Adam Haseley

The eighth-overall pick in the 2017 draft made his big-league debut ahead of schedule in early June after the Phillies lost both Odubel Herrera (suspension) and Andrew McCutchen (knee) for the season. He remained on the roster for most of the remainder of the season, starting at all three outfield positions while hitting .266/.324/.396 with five homers and four steals in 67 games. Haseley's accelerated timeline means there's still plenty of time for him to develop into something more than that at the plate, but the risk that he'll be nothing more than a fourth outfielder has been present since he was drafted. He's only projected as a roughly league-average hitter, with above-average contact and below-average power, which only works as an everyday starter if he sticks in center field, something which has been questioned in the past (though both DRS and UZR liked his performance as a rookie.)

His name is boring. He went to Virginia, which may as well be called the Boring Baseball Factory. Haseley even gets the dreaded "not enough glove for center and not enough bat for a corner" tag from some evaluators, which would mean he is a fourth outfielder -- nothing could be more boring. Nevertheless, he was promoted to Double-A around the All-Star break and was 48% better than the average Eastern League hitter. He posted a .162 ISO (easily his best mark above rookie ball) with almost as many walks (16) as strikeouts (19). The ballpark at Reading can inflate power numbers, so the fact four of his six homers came at home warrants skepticism about a power breakout. Making contact at a high clip and using the whole field have never been a problem for Haseley, so if he can just tap into 20-homer pop, he will be an everyday player, even in left field. Given his plate skills and barrel control, he may be a minor tweak away from doing just that.

It would have been hard for the Phillies to do worse in the first round than they did in 2016, but given Mickey Moniak’s lack of ceiling, even at the time of the draft, taking Haseley the following year seems very uninspired. He is a college bat, so in theory he has a high floor, but none of his tools are loud. Some think his offense could take off now that he is no longer pitching (he was part of Virginia’s weekend rotation), but the early returns aren’t overly impressive. If he maxes out, Haseley could hit .280, get on base a good amount, hit 20-plus home runs and chip in 10-to-15 steals. If he falls short of that and can’t handle center field, he may not be an everyday player. Granted, it’s not like the Phillies made a huge reach. Haseley was a consensus top-15 prospect during the pre-draft process, so as a college hitter with pedigree, he should still be owned in the majority of dynasty leagues. Just make sure to discount him relative to where he was selected (No. 8 overall).