Three Phillies prospects ranked among International League’s best
Baseball America is releasing their annual set of minor-league-by-league prospect rankings, and three Phillies were placed in the top 10 of the IL.
With the minor-league season over, Baseball America has begun releasing their top 20 prospect lists for each of the minor-leagues, starting in Triple-A and working their way down. They released their top 20 list for the International League, where the Phillies Triple-A team, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, play.
Rhys Hoskins, Scott Kingery, and J.P. Crawford were all named among the best prospects in the league. All three made it into the top ten, showing the quality of prospects each of them are. All three got a lengthy review from the site about their season.
1B/LF Rhys Hoskins
Hoskins was the highest-ranked Phillie on the list, coming in at No. 3 behind only Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna and the White Sox Yoan Moncada. Hoskins was also named the International League MVP by BA.
In 115 Triple-A games this year, Hoskins hit 29 home runs, drove in 91 runs, and finished his stint there with a .284/.385/.581 line. Since being promoted to the majors he has been unstoppable, hitting 18 home runs in 39 games with a 1.167 OPS.
Carlos Collazo had the following to say about Hoskins: ($)
A year after cracking 38 home runs in Double-A, Hoskins continued to rake as the IL’s top power hitter. He was leading the league with 29 home runs when the Phillies called him up on Aug. 10 and finished as the IL leader for on-base percentage (.385), slugging (.581) and RBIs (91). In the majors, he became the fastest player ever to reach 10 homers—just 17 games. Evaluators were impressed with Hoskins’ approach at the plate, both in terms of feel for the strike zone—a career low 16 percent strikeouts—and ability to make adjustments. The advanced timing in his load alleviated previous concerns he would only be a mistake hitter. His power should play as plus-plus because he drives the ball to all fields. Cited as being anywhere from adequate to a good defender at first base, Hoskins lacks the fluidity and athleticism to be an impact glove at his natural position or in left field.
Along with the rankings, Collazo also interacted with readers in a chat room about the list. Naturally, at least one question about Hoskins was asked:
Mike (Toronto): Rhys Hoskins justly has been getting a ton of press post-promotion, based on his home run tear. I surprisingly never see any comments on actual math of his total damange - the fact he hammered 29 HRs in the minors too, bringing him to 47 YTD! Who was the last guy to hit 50 HRs with at least 20 in each of MilB and MLB in the same year?? That's amazing! Carlos Collazo: Yep, the guy has gone crazy. It’s impressive to watch. I don’t know the best way to search that specific question off the top of my head but it’s one to look into. One of the exciting things for Phillies fans is that Hoskins’ ability to make adjustments was praised from managers in the IL. Previously there were concerns that he would only be able to consistently punish mistakes, but that definitely doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.
SS J.P. Crawford
Had this list been released at midseason, there is no way Crawford would’ve been on it. He nearly fell entirely out of the Top 100, with one of BA’s editors saying they don’t see him as an impact player anymore.
However, Crawford completely turned his season around after a break mid-June. He hit so well he was able to make his major-league debut this month as well as land at No. 10 in this list.
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This was Collazo’s profile on Crawford:
Crawford started the season so poorly, hitting .194 with a .565 OPS through 56 games, that the Phillies game him a 10-day mental break. The plan worked. From June 20 onward he hit .280/.381/.522 in the IL with 13 of his 15 home runs. He made his big league debut on Sept. 5. Managers and scouts alike noticed poor defense and body language from Crawford during the first half, which seemed to stem from his prolonged batting slump. An above-average defender at shortstop with an above-average arm, he committed 12 errors through his first 66 games but just five through his last 61, which included time at second and third base in August. Crawford is an above-average hitter and runner, and though his power is just fringe-average, his plate discipline is a separator, as indicated by a league-leading 79 walks. He draws nearly as many walks as strikeouts and has a career .367 on-base percentage in the minors.
A reader asked Collazo what he thought about the fact Crawford was being moved all around in August just before his call-up:
Alex (Mass): What do you make of JP Crawford being moved all over the diamond? Heading to be a platoon? Still long term answer at SS?, or is Franco doomed at 3b? Carlos Collazo: I wouldn’t make too much of it, as far as Crawford’s future long term. Crawford played the first 111 games at shortstop this year with Lehigh Valley before playing some third, second and short during late August before his promotion. He’s got the tools to be a really good defender at short with an above-average arm, and he picked it much better during the second half this year as well. Crawford is definitely the future shortstop. Not sure about Franco, but a .684 OPS isn’t too exciting.
Next: Phillies could be plenty of fun to watch next year
To build upon what Collazo said, the fact that Crawford is being moved all around is just so he can get as many at-bats before the season ends. That way, the team can get as good of a picture as possible of what they have in Crawford. Regardless, the fact