No. 10: OF Adam Haseley
Haseley was Philadelphia’s first-round pick in this year’s draft and he is off to a strong start to his professional career. He scorched through the GCL before posting a .270/.350/.380 line in 37 games in short-season Williamsport. He was recently promoted to Low-A Lakewood, where he has two hits and a walk in his first eight plate appearances. He has been the Lakewood’s designated hitter with last year’s first-round pick, Mickey Moniak, already in center field. The jostling for playing time in center between the two will be interesting to watch as they rise through the minors.
No. 9: OF Dylan Cozens
Cozens has failed to repeat the success of his monster 2016 season in Double-A this year in Triple-A. While Cozens has continued to walk at a high rate (10.5 percent) he has struck out in 34.7 percent of his 476 plate appearances and has a measly .217 batting average. He has continued to show his power with 23 home runs this season, but the 23-year-old has yet to prove he can hit major-league pitching with his struggles in Triple-A. Hopefully next season he can correct some of his mistakes.
No. 8: C Jorge Alfaro
Alfaro is in his last option year, so this season was his last chance to work out the kinks in the minor-leagues. In 84 games, Alfaro had a rather poor .241/.291/.358 line with a 4.6 percent walk rate, 32.3 percent strikeout rate, seven home runs, and 43 runs batted in. He was called up to the majors when Andrew Knapp landed on the disabled list.
Through his first four games he has six hits, including his first major-league home run that left the stadium at 114 mph. Alfaro still has to work on the finer things behind the plate, but he should be a solid catcher with a great arm and provide some power at the plate.