Philadelphia Phillies Take High School Infielder In Mock Draft

The Philadelphia Phillies will be selecting at the 27th pick in this year's draft after another deep playoff run in 2023. In Thursday's mock draft, Jim Callis had the Fightin's picking Theo Gillen, a high school middle infielder out of Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.

Gillen is ranked as the 27th overall draft prospect, but is summed up perfectly with Callis saying that the infielder "might possess the best hitting ability in the high school crop."

The 18-year-old can hit to all fields with his 60-grade hit tool and at 6-foot-2, 195 pounds he projects to develop a good power floor coming from the middle infield. His feel for hitting isn't his only plus-tool as he is a plus-runner, even after coming back from a knee injury.

A shortstop by trade, he could quickly move to second base despite his speed giving him some good range at the position. His arm "hasn't bounced back" after suffering a labrum injury, which could force him out of shortstop in the long term. If he does move to second base, his 55-grade power gives him the ability to become a high floor, power-hitting second baseman in the future.

At such a young age, though, he will still have plenty of time to fully recover from his injuries.

His future at short isn't dead in the water, but it should be noted that a change in positions is always a possibility.

In the 2023 draft, Philadelphia got a steal in high schooler Aidan Miller and they have the possibility of doing the same this year with Gillen.

Considering the high schooler's ability as a pure hitter, Gillen would join Miller at the top of the Phillies' prospect list as a possible middle infield duo of the future.

That could prove difficult, though, with Trea Turner and Bryson Stott solidified at the big league level. High school players are always a crap shoot, but collecting high-ceiling bats at important positions is never a bad idea.

Given Gillen's talents, it would be pretty surprising to see him fall all the way to the 27th pick.

It happened with Miller last year, but in a relatively weak high school class overall, a prospect who can play shortstop will be coveted. Gillen is a Texas recruit and could use that to his advantage in terms of his signing bonus depending on where he is selected.

Philadelphia will try to repeat what they did last draft by landing a talent such as Gillen.