The Philadelphia Phillies spent their third-round pick on top high school prospect Devin Saltiban. The young outfielder is a center fielder, but many within the organization and around the league believe he will end up in a corner outfield spot and have a strong arm as well as excellent hitting.
The Phillies selected Devin Saltiban with the 98th overall pick. He was MLB Pipeline's 182nd overall prospect, so clearly, the team really likes him as a prospect. They've also been filling their farm system with high school players who are longer term projects, so this pick fits right in with the recent philosophy.
What to know about Devin Saltiban, newest member of the Philadelphia Phillies
Devin Saltiban stands at 5-foot-10 and weighs 180 pounds. He's just 18 years old, so there's easily time for him to grow and bulk up further.
The state of Hawaii, where Saltiban is from, has produced some very good hitting baseball players. Shane Victorino signed right out of high school and Kolten Wong went to college before becoming a first-round pick.
MLB Pipeline said:
"Saltiban is hoping to follow in their footsteps and become the latest prep outfielder from the Aloha State to get taken in the early rounds after Kala’I Rosario (2020), Shane Sasaki (2019) and Micah Bello (2018) all went in the top five rounds of their respective Drafts."
His high school stats were not available on MLB.com. The Phillies pick projects with the following attributes, though:
- Hit: 50
- Power: 45
- Run: 55
- Arm: 50
- Field: 50
- Overall: 40
He will likely not be major league ready for a while.