A panel of MLB.com writers, including Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis,and Jonathan Mayo put together a list of baseball's hottest hitting prospects for the month of April.
With higher profile players like Aidan Miller, Justin Crawford, Otto Kemp and Eduardo Tait all playing reasonably well at their respective levels, the prospect chosen as the Phillies system's hottest hitter last month may come as a surprise to some.
Aroon Escobar was given his credit for a hot start to his season at Single-A Clearwater. The organization's No. 13 prospect may not be a familiar name, but perhaps 2025 is his time to make himself known within the Phillies' system.
Aroon Escobar named hottest hitter in Phillies farm system in April
Just a season ago, Escobar was not ranked in the Phillies’ MLB Pipeline Top 30 prospects list. In just a short span, the 20-year-old from Venezuela has reached the top half of the prospect rankings.
Through 19 games with the Threshers in April, Escobar smoked the baseball. He slashed an astounding .360/.461/.627. He finished the first month of the season with five home runs, 21 runs scored, and he knocked in 18 base runners.
Perhaps his hot start shouldn't come as a surprise. In the Florida Complex League last season, the infielder turned some heads. In 24 FCL games, Escobar posted a slash line of .338/.495/.481. Those impressive numbers were accompanied by three home runs and 17 RBIs in 24 games.
Escobar signed with the Phillies during the 2022 international signing period. The 20-year-old plays mainly second and third base, but has played some shortstop as well. While he is playing well right now, Escobar still has a ways to go in terms of development.
He needs to cut back on strikeouts, for one thing. Escobar has struck out 21 times in as many games to this point in the season. This is likely due to having to adjust to better pitching. In 2024, the infield prospect was only retired on strikes 10 times in 24 games. As he continues to see higher level pitching, this is an adjustment that he should be able to make given his age.
Escobar has shown that he can handle himself defensively and has shown that he has some major pop at the plate. He could be in the midst of a breakout season in 2025. While he is still relatively far away from being a big-leaguer, he should be interesting to keep tabs on as the season progresses.
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