Gabe Craig prepares to throw a pitch. (Credit: Baylor Athletics)
Let's play 'guess the player:' a right-handed relief pitcher, drafted by the Phillies, selected in the fifth round, drafted out of college, equipped with a monster slider.
Yes, that's 2022 draft pick Orion Kerkering. But every single listed item also describes 2025 draft pick Gabe Craig.
Craig was a vaunted closer for the Baylor Bears. His 0.56 ERA and 0.50 WHIP were both the best of any college baseball pitcher last year, and he posted 51 strikeouts to just three walks. He collected 10 saves and didn't allow a single extra-base hit in 2025.
So what's behind that dominance?
That would be one of the most lethal sliders in the draft.
One more time for the Sliderman 😵💫 #SicEm 🐻⚾️ | #Together pic.twitter.com/k6bpis8MWu
— Baylor Baseball (@BaylorBaseball) July 13, 2025
"He might have one of the best sliders in the entire country this year," Brian Barber, Phillies assistant general manager and head of amateur scouting, said Monday after the draft.
"On our scale, it would grade out as a 70. Well above average slider on the Major League scale. He's able to put guys away for it, he can throw it for strikes."
And Craig definitely throws it for strikes. This past season, opponents went 8-for-72 (.111) with 43 strikeouts against the slider. The pitch sits in the mid-80s, touches 88 mph, and its huge sweep makes it consistently miss bats.
"We see it as a wipeout pitch, and it gives him a chance to be a pretty good reliever," Barber said.
Craig is a two-pitch reliever; his slider is obviously the crown jewel of his arsenal, but his fastball is nothing to sneeze at either. It sits at 93-95 mph and tops out at 97, according to MLB Pipeline's scouting report.
With that slider, Craig is already drawing comparisons to Kerkering. Barber sees the resemblance, and so did Phillies scout Bryce Harman, who was the area scout for Kerkering.
Harman noted to Barber that Craig's slider now compares to Kerkering's slider at the time he was drafted.
"When a scout that was able to see both guys in person... put a little bit of a comparison between the two pitches? It made me excited just hearing about it," Barber said.
As if there aren't enough parallels between Kerkering and Craig already, there could be potential for one more.
Kerkering worked his way up to the majors extremely quickly. He was drafted in 2022. In 2023 alone, he pitched in High-A, Double-A, Triple-A, and finally the major leagues.
Craig could find himself on a similar path. He's already 24 years old, having played six years of college ball. MLB Pipeline noted that he could move quickly to the Majors.
Given the emphasis the Phillies placed on college pitching in this draft, it's clear that they want major league pitching reinforcements sooner rather than later.
Gabe Craig, and his slider, could be the first of the Phillies' 2025 draft class to answer that call.
Other Day 2 Draft Notes
