The MLB amateur draft began in 1965 - following is yearly data and information regarding Phillies drafts from that year thru 2024. Trivia buffs know that Rick Monday of the Kansas City Athletics was the first ever player drafted. Mike Adamson was the first player to be drafted by the Phillies - he didn’t sign 🥸 - Larry Hisle became the first Phillies 1965 draft selection to reach the big leagues.
“Originally three separate drafts were held each year. The June draft, which was by far the largest, involved new high school graduates, as well as college seniors who had just finished their seasons. Another draft was held in January, which typically involved high school players who graduated in the winter, junior college players, and players who had dropped out of four-year colleges. Junior college players were required to wait until their current season was completed before they could sign. Finally, there was a secondary draft for players who participated in amateur summer leagues. The two extra drafts were eliminated after 1986.” - Wikipedia
So here’s a look at Phillies data over the years - I went into more detail from 2015 to 2024 - from 1965 to 2014 I scaled back just a bit 🤪. There is too much data in this collection so I am splitting it into four postings - the first will be the time frame from 1965 to 1979 followed by 1980 to 1999 then 2000 to 2019 and the last from 2020 to 2024.
1979 :
# of Selections : 52
College Picks : 24 - 3 D1, 2 D2, 1 NAIA, 18 JC
High School Picks : 26
Unaffiliated Draft Picks : 2
# of Signed Draft Picks : 37
4 Major Leaguers :
Mark Davis - LHP - 1st rd - January draft
Roy Smith - RHP - 3rd rd
Jay Baller - SS - 4th rd
Kelly Downs - RHP - 26th rd
1979 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
Jeff Stone - OF
Jerry Willard - C
Overall 1979 Draft Facts : 870 selections - 550 signed (63%) - 101 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1978 :
# of Selections : 41
College Picks : 20 - 6 D1, 1 D2, 1 NAIA, 12 JC
High School Picks : 21
# of Signed Draft Picks : 32
2 Major Leaguers :
Ryne Sandberg - OF - 20th rd - drafted as an outfielder
Ed Hearn - RHP - 4th rd
1978 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
Julio Franco - IF
George Bell - OF
Don Carmen - LHP
Carmen Castillo - OF
Alejandro Sanchez - OF
Overall 1978 Draft Facts : 779 selections - 485 signed (62%) - 105 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1977 :
# of Selections : 48
College Picks : 22 - 7 D1, 1 D2, 14 JC
High School Picks : 23
Unaffiliated Draft Picks : 3
# of Signed Draft Picks : 34
4 Major Leaguers :
Scott Munninghoff - RHP - 1st rd
Jerry Reed - RHP - 22nd rd
George Vukovich - OF - 4th rd
George Walker - OF - 20th rd
1977 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
Wil Culmer - OF
Jay Loviglio - 2B/3B
Overall 1977 Draft Facts : 775 selections - 504 signed (65%) - 97 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1976 :
# of Selections : 47
College Picks : 24 - 4 D1, 1 D2, 2 JC, 17 NAIA
High School Picks : 22
Unaffiliated Draft Picks : 1
# of Signed Draft Picks : 21
6 Major Leaguers :
Derek Botelho - RHP - 2nd rd - January draft
Len Matuszek - OF - 5th rd
Ozzie Virgil - C - 6th rd
Jack Lazorko - 3B - 1st rd - June secondary draft
Joe Charboneau - OF - 2nd rd - June secondary draft
Bob Walk - RHP - 3rd rd - June secondary draft
1976 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
Marty Bystrom - RHP
Overall 1976 Draft Facts : 713 selections - 444 signed (62%) - 94 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1975 :
# of Selections : 43
College Picks : 23 - 6 D1, 1 D2, 3 D3, 13 JC
High School Picks : 20
# of Signed Draft Picks : 28
3 Major Leaguers :
Barry Bonnell - OF - 1st rd - January Draft
Dickie Noles - RHP - 4th rd
Keith Moreland - 3B - 7th rd
1975 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
Luis Aguayo - IF
Orlando Isales - OF
Jose Moreno - OF/2B
Overall 1975 Draft Facts : 679 selections - 389 signed (57%) - 72 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1974 :
# of Selections : 50
College Picks : 31 - 11 D1, 5 D2, 3 JC, 12 NAIA
High School Picks : 18
Unaffiliated Draft Picks : 1
# of Signed Draft Picks : 21
6 Major Leaguers :
Jim Morrison - 3B - 5th rd
Warren Brusstar - RHP - 4th rd - January draft
Lonnie Smith - OF - 1st rd
Kevin Saucier - LHP - 2nd rd
Dan McCormack - C - 4th rd
Mark Clear - RHP - 8th rd
1974 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
John Poff - OF/1B
Overall 1974 Draft Facts : 689 selections - 411 signed (60%) - 86 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1973 :
# of Selections : 36
College Picks : 21 - 8 D1, 4 D2, 9 JC
High School Picks : 14
