By: Tim Kelly, Managing Editor
Despite the fact that he handed the baton of being the Philadelphia Phillies' president over to Andy MacPhail seven months ago, and hasn't been the team's general manager since 2008, Hall of Fame executive Pat Gillick doesn't seem to have scaled back his involvement with the club much.
We passed along two reports in February — one on February 8 and one on February 20 — that pertained to Gillick scouting potential No. 1 pick A.J. Puk pitch in some regard, and John Manuel of Baseball America says that Gillick hasn't slowed down his involvement in scouting as the Phillies close in on having the draft's first pick in the June 9 draft.
Pat Gillick has been out on the road actively this spring helping the Phillies prepare for this pick.
Gillick may have held the title of the team's president during 2015, but his continued interest in the team is actually quite remarkable when you consider that Gillick is 78 and seemingly was only an adviser in title from 2009 until he became the team's interim president in August 2014. Gillick is again an adviser, though his time out of baseball seems to have allowed him to rediscover his love for doing things as simple as scouting, something that most Hall of Fame executives don't feel the need to do in their late 70's.
Despite Gillick's presence, the report also noted that the previously mentioned MacPhail, general manager Matt Klentak and director of amateur scouting Johnny Almaraz are likely to be heavily involed in this important decision.
Industry sources have seen tons of club scouts and executives reviewing top prospects and believe the Phillies will make a collective decision.
One scout in the article noted that "there aren't a ton of safe bets in this draft," meaning it may take two accomplished executives in Gillick and MacPhail, paired with two seemingly bright younger ones in Alvarez and Klentak, among others, to get the most important draft pick that the Phillies have had on this side of 2000 right.