Future Phillies Report: Rhys Hoskins standing out among Triple A prospects

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One Phillies prospect is standing out above all the rest and if things keep playing out the way they are for another few weeks, we could see him in the majors before the summer hits.

This week's Future Phillies Report begins with Rhys Hoskins:

1B Rhys Hoskins (AAA)
Hoskins homered again on Tuesday, his International League-leading seventh of the season. It was an opposite-field, line-drive rocket that exited in a hurry.

Through 24 games and 94 plate appearances, Hoskins has hit .350/.447/.675 with those seven home runs and 15 RBIs.

In addition to leading the IL in homers (no other player has more than five), Hoskins is second in OBP, first in slugging by 88 points, first in OPS by 95 points and tied for sixth with 13 walks.

All of this while striking out just 15 times.

Offensively, Hoskins has done everything possible so far to earn himself serious consideration for a call-up. He's done everything the Phillies have asked, cutting down on his strikeout rate while improving his selectivity and doing it all without sacrificing his calling card: home run power.

Hoskins took his offensive approach to another level during the second half last season with Reading, when he walked nearly as much as he struck out. In total in 2016, he had a 12 percent walk rate and 21 percent strikeout rate. So far this season, his walk rate has increased to 14 percent while his strikeout rate has been cut to 16 percent.

There are some questions about Hoskins' first-base defense. He isn't as fluid or athletic around the bag as a Brock Stassi. Many baseball fans discount the importance of first-base defense because it's the easiest position to play, but we've seen this season how crucial it can be. The Phillies lead the majors with six double plays started by the first baseman after totaling just five combined in 2015 and 2016. It's saved their pitchers outs and runs.

Still, Hoskins' bat will get him to South Philadelphia soon. The issue is that there isn't space for him at this moment. (And before you question Ty Kelly's presence on the 25-man roster, remember that the Phillies won't call up Hoskins unless they have regular ABs for him.)

The Phillies aren't going to give up on Tommy Joseph or Stassi after one month. Stassi has hit for some power lately and is a well-above-average defender. Joseph hit 21 home runs last season and the Phils won't forget about that because of 80 plate appearances in 2017.

Joseph hit a three-run home run Monday at Wrigley Field which was really the decisive blow in the Phillies' lopsided victory. It was a good sign, but as Pete Mackanin always says, you audition every day. Joseph followed it up by going 1 for 2 with a double and a walk Tuesday.

Hoskins' clearest path to the majors would be either a prolonged cold spell from Joseph or an injury to Joseph, Stassi or Daniel Nava. Hoskins is not on the 40-man roster but that won't be much of an issue because there are a few players on the 40 whom the Phils would be willing to designate for assignment.

SS J.P. Crawford (AAA)
Lehigh Valley scored 11 runs on 14 hits Tuesday and Crawford had none of them.

He did work a bases-loaded walk to drive in his fifth run of the season, but Crawford is still struggling. Through 93 plate appearances, he's hitting .139 with two extra-base hits and a .261 OBP.

Even Crawford's calling card, his control of the strike zone, has suffered so far this season. He has 13 walks and 22 strikeouts in 22 games.

A positive is that Crawford's last week hasn't been as bad as the previous three. Over his last six games he's 6 for 23 with four walks, so he does have a .370 OBP over that small sample. Baby steps that the Phils hope leads to bigger steps as the weather warms up.

It's worth noting Crawford is still just 22 years old, nearly five years younger than the International League average. But some of that prospect shine is starting to wear off. He was Baseball America's No. 12 overall prospect and MLB.com's No. 7 prospect entering the season but won't be that high by midseason unless he can turn around what's been his longest slump as a pro.

C Jorge Alfaro (AAA)
Alfaro is actually hitting a point better than Hoskins (.351) to lead the Pigs. He's had three-hit games in three of his last six.

Twenty-one of Alfaro's 27 hits have been singles, but they're mostly hard-hit singles. There is still some more power within that bat Alfaro can unlock as he develops. He'll turn 24 on June 11, but remember that various injuries have robbed Alfaro of some development time. Without them, he'd probably already be in the majors.

The Phillies were not overly impressed by Alfaro's defense during his September cup of coffee last season and won't turn the pitching staff over to him just yet. At some point soon, though, his offensive potential will be too much to hold down.

But as Jim Salisbury reported last week, the Phils feel Alfaro has made some defensive strides.

"He wasn't getting down enough (behind the plate) and he worked on that all spring," Mackanin said. "He's a big guy and it's a little more difficult for a big guy to get low.
 
"And we wanted him to just be a little more quiet behind the plate, less movement. He had a tendency to be moving while the pitcher was getting ready to pitch. We just want a guy sitting back there nice and quiet with a good target. That might seem pretty elementary, but if you're not concentrating on doing that you might not realize the importance of it.
 
"He's doing well blocking balls. He's doing everything well right now and hitting on top of it, so that's a nice sign."

OF Roman Quinn (AAA)
The oft-injured Quinn has missed a few games in a row with an illness, but before that, he was hitting. He's 9 for 22 over his last six games with two doubles, a triple and five walks.

The switch-hitting Quinn has had a slow start from the left side of the plate, which is, of course, the side from which he'd hit about 70 percent of the time in the majors. He's hitting .192 as a lefty and .293 as a righty.

It's a small sample size and nothing to be overly concerned with. Quinn is naturally a right-handed hitter but has worked to improve from the left side, hitting .318 against righties last season.

