July 11, 2026
RVR Photos/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Alex Rodriguez and Cal Ripken Jr. were unicorns because they could play shortstop despite both being 6-foot-3 or taller. The Phillies believe first-round pick Tyler Spangler, a 6-3 shortstop, won't have to change his position either.
It's easy to compare new Phillies first-round pick Tyler Spangler to a former Phillies first-round pick.
Spangler, a toolsy high school shortstop who played at De La Salle High School in Northern California, was taken 36th overall by the Phillies on Saturday. Just three years ago, the Phillies took another athletic high school shortstop, Aidan Miller, in the first round.
Miller had a chance to break into the big leagues this season but hasn't yet played because of a back injury that required a procedure. Spangler missed his senior baseball season at De La Salle because of a back injury.
But the Phillies aren't concerned about the past; they're banking on Spangler's combination of exceptional size and athleticism – which were on display at the MLB Draft Combine last month – to blossom the 19-year-old into the kind of big-league shortstop that they're already "super excited about," said Brian Barber, the team's assistant general manager who presides over amateur scouting.
"We just think he's a very good player," Barber said via conference call after the team selected Spangler and four other players on the draft's first day. "Obviously, with his size and strength, we see that being potentially good as well. It's kind of a total package for us and a guy we're super excited to bring in."
But if there's a comparison to be made, Miller isn't the one.
At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, Spangler's big frame and top-flight athleticism remind Barber of Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, a three-time All Star, World Series champion, and former Dodgers first-round pick who towers at 6-foot-4 with a 215-pound frame.
Other shortstops who possessed larger-than-average size and athletic traits: Alex Rodriguez (6-3, 230) and Cal Ripken Jr. (6-4, 200), though Barber carefully avoided any comparisons to a Hall of Famer and potential future Hall of Famer.
Rodriguez eventually moved over to third base, typically a position for bigger bodies, but Barber doesn't see any position change in Spangler's immediate future.
“We do see him as a shortstop," Barber said, "and it’s easy when you take a guy that’s 6-3, 195, and think that he has to move off shortstop, and I think you guys know me a little bit, I don’t do a lot of comps. But there have been plenty of big shortstops, obviously one of the more recents, a guy like Corey Seager, that type of size. We actually think Tyler moves a little bit better then let’s say Corey did at 18 and an excellent player but in that type of mold in both size and athleticism.”
Barber refused to give any information on the extent of the back injury that kept Spangler out for his senior season, but the Phillies were able to see Spangler twice during the pre-draft process – at the Combine and about a week later during an open workout at his high school.
The team left convinced that Spangler's injury wasn't concerning enough to drop him down their board.
"Any type of time a player has an injury there’s always pause and there’s a lot of thing that go into that," Barber said, "but we have an extensive medical review on the player and felt completely comfortable taking him."
Shortstops were a popular choice Saturday, as the first two picks of the first round – from the White Sox and Rays, respectively – were used to take shortstops. MLB.com ranked Spangler as the 53rd-overall prospect and 11th-ranked shortstop.
As a junior, Spangler batted .430 with 10 homers and 40 RBI. Barber said he detected some "rust and stiffness" in Spangler's swings at the Combine, the prospect's first real cuts since his junior season, but Barber observed a more "loose and free" approach at the high school workout.
Barber added that Spangler has been given medical clearance to return to play, and even though the Phillies will take it slowly and deliberately with him, they are hoping to see him on the field before the end of the season.
"We think it's just a really advanced 18-year-old swing," Barber said, "that swing, the path is just perfect to be able to add to his power game as well."
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