Phillies select Kyle Holder in Rule 5 Draft

The Phillies selected shortstop Kyle Holder from the New York Yankees organization with the 13th overall pick in the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft, the club announced today.

Holder, 26, slashed .265/.336/.405 in 112 games for double-A Trenton in 2019. Selected in the first round (30th overall) in the June 2015 draft by the Yankees out of the University of San Diego, Holder set career highs in 2019 with 25 doubles, nine home runs and 37 extra-base hits as he was named an MiLB Organization All-Star.

“Kyle is a natural shortstop and a plus defender at the position, and he has shown good progress offensively,” said Mike Ondo, Director, Professional Scouting. “We’re excited to welcome him to our organization.”

A 6-foot-1, left-handed hitter, Holder hit .333 in 11 games for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the 2017 Arizona Fall League and in 2016 was named by Baseball America as the “Best Defensive Shortstop” in the South Atlantic League.

Holder played one season (2013) at Grossmont College (CA) before transferring to the University of San Diego for two seasons (2014-15). As a junior in 2015 he was named West Coast Conference Player of the Year and a Third-Team All-American by D1baseball.com after batting .348 (78-for-224) with 45 runs, 14 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 31 RBI and 19 walks in 55 games.

With the addition of Holder, the Phillies now have 39 players on their 40-man roster.