Phillies Select Pair of High School Outfielders in MLB Draft

The 2024 MLB Draft opened on Sunday evening, with the first couple of rounds taking place.  The Phillies had the 27th overall pick, due to their success last season.  The Phillies had two picks on day one, and both were used to draft high school outielders.

With their first round pick, the Phillies selected outfielder Dante Nori from Northville High School, just outside of Detroit in Michigan.  Nori was previously committed to the University of Mississippi.  Nori is a well-founded player with many tools.

MLB.com's scouting report hailed his well-rounded ability:

Nori has a mature approach at the plate, controlling the strike zone and looking to make consistent contact to all fields. He has a quick, direct left-handed swing and will shorten his stroke with two strikes. While he's strong and shows average power during batting practice, he focuses on producing line drives rather than launching balls during games.

The scouting report also speaks highly of his defense and his arm.

Another interesting tidbit was mentioned on MLB.com: his family has a history in sports. Nori's grandfather, Fred Nori, recruited Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber to Indiana.  His father, Micah Nori, is an assistant coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

On MLB.com, Phillies assistant general manager Brian Barber said that the selection was "pretty unanimous:"

All things being equal, younger is always better, but it got to a point where his talent level and his baseball ability wasn’t equal to the next person. It was pretty unanimous in the room that this was a guy we wanted to bring into the organization.

Nori will turn 20 in October.

With their second pick, 63rd overall, the Phillies selected outfielder Griffin Burkholder from Freedom High School South, just outside of Washington, D.C., in Virginia.  Burkholder's best asset, according to MLB.com, is his speed:

The West Virginia recruit’s standout tool is his well-above-average speed. His 70-grade wheels help him on the basepaths and in center field, where he has every chance to stick, with an average arm. He missed a little time with a hamstring injury this spring, but when he’s healthy, he looks like he could be a plus defender up the middle.

Burkholder was ranked the 53rd best player in the draft on MLB.com, 10 spots higher than he was taken in the draft.

Rounds 3-10 of the draft will take place on Monday, beginning at 2:00 p.m.  Then on Tuesday, also at 2:00 p.m., the remaining rounds of the draft will take place.  There are 20 rounds total.