Mickey Moniak, the No. 1 overall pick from this year's draft, is hitting .289 in the Gulf Coast League (Photo: Baseball Betsy)
By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The 2016 Major League Baseball draft was an important one for the Philadelphia Phillies, who selected high school outfielder Mickey Moniak with the first overall pick. Six of their next nine picks were pitchers and if 2016 has been any indication, you can never have too much pitching depth. A few weeks after the draft's conclusion, the Phillies 2016 draft class took the field for the first time as members of the organization and for the most part, have had strong results and good signs of potential.
Let's take a look at how the top 10 Phillies draft picks from this season are doing in their first professional season.
- 1st round – Mickey Moniak (OF): The top pick in this year's draft is having a strong showing with in the Gulf Coast League this season. Though he's hitting just .222 over his last 10 games, Moniak's at .289 overall through 40 games. He has nine doubles, three triples, a homer, 27 RBIs, 22 runs and eight steals. He had a very impressive month of July, posting a .346 average compared to .242 during August. All in all, the 18-year-old outfielder is showing plenty of good signs in his first year with the Phils. Moniak is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Phillies organization by MLB.com, behind only J.P. Crawford.
- 2nd round – Kevin Gowdy (RHP): After selecting a high school outfielder with the No. 1 overall pick, the Phillies plucked high school right-hander Kevin Gowdy out of Santa Barbara High School in California. In eight innings pitched, spanning three brief starts with the GCL team, he's 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA. MLB.com ranks him as the No. 10 prospect in the Phillies organization
- 3rd round – Cole Stobbe (SS): Stobbe has hit four home runs in his last eight games after not hitting one in the first 32 games in the Gulf Coast League. He's hitting .333 (10-for-30) with three doubles, four homers, eight RBIs, eight runs scored, seven walks and six strikeouts over his last 10 games. MLB.com ranks him No. 15 in the Phillies system.
- 4th round – JoJo Romero (LHP): Romero was the first college player taken by the Phillies in the draft and he is currently with the Class 'A' Short Season affiliate in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. In eight starts this season, he's 2-1 with a 2.60 ERA and 1.21 WHIP. In 34.2 innings thus far in 2016, Romero has surrendered just two home runs. His pitch count recently has varied anywhere from 65-83 after being held to a limit of 60 through his first four starts. He comes in at No. 25 on the Phillies top 30 prospect list.
- 5th round – Cole Irvin (LHP): Selected out of the University of Oregon, the Phillies went with two southpaws in a row and both of them are having success with Williamsport. Irvin has appeared in eight games for the Crosscutters, five of which have been starts, and he's gone 4-1 with a 2.08 ERA, issuing just four walks in 34.2 innings of work. Irvin has yet to allow more than two runs in any outing this season.
- 6th round – David Martinelli (OF): The 21-year-old out of Dallas Baptist has had his ups and downs in his first season in the Phillies organization. Overall, he's hitting .241 with 46 strikeouts and just 12 walks, so plate discipline has been an early issue for Martinelli to start off his pro career. He's hitting .281 on the road compared to .198 at home. Martinelli has scored two runs and driven in three over the last 10 games for the Crosscutters.
- 7th round – Henry Lartigue (C): Taken out of Mississippi in the seventh round, Lartigue has struggled offensively, hitting just .213 in 33 games with Williamsport. Behind the plate, he's caught 30 percent of base stealers (13-for-31) and has just two errors in over 256 innings.
- 8th round – Grant Dyer (RHP): The UCLA product was promoted to Class 'A' Lakewood after going 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 16 innings out of the bullpen for Williamsport. The higher level has proven to be a tougher test for the 21-year-old, posting an 0-3 record and a 3.26 ERA in six games, despite holding opposing hitters to a .149 average in 19.1 innings for the Blueclaws. He's struck out 47 and walked just six in 35.1 total innings this season.
- 9th round – Blake Quinn (RHP): The Phillies started Quinn, 21, in Lakewood and he's been pretty dominant in relief for the Blueclaws. In 26.1 innings, he's allowed just three earned runs, good for an ERA of 1.03. Walks have been somewhat of a concern, despite his success, issuing 17 bases on balls this season. He does have 37 strikeouts, so his ability to avoid trouble with walks seems to have worked thus far, but it may cause him problems in the upper levels of the minors as he advances
- 10th round – Julian Garcia (RHP): He's 0-2 with a 3.74 ERA in nine games, three starts, for Williamsport, but Garcia has only allowed one earned run over his last 10 innings of work. One bad outing makes his ERA look questionable, but in seven of his nine appearances, he's allowed a run or less. He's struck out 24 and walked 14 in 21.2 innings of work this season.
Obviously, there are some good things and some bad to look at here, but for the most part, the Phillies 2016 draft class does not have any glaring disappointments. With the season winding down, one has to wonder where Moniak, Gowdy and Stobbe will end up at the beginning of the 2017 campaign.
