Bohm could be nice fit for Phils at No. 3

PHILADELPHIA » It’ll be the end of an era for the Phillies Monday, or at the very least they hope it’s a semblance of that.

Just as those World Champion/near repeaters that racked up so much postseason success from 2007 to 2011 had to eventually be sent away, the rewards of the past three or four sacrificial rebuilding seasons is coming to an end.

So with a little faith in the current crop of young Phillies who are slipping but still hoping to stay near the top of the NL East, consider their No. 3 overall selection spot in Monday night’s first round of the MLB Draft to be the last time for the foreseeable future that the Phillies have such a top-of-the-draft chance.

“The (first round) is always important, whether you’re picking at 1 or whether you’re picking at 30,” Phillies scouting director Johnny Almaraz said recently. “It’s an important pick for every organization. There’s good players in every single round. With that being said, there’s a lot of good players that have gone in past years from 15 to 30. Hopefully we’ll be picking there for years to come. I’m pretty confident we will. The team’s playing well and I’m glad to be a part of it.”

While those current Phillies include a group — (Nick Williams, Jorge Alfaro, Jerad Eickhoff, Vince Velasquez, Nick Pivetta, Zach Eflin et. al.) — drawn from a series of trades made while Ruben Amaro Jr. was still the general manager in charge of dismantling a title team, Almaraz has been able to make his mark, too. That has come via the past few drafts, with the Phillies’ rapid decline resulting in consecutive years of high draft picks.

Almaraz oversaw the drafting of top-round selection (No.

10 overall) Cornelius Randolph and second-rounder Scott Kingery in 2015, No. 1 overall selection Mickey Moniak in 2016 and top-round (eighth overall) selection Adam Haseley last year.

While the Phillies opted for high school talents in Randolph and Moniak, they pulled Haseley from the University of Virginia’s outfield last year and are again expected to spend their firstround pick on a college player this time around.

Among the top-shelf drafting candidates are Auburn pitcher Casey Mize, who is expected to go No. 1 overall to Detroit, Florida pitcher Brady Singer, high school outfielder Jarred Kelenic and Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart.

As for the Phillies, they are always in the market for more pitching, though most mock drafts would have them taking one of two college infielders, third baseman Alec Bohm of Wichita State or second baseman/ shortstop Nick Madrigal of Oregon State.

Madrigal might be the most intriguing of the top-5 anticipated selections, since he’s all of 5-foot-7 and 160 pounds and considered one of the smartest players at the

top of the draft. And since the Phillies already drafted Kingery three years ago, you’d expect them to have fulfilled their smart, speedy and small quota.

Presuming Mize is drafted by either the Tigers or the Giants at No. 2, and considering the Phillies seemingly are done with making high school kids their first picks for a while, it’s pretty easy to see why Bohm could very likely be their guy.

He’s 21, is already built like a major leaguer at 6-5, 225 pounds, and possesses impressive power. For Wichita State this season, the junior third baseman hit .338 with 16 homers and 55 RBIs, with an OPS of 1.061 in 57 games. His defense isn’t the best, but has shown improvement in his three full seasons for the Shockers.

Of course, there are certainly no guarantees regarding which player will go on the board as the Phillies’ No. 3 overall pick.

“That’s subjective,” Almaraz said. “Everybody’s got their own opinion. We have a group of 10 players who we feel can all be taken at 3. It’s a situation where everybody’s got ability, everybody’s got talent, some are pitchers and some

are position players. Some are college, some are high school.”

While Almaraz won’t spend much time talking in detail about the candidates, he will defend his team’s recent top choices.

At High-A Clearwater so far this season, Haseley was at .275, with three homers and 28 RBIs and a .707 OPS. Randolph, the player selected 38 spots above Kingery in 2015, turned 21 on Saturday. He’s been struggling at Double-A Reading, hitting all of .189 through 46 games.

Moniak, 20, is at Clearwater and had been struggling, but a recent hitting streak has boosted his average to .251 through 51 games.

Almaraz stressed that with all these prospects, development is a process.

“We’ve drafted certain players because we believe in their offensive ability,” he said. “They’re young, and if you look at them as a whole, they’re doing well. They’re on track. We’re very aggressive with them and we feel very positively about them.

“Every player struggles,” Almaraz added. “Everybody’s got different timelines . ... They’re going to be good when it’s time for them to be good.”

FILE Auburn pitcher Casey Mize is expected to taken by the Detroit Tigers with the the No. 1 overall selection in the Major League Baseball draft Monday night. The Phillies have the third pick and are said to leaning toward Wichita State third baseman Eric...