Phillies: Prospects seeing mixed results in Arizona Fall League
Extra playing time is paying off for some of the Phillies top prospects
Phillies prospects Cornelius Randolph and J.D. Hammer are gaining tremendous experience playing in the Arizona Fall League facing some of the top young talents in baseball.
Randolph, the Phillies first round pick in 2015, has seen mixed results in his young career. Just 20-years-old Randolph finally found his power stroke with Clearwater, hitting 13 home runs with a .740 OPS.
Despite his power coming to life in professional ball, Randolph has remained a victim of criticism from the Philadelphia fan base. With a .264 batting average in 243 minor league games, many expected more from the 10th-overall pick. Coming out of Griffin High School in Georgia Randolph was known for his bat, so the lack of consistency is troubling.
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In the Fall League Randolph has seen mixed results based on which part of his game you look at. His .194 batting average is among the worst in the league, but his 8/5 K/BB ratio is admittedly impressive.
Randolph’s Clearwater teammate J.D. Hammer has been impressive on the mound. In six games he’s yet to allow a run while striking out six opponents. Hammer was acquired by Philadelphia in the Pat Neshek deal with Colorado at the trade deadline along with prospects Jose Gomez and Alejandro Requena.
In 12 games for Clearwater Hammer struck out 20 hitters and compiled a 0.57 ERA. MLB.com named Hammer Philadelphia’s 30th-overall prospect at the end of the season.
Next: Baseball America ranks Philadelphia's top ten prospects
Both Randolph and Hammer were named to the Arizona Fall League “Fall Star” team, which will play Saturday night on the MLB Network.