Phillies: 3 prospects who Dave Dombrowski should call up now
By Matt Rappa
Phillies prospect Adonis Medina could finally be performing up to the hype.
Ranked as the fourth-best Phillies pitching prospect — behind right-handers Spencer Howard and Francisco Morales, as well as left-hander Erik Miller — right-hander Adonis Medina has already received his first taste of Major League Baseball action.
Making a start last December against the Toronto Blue Jays, Medina, 24, suffered a loss after allowing three hits, two runs (both earned), and three walks across four innings. The right-hander struck out four of his 18 batters faced, while tossing 84 pitches (51 strikes).
Similar to Randolph, Medina kept a focus on baseball in the offseason, appearing in five games and 11 innings at the Dominican Winter League. So far, that decision has been a good one for the right-hander — who is 3-0 with a 3.50 ERA, 14-4 strikeouts-to-walks ratio, and 1.056 WHIP through four starts and 18 innings this season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
Offseason free-agent signees Matt Moore and Chase Anderson simply have not worked out in the starting rotation, forcing the Phillies and Dave Dombrowski to dig deeper into their depth, such as using Vince Velasquez every five days instead. Perhaps Medina is an arm the Phillies should give a chance to succeed in the majors. His 3.50 ERA is the 22nd-best in the Triple-A East, while his .224 batting average against is the 25th-best.
The Dominican Republic native was once considered the Phillies’ “1B” best prospect in their farm system behind Sixto Sanchez, who they later dealt to the Miami Marlins as part of the trade that sent catcher J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia.