Pitchers keep coming in Phillies’ draft

As Day 2 of the baseball draft continued, the Phillies' strategy seemed clear -- add as much pitching as they could and replenish their catching depth.

Through the 30 rounds, Phillies have selected 20 pitchers, including first-rounder Jesse Biddle, who was chosen Monday night. None of the pitchers is listed at under 6 foot, and among them is one listed at 6-7 and another listed at 6-8.

The Phillies' day began with pitching when they selected Ball State righthander Perci Garner with their second-round selection.

As a junior this season, Garner was 5-3 with a 4.62 earned run average in 17 games, including 11 starts. In 74 innings, he allowed 74 hits, with 37 walks and 83 strikeouts. Opponents hit .270 off him.

The 6-3, 225-pound Garner also played football in 2007 and 2008. He was the third-string QB in 2008, but did not see any game action. He was the 77th overall pick.

In Round 3, No. 108 overall, the Phillies chose University of Texas catcher Cameron Rupp, who is 6-2, 230. He is hitting .317 with 10 homers, 54 RBI and a .507 slugging percentange this season.

He has been the starter for 3 years and both his father and uncle were pro baseball players.

The Phillies have traded away Travis D'Arnaud, who was chosen in the first round in 2007; Jason Jaramillo, second round in 2004; and Lou Marson, fourth round in 2004. That made catching a priority.

In the fourth round, the Phillies chose Tennessee lefthander Bryan Morgado, who was selected in the third round last year by the White Sox but elected to return to college. He is 2-7 this year with a 7.90 ERA in 15 appearances, including 13 starts. He allowed 73 hits in 68.1 innings with 36 walks and 74 strikeouts.

In Round 5, the Phillies chose 6-7 high school righthander Scott Frazier from Upland, Calif. Frazier has moved up the rankings and has been clocked at 95 mph.

In Round 6, the Phillies selected Ohio University centerfielder Gauntlett Eldemire, a first-team All-Mid-American Conference selection. Eldemire finished first in the league in on-base percentage (.487), third in slugging percentage (.714), fourth in batting average (.391) and home runs (15), sixth in stolen bases (16) and tied for sixth in stolen bases (137).

In rounds 7 and 8, the Phillies added a pair of righthanded pitchers - David Buchanan, from Georgia State, and Stephen Malcolm, from San Joaquin Delta College, in Stockton, Calif.

In Round 9, the pick was lefthanded-hitting outfielder Brenton Allen, from Gahr High in Cerritos, Calif.

The Phillies selected two California college pitchers in rounds 10 and 11 -- 6-5 lefthander Mario Hollands followed by 6-2 righthander Garrett Claypool. Tyler Knigge, a 6-4 righthander from Lewis-Clark State in Idaho, was the pick in Round 12.

The Phillies went for third baseman in rounds 13 and 15 - Clemson's John Hinson and Alabama's Jake Smith. Righthander Chace Numata from Pearl City High in Hawaii was selected in between in Round 14.

Baylor 6-4 righthander Craig Fritsch was picked in Round 16 and Nebraska 6-5 righthander Michael Nesseth was chosen in Round 17. Nesseth was 1-2, with a 6.43 ERA in 11 appearances (one start) before being shut down with an elbow injury.

The Phillies continue to go big with pitchers. In rounds 20-25, they took six righthanders, none shorter than 6-4. In the 24th round, they selected 6-8 Chad Thompson, from Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, Calif.

As the day headed toward a close, the Phillies grabbed a number of position players - Central Florida centerfielder Christopher Duffy (26th round), Kentucky second baseman Matthew Payton (27th) and centerfielder Brian Pointer (28th round), from Galena High in Reno, Nev.

They finished with two more pitchers - lefthander Patrick Lala from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa in the 29th round and lefthander Nicholas Gonzalez, from Leto High in Tampa, Fla.

Rounds 31 to 50 are set for tomorrow.

The Phillies have the 27th overall pick in each round.

Righthander Brandon Workman was selected by Boston with the 57th overall pick. The Phillies drafted the 6-5 Workman in the third round in 2007 before he went to the University of Texas and were unable to sign him.

In Round 1, the team chose Germantown Friends pitcher Jesse Biddle.

Biddle, 6-5, 225 pounds, was 9-2 with one save and a 1.06 ERA in 2010. He allowed just nine earned runs, 21 hits and 29 walks in 59.1 innings, while striking out 140 batters.

"Jesse Biddle is a quality lefthanded pitcher with tremendous upside and a chance to have three above average pitches," scouting director Marti Wolever said. "He's a great local talent with incredible makeup and a great family. He's an outstanding fit for us."

PHILLIES' DAY 2 SELECTIONS

2, 77, Perci Garner, RHP, Ball State, 6-3, 225

3, 108, Cameron Rupp, C, Texas, 6-2, 230

4, 141, Bryan Morgado, LHP, Tennessee, 6-3 205

5, 171, Scott Frazier, RHP, Upland (Calif.) High, 6-7, 215

6, 201, Gauntlett Eldemire, CF, Ohio University, 6-3, 195

7, 231, David Buchanan, RHP, Georgia State, 6-3, 190

8, 261, Stephen Malcolm, RHP, San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton, Calif., 6-0, 170

9, 291, Brenton Allen, RF, Gahr High, Cerritos, Calif., 6-1, 200

10, 321, Mario Hollands, LHP, Cal-Santa Barbara, 6-5, 205

11, 351, Garrett Claypool, RHP, UCLA, 6-2, 175

12, 381, Tyler Knigge, RHP, Lewis-Clark State, Lewiston, Idaho, 6-4, 215

13, 411, John Hinson, 3B, Clemson, 6-1, 180

14, 441, Chace Numata, RHP, Pearl City (Hawaii) High, 6-0, 175

15, 471, Jake Smith, 3B, University of Alabama, 6-2, 190

16, 501, Craig Fritsch, RHP, Baylor, 6-4, 190

17, 531, Michael Nesseth, RHP, Nebraska, 6-5, 210

18, 561, Jeffrey Cusick, 1B, University of California-Irvine, 6-2, 205

19, 591, Daniel Palka, 1B, Greer (S.C.) High, 6-2, 220

20, 621, Kevin Walter, RHP, Legacy High, Broomfield, Colo., 6-5, 215

21, 651, Jonathan Musser, RHP, Dowling (Iowa) Catholic, 6-5, 205

22, 681, Jonathan Paquet, RHP, Champlain College-St. Lawrence, Quebec, 6-4, 191

23, 711, Jacob Borup, RHP, Arizona State, 6-5, 210

24, 741, Chad Thompson, RHP, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, Calif., 6-8, 205

25, 771, Matt Hutchison, RHP, UNLV, 6-4, 215

26, 801, Christopher Duffy, CF, Central Florida, 6-2, 200

27, 831, Matthew Payton, 2B, University of Kentucky, 5-9, 185

28, 861, Brian Pointer, CF, Galena High, Reno, Nev., 6-0, 190

29, 891, Patrick Lala, RHP, Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 6-2, 195

30, 921, Nicholas Gonzalez, LHP, Leto High, Tampa, Fla., 6-4, 190