It was probably a safe bet that the Phillies would go high risk and high school with their first pick. In SS Tyler Spangler they managed to get both.
On the surface he has good size (6’3″) with a projectable frame and chance to stick at shortstop. IT seems that he might end up moving to third, but it isn’t a forgone conclusion and he probably will be pretty good there. He apparently has a good left handed swing with a good approach and feel for contact. MLB notes some problems with breaking stuff, which isn’t surprising given lefty swinger with long limbs. He needs some contact maximizing to get to his power as he matures.
The negative is he barely played this spring due to his team being suspended due to misconduct (hazing) off the field, and then he missed time with a back injury. Fangraphs lists the injury as a lower back stress reaction, so that is different than Aidan Miller’s current injury, but it won’t stop you from being nervous. He also is a Stanford commit and is unlikely to come cheaply, we will see over the next few picks how un-cheaply that will be, but Kiley McDaniel indicated his demands were keeping teams away.
In a vacuum drafting a talented high school player falling down the draft is smart. Spangler even came back healthy at the combine which should put some of the injury stuff to rest. It is certainly an interesting pick.
Miller, Renteria, and now Spangler. Hopefully the organization can develop these hitters.