In the post-PED era, a quick glance at the signings in the first round of this year’s June MLB Draft indicates how much emphasis baseball is placing on power.

For only the second time in the last six years, more power hitters were selected than pitchers. The hope now is that the numbers are fueled by what powered Babe Ruth back in the day — hot dogs instead of funny little pills.

This explains why the Philadelphia Phillies spent the big bucks on a 16-year-old right-fielder, Jhailyn Ortiz, last week. The power hitter from the Dominican Republic is 6-foot-3 and 240 pounds and still growing. Ortiz currently is the sixth-ranked international prospect in this year’s group of free agents but is still growing into that body. The Phillies are banking on the fact that their strength program will further redefine that body into a hitting machine and are thinking Ortiz could be the next Ryan Howard (the 2007 version of Howard, not the sad 2015 version).

The Phillies should know all about Ortiz now. They have been scouting him since he was 14, which is two years ago. Their scout in charge of the Dominican Republican, assistant GM Benny Looper, was the guy who signed current MLB third base starter Maikel Franco so his raves about Ortiz come with serious credibility. Franco is the current Phillies home run threat; Ortiz will be the next one.

Looper has mined the Dominican Republic not only for Franco and Ortiz, but added a couple of other DR products this season, infielder Kuedy Bocio and left-handed pitcher Manuel Silva. Ortiz, Bocio and Silva will be three names to keep an eye on as they rise through the system.

Mike Gibson is a MLB Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.