Phillies go with their 5th straight hitter with their 5th round pick in Indiana outfielder Carter Mathison.
Mathison had a big year as a freshman, but was less dominant as a sophomore and junior, hitting just .260/.378/.498 this year. There are definitely mixed opinions on him with most public lists having him rated out beyond 200, but Baseball Prospectus coming in at #70 on him. He struggled in the Cape Cod League last summer with wood bats, particularly in getting to his power. MLB and BA have conflicting reports on whether his approach is good and contact poor or contact good and approach is poor. Baseball Prospectus has him with very good in zone contact rates and low chase rates in 2024. That does hint at some passivity. They note he has good high end velocities and others note he has plus raw power.
He has plus speed and played center field this season, and has a chance to stick at the position in the long term.
It looks to be an athleticism bet, and one that would be very interesting if he wasn’t their 4th athleticism bet in 5 picks, but sometimes that is the way the draft board falls.