Phils take high school SS Spangler with first-round Draft pick

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies said they aren’t worried about Tyler Spangler’s back injury, which sidelined him for his senior season in high school.

Instead, they believe they have a Corey Seager-sized shortstop who can hit.

The Phillies selected Spangler, a shortstop from De La Salle High School in California, with the 36th overall pick in the 2026 Draft. The Phillies dropped from pick No. 26 to No. 36 because they exceeded the second surcharge threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax.

“I’m super excited about this one,” Phillies assistant general manager of amateur scouting Brian Barber said on Saturday night. “The opportunity at pick 36 to get a player that we identified going back two years … we saw him play as a high school junior, saw him play all throughout the summer and fall last year, and then obviously this past year got cut short.

“We just think he's a very good player. It's a hit-first [tool] right now that still needs to grow into the power, but obviously with his size and strength, we see that being potentially good as well. Shortstop, runs, throws. It’s kind of a total package for us, and just a guy we're super excited to be able to bring in.”

MLB Pipeline rated Spangler as the 53rd-best prospect in the Draft. He might have ranked higher, except for the back injury. Barber declined to get into any specifics about the injury, but Spangler’s back issue called to mind Aidan Miller, whom the Phillies selected in the first round of the 2023 Draft.

Miller has been sidelined since last season because of a chronic back injury.

“Any time a player has an injury, there's always pause,” Barber said. “And there's a lot of things that go into that. But we have an extensive medical review on the player, and we just felt comfortable taking him. We’ve looked at everything that there is to look at there, and felt completely comfortable taking the player.”

De La Salle also suspended its varsity baseball team for the first five games of the season because of a hazing incident.

Barber said there are no concerns about Spangler’s involvement or makeup.

“There’s been work that's been done, when the high school gets in trouble for a hazing incident,” Barber said. “But I mean, there was nothing to do with Tyler on that.”

Spangler is listed at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds. MLB Pipeline wrote that Spangler “is more polish than flash with a simple, solid approach at the plate, finding the barrel consistently. While he can be susceptible at times for breaking stuff down, he has excellent zone awareness and shows a willingness to use the middle of the field or go the other way. He can get to his pull-side power at times and more thump should come as he fills out his frame and if he starts committing to getting the ball in the air more.”

Spangler slashed .376/.512/.708 (1.220 OPS) with 13 doubles, seven triples, 16 home runs, 73 RBIs and 53 walks in 86 games over his three high school seasons.

Spangler has committed to Stanford, but his Draft pool spot is slotted at $2,758,800.

“I feel in a really good spot with where we are on both signing him -- and obviously nothing's done until it's done -- but I also feel in a really good spot with where we are on the bonus pool right now as well,” Barber said.