The Phillies are playing decent baseball, but are still under the .500 mark. And more pressing than their record in the standings is the list of mounting injuries with Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin and Andres Blanco now amongst the walking wounded working their way back to health in South Philly. With rosters expanding in less than a month and roster spots opening up consistently as injuries add up, many Phillies prospects (like the recently debuting Jake Thompson) climb the latter to the bigs. Here’s a quick look at who’s hot and who’s cold down on the farm with call up season looming.
Who’s hot:
Rhys Hoskins: Hoskins’ power has not relented, as the 23-year-old continues to wallop Double-A pitching. He has 35 homers with 104 RBI and 53 walks. He leads the Eastern League in homers and is tied with teammate Dylan Cozens for the RBI lead. His walk total is sixth best. Nick Pivetta:The 23-year-old Pivetta is now the ace of the Lehigh Valley staff with Jake Thompson in the big leagues, and he’s pitched solidly of late with a 3.09 ERA in his last 10 starts. He’s won his last two decisions and has a good strikeout (116) to walk (43) ratio. Dylan Cozens:Cozens has 32 homers, second in the Eastern League and the aforementioned 104 RBI. He has been red-hot lately batting .390 over his last 10 games to lift his season average to .289. Cornelius Randolph: The Phillies first round pick from last year is starting to hit the way scouts had hoped, as he boasts a .333 markover his last 10 starts thanks to a three-hit game Saturday. The 19-year-old has a lot of work to do with the Lakewood Blueclaws but is certainly showing glimpses of potency. Who’s not:
J.P. Crawford: Philly’s top prospect has had an inconsistent season at the plate, with his last 10 games represented by a lowly .233 batting average. More pressing an issue is his health, as the shortstop has been sidelined for five games with a rib injury. When he returns healthy, the Phils’ hope he plays well enough to warrant a trip to Citizens Bank Park in September. Mickey Moniak: The Phils’ No. 1 overall pick from a month ago started off on fire, batting well above .300 to start his pro career but has since fallen back to earth in the Gulf Coast league. Over his last 10 games he’s hit just .237 Jorge Alfaro: The Phillies hope Alfaro is the catcher of the future, but he’s struggled lately after a red hot start himself. The slugger has just three RBI and no homers over his last 41 at bats and has hit .220 during that span. Nick Williams: Speaking of slumps at the plate, Philly’s highly-touted outfield power-hitter Williams continues to swing and miss in Triple-A, with an ugly .179 batting average over his last 10 games. He has 106 strikeouts this season in 424 at bats. Ben Lively: Lively couldn’t possibly keep up his tiny ERA and impressive win record, and he fell back to earth over the last 10 starts, raising his earned run average from 2.45 to 3.82 over that span. Still, on the year he is 14-5 with a 2.86 ERA on the year.
Phillies prospect watch: Nick Williams, J.P. Crawford mired in slumps
Getty Images
