Phillies sending six prospects to Arizona Fall League
Six of the Phillies best prospects will be playing baseball this fall.
The Phillies will send six prospects, including two of their more recent first round picks, to the Arizona Fall League this year.
Alec Bohm, Spencer Howard, JoJo Romero, Mickey Moniak, Connor Seabold, and Nick Maton all rank among the orgainzation’s top-30 prospects on MLB Pipeline and will make the trek to Arizona this fall.
All of them except Seabold rank among the top-20 on Baseball America’s ranking (subscription required).
Bohm was Philadelphia first round pick in 2018 out of Wichita State and is unanimously considered the franchise’s top prospect. Some have projected him to reach the big leagues as early as this September or as the opening day starter at third base in 2020. He’s hitting .304 between Lakewood, Clearwater, and Reading this year with 20 home runs, 30 doubles, and 76 RBI in 121 games.
Moniak battled high expectations the moment he was drafted in 2016. That’s to be expected for a guy taken first overall out of high school. While his rise hasn’t been as meteoric as other first round picks, he’s quietly having a terrific season in Reading with 51 extra-base hits and 15 stolen bases. He’s ranked 19th on Baseball America’s prospect ranking and eighth by MLB Pipeline.
Howard is the hottest name among Philly fans as they wait to see if he’s added to the 40-man roster for September call-ups. The 2017 second round pick has been dominant since returning from an injury this year, owning a 2.03 ERA with 94 strikeouts in 71 innings.
In the Fightin’ Phils’ playoff-clinching win Wednesday night Howard pitched into the sixth allowing just one run on three hits and three rare walks.
Philadelphia Phillies
Romero is another big pitching prospect to keep an eye on, currently a top-15 prospect in the organization. He’s fallen a bit in those rankings despite making the jump to Triple-A, though he has a 7.35 ERA in 12 games for the ‘Pigs. Thankfully he’s leveled out with a 3.06 ERA in his last 10 outings.
Maton is one of several intriguing shortstop prospects who started the year in the lower half of the farm system. Now with Reading, Maton has a .269 batting average this year with 15 doubles and 48 walks in 110 games. He’s also a consensus top-20 prospect in the organization.
While not ranked high in the organization, Seabold has been very good through 11 games in rookie ball, Clearwater, and Reading with a 2.19 ERA. He’s striking out more than five batters for every walk while averaging more than a strikeout per inning. After missing the first half of the season, Seabold will get some much-needed work against a high level of competition in Arizona.