Phillies prospects Tom Eshelman, Scott Kingery win Paul Owens award
By John Town
The Phillies selected Tom Eshelman and Scott Kingery as the team’s pitching and hitting prospect of the year after strong seasons.
The Phillies announced Thursday that pitcher Tom Eshelman and second baseman Scott Kingery were the recipients of the Paul Owens award, given to top pitching and hitting prospect in the farm system each season. Both were well-deserving candidates after their strong seasons.
This was a true breakout season for Kingery as he posted a .304/.359/.530 line in 132 games between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He hit 26 home runs, 29 doubles, eight triples, drove in 65 runs and scored 103 runs. At 23 years old, Kingery was 3.7 years younger than the average Triple-A player.
Team director of player development Joe Jordan praised Kingery in a press release from the team:
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"“Scott showed the ability to be an impactful everyday player on both sides of the ball, and that is the most exciting thing.“The power showed up this season, and he wins as many games on the defensive side as the offensive side. That, and his energetic style of play, makes him an exciting young player with a very bright future with the Phillies.”"
Kingery represented the Phils in the Futures Game along with Rhys Hoskins.
Eshelman also split the year between Reading and Lehigh Valley, making 23 appearances and logging 150 innings. Eshelman had a 2.40 ERA, 3.55 fielding-independent pitching, 0.97 WHIP, and 5.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
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The Astros drafted Eshelman in 2015 in the second round No. 46 overall. He was then traded to Philadelphia in the Ken Giles deal during the 2015-16 offseason.
Jordan also praised Eshelman’s performance:
"“Tom was a model of consistency for the entire 2017 season,” Jordan said. “His ability to execute pitches is truly special and his ability to command the baseball is going to allow him to be a meaningful rotation piece for our major league club going forward.”"
Eshelman was shut down for the year once the regular season ended, but Kingery and the IronPigs begin the International League playoffs Monday night.
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Both Eshelman and Kingery are exempt from the Rule 5 draft this winter but could make their way to the major-league roster next season after strong showings this year.