​The 2026 MLB Amateur Draft took place from July 11-12 in Philadelphia. Rounds 1-4 took place on Saturday, while the remaining 15 rounds happened on Sunday. UCLA shortstop Roch Cholowsky was selected first overall by the White Sox, which had been the widespread expectation leading up to the draft.The Phillies primarily targeted college pitchers in the draft, selecting 10 of them. Six of these ten picks happened in the first ten rounds as well. The Phillies did, however, find some intriguing position players, including two college outfielders taken in the first five rounds.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOverall, the Phillies went college-heavy in the draft, with only three of their picks coming from high school. With that, the Phillies will place greater emphasis on higher-impact players to stock their farm system. These are some of the highlights from their draft this year.From 2020 to 2024, the Phillies selected high school players with the first pick in the draft. After breaking that trend with RHP Gage Wood in 2025, selecting him from Arkansas, Philadelphia went back to the prep ranks. With the 36th pick in the draft, the Phillies selected shortstop Tyler Spangler from De La Salle High School.Spangler ranked #53 in MLB Pipeline’s Top 250 Draft Prospects. He received praise in his report for “excellent zone awareness” and his ability to consistently find the barrel. The defensive expectation is that he will be able to stick at shortstop and has good hands there. Spangler drew comparisons to Corey Seager, noting that both hit from the left side of the plate. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe major concern surrounding Spangler is that he missed his senior year due to a back issue. With current top prospect Aidan Miller also dealing with a back injury, fans will certainly be a bit on edge until they see him hit the field. However, Spangler was able to attend this year’s draft combine. Over his three seasons at De La Salle, Spangler hit .376 with a 1.220 OPS in 86 games. He impressed in his junior year, batting .430 with 10 home runs in 33 games and a 1.470 OPS.The Phillies made four more selections on the first day of the draft. Their next pick after Spangler was outfielder Caden Bogenpohl, a college outfielder from Missouri State. Bogenpohl (Pipeline #93) received high praise for his power potential, with top-of-the-class max exit velocity (topping at 119 mph). In his freshman year, Bogenpohl broke a freshman home run record set by Phillies legend Ryan Howard, hitting 20 homers. However, he also grounds out frequently, with a 53% groundball rate that ranks among the highest in this year’s college class.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementFollowing Bogenpohl, the Phillies selected Ruger Riojas (Pipeline #92) 100th overall in the draft from the University of Texas. Riojas is an older prospect, recently turning 23, but has quality stuff and could move through the minors quickly. His arsenal is defined by his mid-90s f