By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor
The Philadelphia Phillies announced some non-roster Spring Training invitations this afternoon and there are few top prospects that will join the big league club to start things off in Clearwater in just a few weeks. Most notably, top prospects J.P. Crawford, Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery were listed as non-roster invites among a handful of other names that have spent time with the Phils during spring play.
Joining Crawford, Hoskins and Kingery are Victor Arano, Pedro Beato, Dalier Hinojosa, Michael Mariot, Colton Murray, Cesar Ramos, Taylor Featherston, Brock Stassi, Cam Perkins, Andrew Pullin, Bryan Holaday, Logan Moore and Chace Numata.
Crawford, 22, only hit .250 last season with seven homers and 43 RBIs in 123 games between Double-A and Triple-A last season. He's ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline.
Hoskins, 23, was crowned Eastern League Rookie of the Year in 2016 after an impressive season that saw him hit .281 with 38 home runs in 135 games with Double-A Reading.
Kingery, 22, split time between Advanced 'A' Clearwater and Double-A Reading in 2016, hitting a combined .281 with 36 doubles, five homers, 46 RBIs and 76 runs scored.
One under the radar prospect to keep an eye on during Spring Training is 21-year-old right-hander Victor Arano. He went 5-2 with a 2.26 ERA in 2016 between Reading and Clearwater, striking out 95 batters in 79.2 innings of work.
The Philadelphia Phillies begin Grapefruit League play on February 24 at 1:05 p.m. against the New York Yankees in Tampa, Florida. The team will face off against the University of Tampa in Clearwater for an exhibition on February 23.