Phillies Recent Sixth-Round Pick Showing Signs of Improvement

Mavis Graves, a sixth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft out of Eastside High School in Taylors, South Carolina, is redoing High-A because of some struggles exhibited with his control in 2025.

He walked 13.7% of the batters he faced, leading to a mixed bag of results during the season. That contributed to a 4.41 ERA across 81.2 innings, issuing 51 free passes to go along with 103 strikeouts.

This year, something has clicked for Graves. As shared by Keith Law of The Athletic (subscription required), he is looking like a different pitcher.

“He’s added about a mile an hour to the two-seamer, he’s using his slider way more and using both the changeup and cutter a good bit more. He’s also moved to the extreme third-base edge of the rubber from just being mostly on that side, and so far he’s throwing way more strikes,” wrote Law.

That is the kind of development every team wants to see from a young pitcher who goes through growing pains early in their career. Still only 22 years old, he has made incredible strides with his production.

Through his first seven starts and 26 innings pitched, Graves has produced a 3.12 ERA. His strikeout rate has spiked again, recording 44 punchouts and a 15.2 K/9 ratio. The walks are way down as well, issuing only nine to this point, coming out to a respectable 3.1 BB/9.

The improved performance on the mound has Law re-thinking the long-term outlook of the 2022 sixth-round pick as well.

“I think he’s more likely a reliever than a starter, but six months ago I had him as more of an organizational arm, whereas now I could see him as a depth reliever who bounces back and forth between Triple A and the majors,” he wrote.

A Big League arm, whether it is out of the bullpen or in the rotation, has value to an organization. Developing a sixth-round pick to become a swingman is a solid achievement for a franchise.

The stuff is there for him to succeed, and it would certainly be a worthwhile experiment to see if it plays even better coming out of the bullpen in spurts than trying to extend himself for the duration of a start.

Sign up for our free newsletter for the latest news and updates on the Phillies!