (.337/.415/.561).

Boyd is an athletic 18-year-old center fielder with an impact run/defense tool. His speed is his calling card — he clocked in at 6.56 seconds in the 60-yard dash and 1.49 seconds in 10-yard split. He has some feel at the plate, too, which the Phillies presumably think they can improve on through their player development.

“He can really, really run, can really defend and we really liked the swing,” Barber said of Boyd. “There’s some comparisons to Justin [Crawford] in the fact that it’s that it’s plus-plus speed, plus-plus defense in center field, and a little bit of projection required to the body and strength. ... Where we took them shows you a little bit of the differences, but we do think very, very highly of Mari and his talent that he brings on the field and think it’s someone that’s going to hit there.”

Dissin, a junior college backstop, brings a good catch-and-throw tool. He was an offensive performer last year too, slashing .393/.505/.577 over 45 games at Saddleback College. Dissin was born in Malvern.

“Jordan is a really good projectable-bodied kid that can catch and really, really throw back there as well,” Barber said. “So, maybe due to the fact that he’s from this area, he came to Philadelphia for a workout, the same workout a couple of weeks ago, and really impressed as well. It’s one of those things ... You can never have enough catching in an organization. And I think we brought in a few good ones during the draft this year. And Jordan was really just super impressive for us and our guy Demerius Pittman, our local scout out there in California has been pounding the table for all year.”

Fergus is a toolsy center fielder with plus run and defense. He is coming off a solid platform year (.315/.405/.601) but his swing-and-miss approach could use some work (53 strikeouts through 213 at-bats).

Rincon has a good glove, can switch hit, has a strong arm and is a quick runner. He is committed to San Jacinto College, a junior college in the Houston area.

“He’s a Pennsylvania guy, and we had an opportunity to see him at our workout in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago and just came came away impressed there,” Barber said. “It’s a high school switch-hitting shortstop, really good defender at shortstop, plus arm, plus speed and potential with switch-hit in the back.”

Schreffler is coming off a great junior year at Maryland, hitting .340/.421/.557 over 62 games. He is athletic, a plus runner and has some pop, too. He doesn’t have a consistent track record of success in college but is coming off of his best season.

Bortka was used primarily as a reliever in college. He brings big strikeout numbers (41 whiffs through 24⅓ innings). He has big frame (6-5, 225 pounds) and can spin the ball.

As a graduate student, Harper is a little bit on the older side (23). He is big relief pitcher (6-4, 225 pounds) with good arm strength and a solid cutter.

Wimmer is a good runner with some raw power. He is athletic and has the tools to play a bunch of different positions. His walk rate (15 walks through 221 at-bats last season) needs work.

Garrett has a shaky track record (9.00 ERA through two seasons at Missouri) but has good stuff, and could have some upside if he cleans things up, mainly his control.

Karwffa recently converted to pitching after splitting his time between the outfield and second base.

“I think he’s a guy that both our scouts and some of the group in the analytics department liked as well,” Barber said. “They were able to pick out some of the stuff that jumped down on their model that they use. Really liked both the fastball and the slider. So it was you know, sort of a convergence of both scouting and analytics there.”