With the tenth overall pick in the draft, the Phillies have selected shortstop Cornelius Randolph from Griffin (Ga.) High School. Randolph was considered by scouts to be a mid-to-late first round pick. He reportedly drew interest from the hometown Braves with either the 14th or 28th pick and was also connected to the Yankees at 16, Royals at 21 and Tigers at 22.
The selection of Randolph is an effort to rejuvenate a relatively-weak Phillies' farm system that has had success with first-rounders J.P. Crawford and Aaron Nola in recent years. Though Crawford is also a shortstop, Randolph may be a long-term solution at second base once Chase Utley is traded or retires.
Randolph comes from the same high school as major league infielders Jeff Treadway and Tim Beckham, the top overall pick in 2008. He hit .528 with four home runs during his senior season at Griffin, which is about 40 miles south of Atlanta. Scouts rave about Randolph's pitch recognition as a high schooler and have good things to say about his bat across the board. What keeps Randolph from being higher on draft boards is the likelihood that he will be moved off of shortstop, likely to third base, at some point in his professional career.