Phillies complete final day of 2023 MLB Draft selections
July 11th, 2023
The Phillies have completed their selections for the third and final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, with one selection in each of today’s 10 rounds (11-20). Overall, in this year’s draft, they selected eight right-handed pitchers, four infielders, four outfielders and two catchers. Fourteen were collegiate athletes and four were selected out of high school. The club’s selections from today are as follows:
Round 11 (No. 343)
- C Kehden Hettiger, Sierra Canyon High School (CA) – The switch-hitting catcher slashed .350/.495/.658 (1.153 OPS) with 13 extra-base hits, six home runs, 26 walks and seven strikeouts in his senior spring season (112 PA). The 19-year-old, 6-foot-2 Hettiger is a Palmdale, Calif., native.
Round 12 (No. 373)
- RHP Brandon Beckel, Texas Tech University (TX) – Beckel, 21, made 24 relief appearances as a junior in 2023, going 5-2 with a 2.23 ERA (12 ER, 48.1 IP) and 67 strikeouts and held opponents to a .229 batting average. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound, San Antonio, Texas, native ranked third in the Big 12 Conference in saves (7).
Round 13 (No. 403)
- RHP Marty Gair, Florida SouthWestern State College (FL) – The 19-year-old Concord, N.C., native posted a 1.75 ERA (7 ER, 36.0 IP) with 52 strikeouts, 22 hits allowed and 22 walks in nine starts during his sophomore season. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound right-hander previously pitched for the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Round 14 (No. 433)
- INF Zach Arnold, University of Houston (TX) – The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Arnold slashed .365/.452/.590 (1.042 OPS) with 11 doubles, 13 home runs, 51 RBI, 55 runs scored, 25 walks and 11 stolen bases in 55 games during his junior season in 2023. Among all American Athletic Conference hitters, the right-handed hitter and Temecula, Calif., native ranked third in on-base percentage and fourth in batting average and hits.
Round 15 (No. 463)
- C Jared Thomas, Loyola Marymount University (CA) – Thomas, 23, hit .305 (57-187) with 12 doubles, four home runs, 35 RBI, 30 runs, 25 walks and 27 strikeouts with a .399 on-base percentage in 49 games during his senior season. The 6-foot-2, left-handed hitter is a Lakewood, Calif., native.
Round 16 (No. 493)
- RHP Luke Russo, Eastern Michigan University (MI) – The 6-foot-4, 199-pound Russo, 22, led the Mid-American Conference in strikeouts with 107 during his senior season in 2023. Overall, the Howell, Mich., native went 6-4 with a 4.62 ERA (40 ER, 78.0 IP) and two saves in 17 appearances (11 starts).
Round 17 (No. 523)
- OF AJ Shaver, Florida SouthWestern State College (FL) – The right-handed hitting Shaver slashed .403/.468/.882 (1.350 OPS) with 75 hits, 24 doubles, four triples, 19 home runs, 63 RBI, 60 runs, 14 walks and 47 strikeouts last season. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Clermont, Fla., native was the 2023 Southern Conference Player of the Year.
Round 18 (No. 553)
- RHP Ethan Chenault, University of North Carolina Wilmington (NC) – Chenault, 22, went 5-2 with a 4.91 ERA (26 ER, 47.2 IP), 59 strikeouts and three saves in 26 relief appearances during his junior season in 2023. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound, Lynchburg, Va., native held opposing hitters to a .202 (34-168) batting average.
Round 19 (No. 583)
- RHP Casey Steward, Washburn University (KS) – The 21-year-old made 15 appearances (14 starts) in his senior season, going 5-4 with a 4.25 ERA (39 ER, 82.2 IP) while holding opposing hitters to a .216 batting average. Steward, a 6-foot-5, 260-pound Witchita, Ks., native, led the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association in strikeouts last season and tied Washburn’s single-season strikeout record with 110.
Round 20 (No. 613)
- INF Pierce Bennett, Wake Forest University (NC) – The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Bennett produced a .353/.431/.523 (.954 OPS) slash line, going 83-for-235 with 19 doubles, seven home runs, 65 RBI, 61 runs scored and 28 walks in 60 games as a redshirt junior this season. The Baltimore, Md., native and right-handed hitter tied for ninth in RBI and doubles among all Atlantic Coast Conference batters in 2023.
The Phillies made 18 total selections in this year’s draft. The selections from rounds 1-10 are listed below.
- (No. 27) – INF Aidan Miller, J.W. Mitchell High School (FL)
- No selection
- (No. 98) – OF Devin Saltiban, Hilo High School (HI)
- (No. 130) – OF TayShaun Walton, IMG Academy (FL)
- No selection
- (No. 193) – RHP George Klassen, University of Minnesota (MN)
- (No. 223) – RHP Jake Eddington, Missouri State University (MO)
- (No. 253) – INF Bryson Ware, Auburn University (AL)
- (No. 283) – OF Avery Owusu-Asiedu, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (IL)
- (No. 313) – RHP Cam Brown, Texas Christian University (TX)