Phillies take Greg Pickett in the Eighth Round of the 2015 MLB Draft

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Just when we were wondering what the Phillies were doing, they take the HS outfielder with the biggest raw power in the draft.  At 6’4″ 215 Pickett is fairly filled out but he destroys baseballs in BP already.  It hasn’t all translated to games, but he has good makeup and is coachable.  He is a left fielder, and right now not a particularly good one, so first base might be in his future.  He won’t cost all of the Phillies overslot money saved in rounds 3 to 7 but he will take a chunk of it.

Here is BA’s Writeup Pre-Draft (#203 Overall)

Pickett possesses some of the best raw power among high school players in this year’s draft, thanks to a 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame and a left-handed stroke that allows him to drive the ball with good loft. He’s selective at the plate and uses the whole field to hit, but some scouts commented that his raw power doesn’t always come out in games. The bat will have to play as he doesn’t offer much value defensively. As an outfielder, he’s limited to left field, and a move to first base is not out of the question. Pickett is a below-average runner but not a base clogger. While he’s been a regular on the showcase circuit, scouts still aren’t sure what to project from Pickett as much of his game remains raw. He’ll likely get a chance to work on some of those rough edges at Mississippi State, where he’s committed.

MLB’s Pre-draft writeup:

Pickett began his senior season at Legend High School batting .420 with seven doubles, six homers and 22 RBI. He continued to build off his junior campaign, when he batted .387 with five home runs, two doubles and a triple while driving in 19 runs, which earned him selection to the 2014 Perfect Game Underclass 1st Team. Pickett is committed to Mississippi State University.