Phillies Might Need To Switch Successful Draft Strategy With Team Aging

As the Philadelphia Phillies head toward the All-Star break, the front office will be selecting the future of their organization during the first round of the 2025 MLB draft.

It has been a strong start to the season for the Phillies, who have been battling with the New York Mets for first place in the National League East all year. This battle will likely continue well into September, with both teams having high expectations.

The 2025 campaign is an important one for Philadelphia. After losing in the World Series in 2022, the team has been eliminated earlier and earlier in the postseason, and they will be trying to snap that streak this year.

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When looking at the roster for the Phillies, this is a veteran group. A lot of the key players on the team now are from that 2022 roster, and Philadelphia is going to need to replace some of them in the upcoming offseason.

With the draft here, Philadelphia is scheduled to be on the clock with the 26th pick. The franchise has done a nice job of drafting in recent years, and getting young talent is critical to sustaining success.

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Furthermore, with the team expected to be buyers this summer, the farm system for the Phillies might take a hit if some of their top prospects are dealt to help the team improve.

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently wrote about Philadelphia potentially needing to switch up their draft strategy despite it resulting in some impressive prospects.

“The major league roster is built around aging stars, and even the arrivals of Painter, Miller, and Crawford may only do so much to sustain the club's contention window. As such, it would make sense for the Phillies to show a sense of urgency by using early picks on college players.”

While it might behoove the Phillies to draft college players, there is no denying the success they have had by drafting high schoolers.

Andrew Painter, Aiden Miler and Justin Crawford are some fantastic prospects, with Painter being one of the best in all of baseball.

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However, while having good prospects is important, these players have yet to make an impact in the Majors. Painter figures to get called up at some point this summer, but it could still be some time for Miller and Crawford.

Philadelphia is a team that is trying to win now, and while they have done well drafting, they could use some younger impact players to help on the main roster soon.

With that being said, this could perhaps be a good time to take a more proven player out of college who might be able to help as early as 2026.

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