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May 17, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski looks on in the dugout before the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
Peyton Bonds, OF – Rutgers University
Before you ask: Yes, that Bonds. This is the son of Bobby Bonds, Jr and Barry’s nephew. He’s a 6’5” 230 lbs 21 year old right handed hitter. This Bonds is a round 2 or 3 option who weirdly despite being rather massive has very little Power in his game. Don’t get that wrong his power potential is massive, but he hit 6 Home Runs this season and 5 in each of his previous two seasons. He’s got good contact skills and bat speed and a sub-20% K rate, so you can see potential to unlock that power with tweaks. That said he’s a plus runner with a good arm and could be a solid Center Fielder with enough Power to play that position. You can enjoy the video below and I can’t resist a little analysis to say his swing might be too quiet with almost no foot tap or stride a lot of times and kind of a flat, slappy swing. Boy, that first Homer swing is a thing of beauty though if he can consistently tap into that.
Landon Thome, SS – Nazareth Academy, La Grange Park, IL
Before you ask: Yes, that Thome. This time the son of a member of the 500+ Home Run club. Also another progeny with some big Home Run Potential who could be a round 2 or 3 option. Landon though is not massive in the way his father (or Peyton Bonds) is. He’s a 6’0” 185 lbs left handed hitter who stands a good chance of staying on the diamond, though maybe ultimately not at Short and a commitment to Florida State. There’s probably not star potential to my eye as everything looks average to above average with no real carrying tool. However, some scouts rave about the bat’s potential to his for average and get to his power consistently in game. I will admit that in the video below you hear The Sound on some his contact, which is pretty enticing. You also some busy footwork on defense and I would guess he ends up at Second Base eventually.
Dalton Wentz, 2B/3B/SS – Wake Forest University
Before you ask: No, not that Wentz (unless you thought of career minor leaguer Lenny Wentz, in which case: Yes, that Wentz, and also you may be a bit weird). Dalton Wentz is a request from a reader whose name happened to fit into my joke as a bonus. Wentz is a switch hitting 20 year old who is 6’2” 210 lbs. He’s a draft eligible Sophomore, so no guarantee he doesn’t go back for his Junior year hoping to improve his draft stock. His got huge pitch recognition issues and struggles against the better pitching he’s face with a near 30% k rate in conference. He’s got good bat speed and a short stroke with up cut from both sides of the dish. He also doesn’t have the range or footwork for middle infield and honestly looks uncomfortable at 3rd. A return engagement at Wake Forest to perhaps try Right Field and focus on the bat could possibly boost him into the top 3 rounds. As is you’d be betting to do that in pro ball anyway against much tougher pitching.
Joseph Contreras, RHP – Blessed Trinity Catholic HS, Roswell, GA
Before you ask: Yes, that Contreras. Former Phillies good Jose Contreras. This Contreras is a 6’4”, 205 lbs 18 year old with a commitment to Vanderbilt. Vandy do get a lot of their commits to campus, but I haven’t seen rumors of signing risk specifically here. The best summary I can give is that if you ever wished Jose was a Phillies pitcher during his prime, this is him. Very similar frame, pretty much exactly the same Forkball (plus a more typical changeup), an upper 90’s 4-seamer and low to mid-90’s 2-seamer, a hard upper-80’s slider that he varies into sometimes being a cutter, and the same loose idea where any of it is going that Jose had early in his career. If you’re a glass half full guy you can see a decent #2 Starter with 3 or more plus Pitches and average control. If you’re glass half empty, there’s a big reliever risk. His delivery is wildly inconsistent and if you want to know if it’s a Fastball just watch his right leg (he also telegraphs his Forkball with his right leg). There’s a lot to clean up, but there’s no arguing the potential ceiling could be pretty huge.
Bo Lowrance, 3B – Christ Church Episcopal HS, Greenville, SC
Before you ask: I have no idea what you’d be asking. Bo Lo’s a fun name with no famous relatives I’m aware of. I just really wanted to preview him. And I didn’t just want to preview him for the name, the tools are exciting. He’s a 6’5”, 200 lbs Third Baseman with a sweet left handed swing and a very strong commitment to Virginia. He probably has the arm to stay at Third and good footwork, but he’s got Catcher speed and is likely destined to get pretty dang slow when he puts on grown man muscle and settles in 225+ lbs. The hit and power tools are probably top 10 worthy traits, but the speed that’s probably going to put him at First and very real signability concerns have pushed him to borderline second round rankings. There could be a ceiling between Freddie Freeman and Ryan Howard here (more Howard like batting average and Freeman level power and defense). High School players are volatile and better pitching may expose holes in hitting he hasn’t shown yet. Also, probably an unlikely Phillies pick as they just don’t have the bonus pool to go too far overslot and you’re really going to have an underwhelming class if you don’t sign the top player and lose that money from your pool.
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