Philadelphia Phillies prospect tragically dies in traffic accident
Sometimes there are things that snap you back to reality and put losing a baseball game into perspective. On Tuesday, just hours before the Philadelphia Phillies lined up for their NLCS Game 7 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, devastating news came out that a member of the Phillies family had tragically passed away.
Alexeis Azuaje, a 21-year-old prospect, died in a traffic accident on the Charallave-Ocumare del Tuy highway in Miranda, Venezuela. Journalist Darvinson Rojas Sánchez reported the news.
According to Sánchez, Azuaje "was driving a Ford Fiesta that crashed into a utility pole."
Two other people, Yeison Gómez Viera and Jorgelis Soto Luna, died in the accident while a third, Luis Rojas Vegas, suffered injuries.
El prospecto de los Philadelphia Phillies, Alexeis Azuaje, de 21 años, falleció en un accidente de tránsito en la autopista Charallave-Ocumare del Tuy, a la altura de Alfareria Continental C.A. de Matalinda, en el estado Miranda.
— Darvinson Rojas Sánchez (@DarvinsonRojas) October 24, 2023
El segunda base de los Clearwater Threshers… pic.twitter.com/fq8idZrF7n
Professional career
The promising second baseman, who joined the Phillies organization in 2019, most recently played with the Clearwater Threshers in the Florida State League in 2022. He played 38 games for the Phillies' Single-A affiliate that year, hitting .285.
Azuaje has no statistics listed for the 2023 season.
In 111 professional games, Azuaje carried a .292 batting average, an .822 OPS, hit 11 home runs, drove in 44 and stole 33 bases. He also saw time at third base and shortstop in his time in the minors.
Prior to the 2022 season, FanGraphs pegged Azuaje as a possible prospect to keep an eye on in the Phillies' development system, reporting that: "Azuaje was age-appropriate for the GCL and crushed it there, but he's physically mature for any kind of prospect let alone a 19-year-old."