Cody Asche, Tommy Joseph Make, Contribute Briefly to AFL Rising Stars Game

Joseph gets self into legacy of Billy Hamilton

Another AFL has come to a middle, and what better way to celebrate than to pit its best players against each other?  Ha, ha, ha.  DANCE PUPPETS DAAAAAAANCE.

But enough with all that crap.  What you want to know is, which Phillies prospects made it onto the roster?  Pitchers fly in and out of these games as quickly as hitters, so by necessity alone they would need to include as many as possible.  Sadly, no Phillies pitching prospects made the cut; which is less surprising when using “statistics” to determine players’ value.

While still a collection of talented slingers, Colby Shreve led the crew with a 4.50 ERA, in a group where it has gotten as high as 12.00 (Tyler Knigge).  Shreve is also tied for the team lead in holds and appeared in the most games.  Kyle Simon is on pace to take home the Most Earned Runs Allowed award, which is a tiny trophy often presented to its owner without a ceremony in the creepy alley behind the clubhouse.

No, the only names on the AFL Rising Stars East squad from the Phillies franchise were offensive, and they were two thirds of the eligible prospects we sent in that category–third baseman Cody Asche and catcher Tommy Joseph (he of the .425 OPS and team-leading three errors, so…?)

Unfortunately, both had to work very hard to get mentioned in this recap of the game, which featured far more Billy Hamilton than anybody could stand, but that’s only because Hamilton is a promising young prospect who rarely screws up and is fun to watch and says cool things.

Joseph squeezed himself into a Billy Hamilton story, however, as he singled in the top of the fifth, and then was immediately replaced by Braves SS prospect Nick Ahmed, who scored after Billy drag bunted a beaut to Jonathan Singleton, who was so impressed that he hurled the ball into right field.  Asche went 0-for-2 with a strikeout.

Old pal Jarred Cosart was out there on the mound again to start for the AFL Rising Stars East, going two innings with a hit, two earned runs, and two walks.  Package deal bedfellow Jonathan Singleton went 1-for-2 with a walk and that aforementioned throw into the outfield.

It was a stifling performance by the opposing Eastern Stars, and our boys went down by a 9-4 score, courtesy of the Athletics’ Michael Tonkin’s fifth inning meltdown to end all fifth inning meltdowns, in which he coughed up three hits and five runs, four of them earned.

The AFL surges forward now, memories of a lopsided Rising Stars game getting further and further away.  On November 17, the Championship Game will be played in Scottsdale, and we can only assume the powerful might lurking in our prospects has surfaced by then.

**pokes prospects**

Come oooooonnn.

Surfaaaacccce.