The height of Quinn's ceiling isn't yet crystal clear, but in him, the Phillies know they have an extremely fast, switch-hitting leadoff-type who offers above-average defense. He has more pop than the traditional speedster but will also strike out a bit more. 

OF Dylan Cozens (AAA)
Cozens admits he's struggling; manager Dusty Wathan admits it too. But there's nothing to do but trot him out there every day and hope he learns as he gets acclimated to experienced Triple-A pitching.

Cozens had a good night Tuesday, going 3 for 4 with a triple, two RBIs and two runs. It raised his season batting line to .165/.232/.341. 

It's obviously of extreme concern that he has 40 strikeouts in 95 plate appearances. That's an even higher strikeout rate than Cozens had last season when he punched out 186 times. At this rate, he'd strike out 247 times if he reaches as many plate appearances as he had last season.

Cozens is always going to strike out, but the Phillies will be able to live with it if he provides more consistent power. That's just the way the game has trended. Look at Chris Davis, Khris Davis, Chris Carter, Miguel Sano, Adam Duvall, Todd Frazier ... the list goes on and on. If you hit 30 homers and 30 doubles, your team will live with the K's.

The problem so far for Cozens has been he just hasn't made enough contact. He's actually hitting .311 on balls in play, but he has just six extra-base hits in 24 games.

Cozens turns 23 at the end of May and the Phillies will be patient with him. You might see him play two full seasons at Triple-A.

OF Nick Williams (AAA)
Williams' tools and skills make him stand out on some nights as the most impressive player on the field for a prospect-laden Lehigh Valley team. But he just hasn't hit consistently enough at Triple-A since the start of 2016.

In 614 plate appearances with the IronPigs since last season, Williams has hit .259/.291/.427 with 40 doubles, six triples and 15 home runs. He also has 22 walks and 160 strikeouts. Yes, a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 8-to-1.

Because of that, Williams is below Quinn on the Phillies' outfield pecking order. He just hasn't yet shown enough maturation as a hitter.

Defensively, he's going to be strong. He's a natural centerfielder who has taken well to the corners, which isn't as easy as it sounds. Nowadays you hear a lot of young outfielders say that center is actually the easiest outfield spot because the reads are the truest and you don't have to worry about as much tail as you do in left field or right field. Odubel Herrera, for example, is more comfortable in center than in the corners.

It's interesting to compare Williams' progression to that of Lewis Brinson. When the Phillies were negotiating the Cole Hamels trade with the Rangers, they debated between Williams and Brinson. Brinson was eventually traded to the Brewers for Jonathan Lucroy. 

Brinson has taken well to Triple-A this season, hitting .343 with a .947 OPS at Colorado Springs, though you shouldn't overemphasize those numbers. The Pacific Coast League is filled with bandbox ballparks and we all know how the ball travels in Colorado.

RHP Mark Appel (AAA)
Five starts into his second season with Lehigh Valley, Appel is 1-2 with a 7.48 ERA and 1.89 WHIP. His opponents have hit .344 with 10 extra-base hits (six home runs) in 104 plate appearances.

Yikes.

Appel allowed two homers Tuesday night to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees' affiliate), though the wind certainly aided the longballs. Still, he allowed 11 hits and again lasted just four innings.

Appel has averaged 4⅓ innings per start this season. The Phils will continue to give him opportunities to get into some semblance of a groove, but it's looking more and more likely that his best chance to contribute in this organization would be as a reliever.

Appel will be given more opportunities because of his pedigree — he was drafted eighth overall in 2012 by the Pirates and first overall by the Astros in 2013 after returning to school. It's telling that two different clubs valued him as a top-10 pick only a handful of years ago.

But his control needs to improve, simply put. If it doesn't, he'll go down as one of the most disappointing No. 1 picks.

RHP Shane Watson (AA)
The Phillies' first-round pick in 2012 (40th overall), Watson is finally on an actual minor-league path after an injury-ravaged few years.

He's pitched 10 consecutive scoreless innings for Double-A Reading, though the 11 walks and 10 strikeouts in 19⅓ innings on the season foretell some regression.

Still, Reading manager Greg Legg is beginning to see the flashes that made Watson an intriguing prospect coming out of high school.

"I was fortunate to see him at the beginning when we drafted him, and it was pretty electric," Legg told CSN Philly. "I'm starting to see signs of that. I'm starting to see that guy come back.

"More than anything, we're pleased that we have a healthy Shane Watson and a more mature Shane Watson — a guy that's not only pitching for himself but pitching for his family. It's a good story. It's a real good story."

OF Mickey Moniak (Class A Lakewood)
Moniak, who doesn't turn 19 until May 13, is holding his own in the Sally League. Through 98 plate appearances, he's hit .282/.340/.365 with five doubles, a triple and 13 RBIs.

Phillies officials have been most impressed by Moniak's wise-beyond-his-years approach to baseball. When they drafted him first overall last summer, the deciding factor was his hit tool but they also cited things like his passion for the game and mature, workmanlike approach.

For Moniak, this year is about learning the speed of the pro game and how to conserve your body during a full, 140-game slate.

RHP Sixto Sanchez (Lakewood)
Since we last looked at Sanchez, he threw five shutout innings with four strikeouts and two baserunners allowed. The high-upside flamethrower has 21 strikeouts and just two walks in 19⅓ innings this season.

His opponents have hit .186 with a .219 on-base percentage and have only two extra-base hits, both doubles.

Sanchez is up to 99 innings in the minors now and still hasn't allowed a single home run.

He has ace-like upside, but he's just 18 years old and it will probably be at least three years until we see him in The Show.

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