Phillies Prospect Watch: Who's hot, who's not? June edition

Last month was the first installment of the "Who's hot, who's not?" prospect list, highlighting some of the top prospects across the Phillies' farm system. At the time, there was speculation on whether Otto Kemp and Justin Crawford should be called up. The former has been and is holding his position as a utility man for the Phillies. The latter certainly is making a strong case to be another potential call-up candidate.

Here is a look at how some of the Top 30 prospects in the system, per MLB Pipeline, and some unranked farmhands are performing as the calendar has flipped to July.

Who's Hot?

Justin Crawford, OF, #3

The second-highest-ranked position player in the system just keeps on hitting with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The contact-first, speedy outfielder put together an impressive June while missing a week due to a leg injury. In 16 games this past month, Crawford slashed .344/.434/.469 with a .903 OPS. He also drove in 10 runs, stole seven bases, and drew more walks (11) than strikeouts (9). He is currently on an eight-game hitting streak, where he is hitting .441 during that stretch. Against left-handed pitching this season, Crawford has held his own, posting an impressive 1.086 OPS across 54 at-bats.

Crawford not only has generated enough buzz to warrant a potential big league promotion much sooner than many have thought coming into the season, but he also has skyrocketed his value as a trade piece if the Phillies intend to make a big move at the trade deadline on July 31. Either way, Crawford has been one of the hottest hitters in the system and one of the best in all of Triple-A at the young age of 21.

Jean Cabrera, RHP, #12

The opening-day starter for Double-A Reading, Cabrera has quietly been chugging along in the Eastern League. In five starts in June, he posted a respectable 3.33 ERA across 27 innings, striking out 26 batters while walking just seven. Opponents hit .208 last month against the Venezuela native who was acquired by the Phillies as one of the potential bargains of the international market during the 2019-20 signing period, where he signed for just $10,000.

Last season, he earned a spot on the team's 40-man roster and is on it once again this season. In 16 starts this season, he is 3-4 with a 3.61 ERA. His 79 strikeouts are the fifth-most in the Eastern League, while his .203 batting average against is good for the fourth-lowest in the circuit.

Keaton Anthony, 1B, unranked

Anthony should have been a second-day draft pick in 2023 if he were not one of the 26 Iowa student-athletes investigated for sports betting. Never betting on Iowa games, Anthony was suspended in the final 17 games of the season and postseason, in turn, did not hear his name called during the draft after hitting a combined .373 with 23 homers and 93 RBIs in two seasons as a Hawkeye, being named Big 10 Freshman of the Year.

Anthony was given a second chance when the Phillies signed him as an undrafted free agent, and he has hit his way up to Triple-A. The slugging first baseman acclimated to the higher level of pitching quickly, picking up a hit in 14 straight games to start his career as an IronPig. Like Crawford, Anthony missed a week due to an injury in June, but it has not stopped him from being productive at the plate.

In June, between two levels, Anthony posted a .916 OPS with a .359 average while slugging .526. He hit two homers and drove in seven runs. The first baseman can also do it with his glove, being named a Rawlings Gold Glove Award Winner as the best defensive first baseman in Minor League Baseball.

Dylan Campbell, OF, #30

Campbell is another player on this list who has moved up a level since the start of the season, currently playing with Double-A Reading. In June, he hit a combined .321 with an impressive .402 on-base percentage. The power was also on display last month, posting an .889 OPS, his highest of any month so far this season, thanks to seven doubles and a pair of homers while driving in 10 runs. Campbell closed out June on a modest seven-game hitting streak, where he hit .333 with a .823 OPS.

Originally a fourth-round pick in 2023 by the Dodgers, Campbell was traded to the Phillies for international bonus money to help Los Angeles sign Roki Sasaki. The former Texas Longhorn looks to continue to progress in the Eastern League along with fellow Top 30 prospects in Miller, Cabrera, Carson DeMartini, Eiberson Castellano, Hendry Mendez, and Caleb Ricketts.

Who's Not?

Aidan Miller, SS, #2

It has been an up-and-down season for Miller in his first full year at the Double-A level. After slashing .284/.364/.432 with a .795 OPS in 24 games in May, June was a bit of a swoon for the second-ranked prospect in the system at the plate. He hit just .196, but his plate discipline was solid, helping him get on base by walking 14 times in 15 games, posting a .361 on-base percentage.

Dealing with skin irritation, Miller was sidelined from June 12 to June 20. When he returned on June 21, he picked up a pair of hits, including a triple, but closed out the month 3-for-18 at the plate. Since the start of July, the 27th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft has picked up a hit in four of the last six games, including a home run on the Fourth of July.

On the season, Miller's slash line is .238/.353/.381 with a .734 OPS in 64 games this season with seven homers and 21 RBIs. His 31 stolen bases are tied for the lead in the Eastern League and the second-most among Phillies' minor leaguers.

Aroon Escobar, 2B, #6

Escobar had one of the loudest starts to the season of any prospect in the Phillies organization. An impressive .360/.461/.627 slash line with a 1.087 OPS in April will certainly turn heads. The 20-year-old Venezuela native followed that up with another respectable showing, hitting just under .300 in 25 games to go with three homers and nine RBIs in May.

The second baseman's June was not close to staying on par with the superb numbers through his first 44 games. In 20 games last month, Escobar hit just .203 with a .338 on-base percentage and .338 slugging percentage while his OPS dropped nearly 200 points to a .608.

Escobar's underlying metrics look good. Every player is going to go through a slump, and that is what happened to Escobar. His dazzling first two months should not be washed away because of a tough June.

Photo Credit: Alec Kostival