Phillies Need Second-Round Pick to Realize Immense Potential in Key Area

The Philadelphia Phillies had a clear idea of the kind of prospects they were going to target early in the 2025 MLB Draft.

Given the current state of their bullpen, they were hoping to land some players who have the potential to help them in the near future, potentially at some point down the stretch of the 2025 MLB regular season.

They certainly achieved that goal, using their first eight selections in the draft on pitchers. The first six and seven of the eight are collegiate arms, usually hinting they have the ability to move through the minor league system more rapidly.

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This draft plan deviates a little bit from previous years.

Each of the last five first-round picks the Phillies have made were high schoolers; the last three were positional players.

In 2014, when Philadelphia selected Aaron Nola out of LSU, was the last time a first-round pick was used on a collegiate pitcher.

This year, it was Gage Wood out of Arkansas who had his named called with the 26th pick in the 2025 MLB Draft.

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While his long-term future is as a starter, the former Razorback could help the Phillies immediately in the bullpen should there continue to be a need.

Help could also come in the near future from their second-round pick, Cade Obermueller, out of the University of Iowa.

He has the kind of pedigree teams love to see from a prospect, with his father, Wes Obermueller, spending five years in the Major Leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins.

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Selected No. 63 overall by Philadelphia, Obermueller’s selection is one that has received a lot of praise because of how rapidly he could move through the system and help the Big League team.

Like Wood, his long-term future is as a starting pitcher, but if he wants to realize his full potential, he has one area of weakness that has to be worked on.

“Obermueller the Younger improved his walk rate this past season, but he struggled with it enough during his first two seasons at Iowa that I suppose it's worth keeping an eye on once he turns professional,” wrote R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports, highlighting the former Hawkeye as his favorite pick after the first round for Philadelphia.

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In his first two years at Iowa, Obermueller had BB/9 ratios of 7.8 and 6.2. In 2023, his time at the Cape Cod League yielded a 4.8 BB/9.

This past year, he was able to harness his arsenal, recording a much-improved 3.5 BB/9.

At this point, it is the only thing truly holding him back in his development. If he can find the strike zone with a little more consistency, he will be an impact performer for the Phillies.

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