Phillies Prospect Report: Cornelius Randolph On Fire Before All-Star Break
Cornelius Randolph has caught fire before the All-Star Break. Ranger Suárez has pitched well, while Jose Pujols and Tom Eshelman have struggled.
As the trade deadline approaches, the Phillies’ farm system might get shaken up a bit. Here are some prospects to keep your eyes on.
Ranger Suárez, LHP, Lehigh Valley
Ranger Suárez started the year in Reading and dominated opposing hitters. In Reading, Suárez was 4-3 with a 2.76 ERA in 12 starts.
Suarez was limited for a time in May with a hamstring injury, but other than that has been spectacular. He threw six or more innings in ten of his twelve starts for the Fightin Phils. Even more impressively, he gave up three or more runs in just two of those twelve starts.
Suárez had three scoreless outings in Reading. One of those came on April 16th when he threw eight shutout innings against Harrisburg.
So far, he’s had one start in Lehigh Valley. On June 29th, he pitched 4.2 innings against Rochester. He only gave up one run and struck out six, but allowed eight hits in a no-decision.
Suarez missed a start due to a groin issue, but he is expected to come back when the Triple-A All-Star Break ends. As he gets more opportunities in Lehigh Valley, he should settle in nicely. Suárez has a great chance to be a part of the Phillies’ staff, even as early as this year.
Cornelius Randolph, OF, Reading
Cornelius Randolph had a tough start to the season and his professional career, but he has turned it on of late. He’s beginning to show what made him the No. 10 pick in the 2015 Draft.
After hitting under .200 for the better part of the first three months of the season, Randolph has been great. In his last ten games, Randolph is hitting .424 with seven RBI and seven walks. He has raised his season average from .190 to .217 in this stretch. He has reached base in nine of the last ten and has multiple hits in four of those games.
Randolph closed out the first half with eight hits in his final four games, including two three-hit games. It was a great way to enter the All-Star break and give him confidence for the second half of the season. Randolph will try to continue this recent surge and propel himself up the ranks in the organization.
Tom Eshelman, RHP, Lehigh Valley
Tom Eshelman had a superb season last year going 13-3 with a 2.40 ERA. In 2018, he hasn’t been able to find what made him so successful in 2017.
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This year Eshelman has a 1-7 record and a 6.32 ERA. He’s been struggling to go deep into ballgames. He’s had four starts have been four innings or shorter. Only five of his starts have gone past the fifth inning. He will have to find a way to go deeper into games if he wants to make it to the Phillies.
Eshelman will also have to start finding ways to keep opponents off the scoreboard if he wants to make it to the big leagues. In ten of his seventeen starts, Eshelman has surrendered at least three earned runs. He gave up five runs twice, six runs twice and seven runs twice.
Those two seven-run outings came in back to back starts at the beginning of June.
In those starts against Toledo and Buffalo, Eshelman threw a combined four innings and gave up fourteen runs on seventeen hits.
Next: Phillies promote Adam Haseley to Double-A Reading
On Sunday, his struggles continued when he made a start against Rochester. He pitched 6.2 innings, giving up ten hits and five earned runs. Opponents are now hitting .343 against Eshelman this year. That needs to improve.