Brandon Phillips: A First-Round Pick??

I participated in an NL-only mock draft last evening. I had the 2nd pick in the draft and chose Hanley Ramirez after Pujols went off the board 1st.

A couple first round picks surprised me though like Prince Fielder selected as the 10th pick in the first round, and Brandon Phillips and Adrian Gonzalez going back to back as the 12th pick in the 1st round and 1st pick in the 2nd round. Phillips and Gonzalez were selected before Carlos Beltran, Manny Ramirez, Carlos Lee, Tim Lincecum, and Alfonso Soriano.

I chatted with the team and asked him why he selected Phillips in the 1st round. His response was position scarcity at 2b. I understand the reasoning, but if it was me-I would have selected two of the following-Manny, Lee or Soriano.

Something else that surprised me was that Brad Lidge and Francisco Rodriguez were selected in the 3rd round!! Way too early in my opinion. But most of the other closers were selected between the 8th and 10th rounds, which I expected.

Would you select Phillips before any of the sluggers or ace pitchers mentioned above?