Unaffiliated Draft Picks : 1
# of Signed Draft Picks : 27
10 Major Leaguers :
Alan Bannister - SS - 1st rd - January draft
Rick Bosetti - OF - 7th rd - January draft
Dick Ruthven - RHP - 1st rd - January draft
John Stearns - OF - 1st rd
Todd Cruz - SS - 2nd rd
Ron Jackson - OF - 3rd rd
Jim Wright - RHP - 5th rd
Manny Seoane - RHP - 6th rd
Randy Lerch - LHP - 8th rd
Dan Boitano - RHP - 1st rd - June secondary draft
1973 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
Willie Hernandez - LHP
Overall 1973 Draft Facts : 747 selections - 456 signed (61%) - 70 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1972 :
# of Selections : 38
College Picks : 21 - 8 D1, 1 D2, 12 JC
High School Picks : 15
Unaffiliated Draft Picks : 2
# of Signed Draft Picks : 20
3 Major Leaguers :
Larry Christenson - RHP - 1st rd
Tom Underwood - LHP - 2nd rd
Bill Nahorodny - C - 6th rd
Overall 1972 Draft Facts : 791 selections - 350 signed (56%) - 77 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1971 :
# of Selections : 50
College Picks : 24 - 10 D1, 4 D2, 10 JC
High School Picks : 23
Unaffiliated Draft Picks : 3
# of Signed Draft Picks : 36
4 Major Leaguers :
Mike Schmidt - SS - 2nd rd
Roy Thomas - RHP - 1st rd
Mac Scarce - LHP - 8th rd
Dane Iorg - SS - 1st rd - June secondary draft
1971 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
Jerry Martin - OF
Overall 1971 Draft Facts : 803 selections - 432 signed (54%) - 74 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1970 :
# of Selections : 43
College Picks : 29 - 14 D1, 2 D2, 2 NAIA, 11 JC
High School Picks : 14
# of Signed Draft Picks : 31
5 Major Leaguers :
Fred Andrews - SS - 8th rd
Bob Beall - OF/1B - 28th rd
Dave Downs - RHP - 6th rd
Craig Robinson - SS - 11th rd
Erskin Thomason - RHP - 22nd rd
Overall 1970 Draft Facts : 929 selections - 509 signed (55 %) - 77 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1969 :
# of Selections : 45
College Picks : 30 - 14 D1, 6 D2, 1 NAIA, 9 JC
Unaffiliated Draft Picks : 3
High School Picks : 12
# of Signed Draft Picks : 32
6 Major Leaguers :
Mike Anderson - OF - 1st rd
Mike Rogodzinski - OF - 2nd rd
Mike Wallace - LHP - 4th rd
Bob Boone - 3B - 6th rd - converted to Catcher
Ron Diorio - RHP - 16th rd
Terry Enyart - LHP - drafted in January draft - regular phase - 1st rd
1969 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
Jim Essian - C
Tom Buskey - RHP
Dave Wallace -RHP
Overall 1969 Draft Facts : 1,044 selections - 558 signed (53%) - 87 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1968 :
# of Selections : 46
College Picks : 17 - 8 D1, 2 D2, 1 NAIA, 6 JC
High School Picks : 23
Unaffiliated Draft Picks : 6
# of Signed Draft Picks : 30
1 Major Leaguer :
Greg Luzinski - OF - 1st rd
1968 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
Manny Trillo - 2B
Dyar Miller - LHP
Overall 1968 Draft Facts : 913 selections - 482 signed (53%) - 76 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1967 :
# of Selections : 36
College Picks : 15 - 3 D1, 1 D2, 11 JC
High School Picks : 21
# of Signed Draft Picks : 26
1 Major Leaguer :
Scott Reid - OF - drafted in June draft - second phase - 2nd rd
1967 Undrafted Free Agent signing who became a Major Leaguer :
Andre Thornton - 1B
Overall 1967 Draft Facts : 975 selections - 487 signed (50%) - 60 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1966 :
# of Selections : 33 (26 - regular draft, 7 other)
College Picks : 16 - 8 D1, 2 D2, 1 NAIA, 5 JC
High School Picks : 17
# of Signed Draft Picks : 13
4 Major Leaguers :
Ken Reynolds - LHP - 4th3rd rd
John Vukovich - 3B/SS - drafted in January draft - regular phase - 1st rd
Lowell Palmer - RHP - drafted in January draft - second phase - 1st rd
Steve Arlin - RHP - drafted in June draft - second phase - 1st rd
1966 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
Toby Harrah - 3B
Larry Cox - C
John Cumberland - LHP
Mike Strohler - RHP
Overall 1966 Draft Facts : 833 selections - 419 signed (50%) - 63 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
1965 :
# of Selections : 34 (33 regular draft, 1 other)
College Picks : 17 - 13 D1, 3 D2, 1 NAIA
High School Picks : 16
Unaffiliated Draft Picks : 1
# of Signed Draft Picks : 21
3 Major Leaguers :
Larry Hisle - OF - 2nd rd
Billy Champion - RHP - 3rd rd
Terry Harmon - SS - 5th rd
1965 Undrafted Free Agent signings who became Major Leaguers :
Denny Doyle - 2B
Larry Bowa - SS
Mike Compton - C
Gene Rounsaville - RHP
Overall 1965 Draft Facts : 824 selections - 425 signed (52%) - 85 made the majors - source - Baseball Cube.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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