After the Philadelphia Phillies promoted prospects Jorge Alfaro and Roman Quinn Sunday, Quinn got his first start right away in Sunday's loss to the Washington Nationals. Alfaro, who the team hopes will be the heir apparent to Carlos Ruiz behind the plate, will get his first start Tuesday, according to manager Pete Mackanin:
Jorge Alfaro will make his first major-league start tomorrow, Pete Mackanin said. He’ll catch Alec Asher.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) September 12, 2016
Alfaro, 23, batted .285 with 15 home runs and 67 RBIs for Double-A Reading in 2016. He was acquired in last July's Cole Hamels trade with the Texas Rangers.
The Philadelphia Inquirer's Matt Gelb also noted that Alfaro's manager at Reading, Dusty Wathan, was promoted for the remainder of the season as well:
The Phillies brought double-A Reading manager Dusty Wathan to the majors, too. Only added coach for September.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) September 12, 2016
Wathan, who became Reading's winningest manager of all-time during the 2016 season, was named the Eastern League's Manager of the Year after Reading went 89-52 in 2016. Given that this was his second consecutive Manager of the Year award and the relationship that he has with some of the players that the Phillies hope will eventually be part of the core of their next great team, it's entirely possible that Wathan will be promoted permanently to the Major League staff at some point. He certainly seems in line to eventually be on a Major League staff.
