Phillies draft recap day 2

The 2021 MLB draft continued for the Phillies Monday afternoon after they selected 18-year-old right-handed pitcher Andrew Painter with the 13th overall pick Sunday night.

Painter is 6-foot-7 and was up to 97 mph the first time the Phillies scouted him. He had a 0.31 ERA as a senior at Calvary Christian HS in Fort Lauderdale and played with Phillies manager Joe Girardi’s son, Dante.

Here’s the recap of day two:

Round 2, 49th overall: OF Ethan Wilson (South Alabama)

The Phillies spent their second-round pick on Ethan Wilson, an outfielder from South Alabama.

Baseball America had Wilson ranked 26th in its Top 500 Draft Prospects list, and the Phillies got him at 49.

Wilson (6-foot-1/210 lbs) is a left-handed hitter drafted for his bat.

Here is a piece of the scouting report from Baseball America:

Wilson controls the zone well and also has a solid all-fields approach, with the power to drive pitches on the outer half over the fence to the left-center gap. Some scouts think his swing is a bit too stiff to truly be a plus hitter, but he does have plus raw power. Those offensive tools are the carrying tools for Wilson, who profiles as a left fielder thanks to limited arm strength and below-average running ability.

3rd round (84th overall): OF Jordan Viars

The Phillies went with a left-handed hitting high school outfielder out of Texas in the third round. 

Viars is a 6-foot-4, 215-pounder who, at 17 years old, is one of the youngest players in the draft. The Arkansas commit turns 18 next week.

Baseball America refers to him as “an already filled-out left-handed hitter who has the plus power potential that teams look for in a corner infielder. A team could see if he can stick in a corner outfield spot, but he’s likely to slow further as he matures.”

4th round (114th overall): RHP Micah Ottenbreit 

Ottenbreit is a 6-foot-4 pitcher from Trenton HS in Michigan. He is a three-pitch pitcher with a curveball, changeup and a fastball in the low-90s. 

From BA:

Scouts might want to see more present stuff, but it’s hard to see Ottenbreit not throwing harder in the future as he adds weight to his frame. The curveball has good traits now with plenty of depth and could be a real weapon when he’s able to add more power to the offering. He is committed to Michigan State and could blow up if he makes it to campus and continues along the development path that many evaluators are expecting.

5th round (145th overall): RHP Griff McGarry

McGarry, 22, was the first college pitcher taken by the Phillies in this year’s draft. He’s from the University of Virginia, where he pitched 134 career innings with 186 strikeouts but 131 walks. 

“That sort of control will prevent him from having any significant role at the next level,” the scouting report reads, “but scouts keep coming back because McGarry’s stuff is so impressive and the rare times he’s locked in and throws the ball over the plate, he looks dominant.”

6th round (175th overall): RHP Jose Peña Jr.

Peña is a 6-foot-3 pitcher from Tampa Preparatory School. The 18-year-old has flashed mid-90s velocity and a good-looking curveball.

He had committed to play at Florida International. 

7th round (205th overall): RHP Christian McGowan

According to MLB.com, McGowan “operates at 92-94 mph and reaches 99 with his fastball, which features more downhill plane than true life.”

He’s also developed a two-seam fastball and struck out 109 batters in 74 innings this past season for Eastern Oklahoma State, a junior college. He had committed to Texas Tech.

Rounds 11-20 take place Tuesday.