Phillies Select George Klassen in the 6th Round of the 2023 Draft

by

The Phillies were missing their 5th round pick courtesy of signing Trea Turner. In the 6th round they came back with a pick that matches their recent trends in RHP George Klassen out of the Minnesota.

Klassen missed his freshman year due to Tommy John surgery and mostly was a reliever as a sophomore and last summer in the Northwoods League. This year he started 13 of the 14 games he appeared in. Klassen reportedly has some of the best arm speed in the draft and averaged 98 as a starter and has been up to 102. He has a pair of breaking balls that according to MLB Pipeline flash plus. He is a shorter (6’2″), not physical, athletic pitcher with trouble repeating his delivery. This all sugarcoats the control issues. Klassen was a starter, but only threw 56.2 innings. He put up a 5.72 ERA and walked 47 with 49 strikeouts. He was 193 on MLB Pipeline’s list, but did not make BA’s Top 500.

This pick follows the Phillies drafting of guys Griff McGarry, Alex McFarlane, Andrew Baker, and Orion Kerkering. They have gone the relief route to simplify things, but they have also tried to make it all work as starter. Regardless of role, the Phillies will need Klassen to find some delivery consistency. His range of outcomes is enormous as there is elite stuff that could be impactful as a starter or reliever. He also might not make it to AA.