Phillies prospect Dylan Cozens likely to be promoted to big leagues

One of the Phillies best power hitting prospects is coming up

Phillies 16th-overall prospect Dylan Cozens was reportedly packing his bags and receiving congratulations in the IronPigs locker room, hinting towards his promotion to the major leagues.

Known for his raw power and horrific plate discipline, Cozens likely replaces Rhys Hoskins, who looks to be headed onto the disabled list with a broken jaw. Hoskins fouled a ball off his face on Monday night in Los Angeles and is not in the starting lineup for the second-consecutive game.

Hoskins will be evaluated by a team doctor in Philadelphia before officially going on the disabled list, but the reports out of Lehigh Valley point to Cozens being on standby.

Cozens hit his 10th home run of the season Wednesday night prior to the speculated promotion but was just 1 for his last 14 at the plate. Many, including myself, wondered if Cozens would ever reach the majors and have an impact considering his high strikeout tendency and the negative effect that has on his numbers with analytics specialists in the front office.

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However, Cozens was likely the only true option for the Phillies to call up with both Hoskins and Pedro Florimon hitting the disabled list with broken bones in the Dodgers series. Mitch Walding has replaced Florimon on the disabled list and is starting at third on Wednesday night.

Cozens and Hoskins were dubbed the “Bash Brothers” when playing together in Double-A Reading when they combined to hit 78 home runs in 2016. Reading is known to be a hitter-friendly park, but Cozens followed that season up with 27 home runs for Lehigh Valley last year.

How the Phillies use Cozens will be interesting considering they have a logjam of outfielders with Odubel Herrera, Nick Williams, and Aaron Altherr already. Major questions surround Williams and Altherr as to whether they are pieces of the future, and having them both start while Hoskins recovers would benefit the organization. But Cozens needs at-bats as well, and he’ll likely see time in left field and potentially first base, though he’s never played the position in the minors.

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Cozens was a second-round pick of the Phillies in 2012 out of Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. He’s consistently been rated among the top prospects but has slipped lately with the influx of pitching talent and strikeouts. He’s hitting .224 with the IronPigs this season before his apparent promotion.