Phillies Release 2017 Triple-A and Double-A Rosters
The Phillies released the rosters for their Triple-A and Double-A affiliates over the weekend, and we’ve put them both in one place for you.
The Phillies minor-league teams may be just as entertaining to watch as the big-league club in 2017. They have many prospects who will be worth keeping tabs on during the season.
Considering three of four of Philadelphia’s full-season minor-league affiliates are well within driving range of the city, fans local to the area should have no problem checking out some of the team’s prospects. Pennsylvania residents can watch the Reading Fightin’ Phils and Lehigh Valley IronPigs while South Jersey and Delaware fans can make the trip to Lakewood to watch the BlueClaws.
With Lehigh Valley’s and Reading’s rosters being released over the weekend, let’s analyze which prospects will be with which team, starting off with the IronPigs.
Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs
Lehigh Valley is where nearly every top Phillies prospect will be this season. Several will be returning from last year while others will make their way up from Double-A.
The entire starting outfield will be made up of top-ten prospects in left fielder Nick Williams, center fielder Roman Quinn, and right fielder Dylan Cozens. Cozens and Quinn will be playing their first seasons in Lehigh Valley while this will be Williams’ second season. Cameron Perkins will be the team’s fourth outfielder.
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The infield will feature the team’s No. 1 prospect, shortstop J.P. Crawford. First baseman Rhys Hoskins and second baseman Jesmuel Valentin will also be in Triple-A after spending much of spring training with the major-league team. Taylor Featherston is expected to be the team’s starting third baseman with Pedro Florimon and Hector Gomez coming off the bench.
Behind the plate top catching prospect Jorge Alfaro is expected to be the starter with Logan Moore slated to back him up.
The starting rotation will also be loaded with talented young pitchers. Jake Thompson will make his way back to Lehigh Valley after making his major-league debuts in 2016. Ben Lively will also return to Triple-A after being named the team’s pitching prospect of the year last season. Mark Appel, Nick Pivetta, and Ricardo Pinto will round out the rotation. Pinto is the lone new pitcher in Triple-A’s rotation this season.
Zach Eflin will stay in Clearwater on the disabled list before heading up north to join the IronPigs later this month. The team is making sure Eflin is 100% recovered from last offseason’s surgeries. When Eflin does return from surgery, Pinto may be the one that gets moved out of the rotation in his place.
The bullpen will feature a healthy mix of new and returning players to the IronPigs. The newcomers to Lehigh Valley are Pedro Beato, Mark Leiter Jr., Wander Perez, Cesar Ramos, and Pat Venditte. Returning from 2016 are Luis Garcia, Michael Mariot, and Hoby Milner.
Double-A Reading Fightin’ Phils
While Reading won’t carry the same prospect power as Lehigh Valley this year, that isn’t to say the team won’t be fun to watch. The middle infield will have two of the team’s top 30 prospects according to MLB.com with second baseman Scott Kingery (No. 11) and shortstop Malquin Canelo (No. 28). Kyle Martin and Mitch Walding will man first and third, respectively, for the Fightin’ Phils. Harold Martinez, Angelo Mora, and Jorge Flores will be on the bench for Reading.
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Chace Numata will be the fresh face at the catcher position for Reading while Joel Fisher is heading into his second year with the Fightin’ Phils.
Another top 30 prospect headed to Reading is center fielder Carlos Tocci. Andrew Pullin will make his return to Fightin’ Phils after hitting .346 in 46 games with them last year. Jiandido Tromp and Aaron Brown will round out the outfield corps.
Tyler Goeddel is listed on Reading’s roster, but after being designated for assignment, he likely won’t be in the organization for long.
New to the rotation this year are Drew Anderson and Shane Watson. Both found success with High-A Clearwater last year and Anderson was added to the 40-man roster during the offseason. Thomas Eshelman, Tyler Viza, and Brandon Leibrandt will return to Reading.
Next: Phillies Place Eflin on DL to Start Season
Meanwhile, the only new player to the bullpen this year is Mario Sanchez, who came over in the Jimmy Cordero trade during the offseason. Miguel Nunez, Alexis Rivero, Matt Hockenberry, Yacksel Rios, Jesen Therrien, and Tom Windle will all return from 2016.