The Phillies have won five in a row and look to go for their sixth tonight in Colorado. In the minor leagues, the Phils farm team records may not be great, but this week was a really strong one for the organizations' top talent. Not only did we see Maikel Franco get promoted, but J.P. Crawford entered his second week of play after missing time with an oblique injury. Meanwhile, the Reading pitching rotation has been dominant and the Phils outfield prospects continue to impress. Here are updates on Franco, Crawford and the rest of the Phillies top 10 prospects as ranked by Baseball America.
- J.P. Crawford (Advanced-A) - When we last checked in with the Phillies top prospect, he was hitting .533 through four games since returning from injury. Though he hasn't kept up those hot hitting numbers, he has leveled out at .375 (15-for-40) going into tonight's action. Over the weekend against Daytona, Crawford went 6-for-14 with a run scored and three RBI's. On the season he has scored six runs, hit one home run and driven in eight runs. In addition, the 20-year-old shortstop has walked eight times and gone down via the strikeout just three times. He's also stolen two bases. The Threshers begin a three-game series with Brevard County tonight on the road.
- Aaron Nola (Double-A) - Since being drafted by the Phillies in 2014, Nola has put together a very impressive resume, posting a 9-5 record to go along with an ERA of 2.41 between Advanced 'A' and Double-A ball. This season for Reading, he is 5-2 and has a terrific 1.77 ERA in 45 2/3 innings on the mount. He's struck out 32 and walked just five. Opposing hitters have a .208 average against him. In his most recent outing against Erie at home, Nola tosses six shutout innings, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out three. He thre 84 pitches, 56 for strikes. Through three starts in May, Nola is 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA in 21 innings. His next turn in the rotation is on Wednesday, the 20th at 11:35am against New Hampshire. Nola allowed one run in seven innings against the Rock Cats back on May 4th.
- Maikel Franco (MLB) - After hitting under .200 in limited action for the Phillies last year, the 22-year-old third baseman out of the Dominican Republic gets his second change at the big league level now. Before being promoted, Franco slashed .355/.384/.539 with the Ironpigs and hit 12 doubles, four home runs and drove in 24 runs. In his first three games with the Phils, Franco is 3-for-12 with a home run, triple, walk, two strikeouts and two RBI's against Arizona. His best game was on Sunday, when he notched his first big league home run and triple in the Phillies victory. The big league club starts a four-game series in Colorado tonight at 8:40pm.
- Zach Eflin (Double-A) - Eflin did not allow a run through his first three starts, surrendered three in his next and then five in the following outing. This past week, Eflin got the ball twice and combined to pitch 14 innings, allowing five runs on 13 hits while striking out four and walking three. On the 12th, Eflin took the loss against Harrisburg after pitching six innings and giving up four runs. He rebounded on Sunday against Erie, tossing eight innings of one-run ball, keeping his ERA below three at 2.74. Eflin has struck out 18 batters this season and walked nine. Out of the 13 runs he has allowed, three of them of been via the home run. Opposing hitters have a .223 average against the 21-year-old right-hander from Orlando. He'll likely get the start at some point this weekend when Reading travels to Portland. Eflin has faced them twice already this season. In 14 innings, he's 1-1 and has given up three runs on nine hits and struck out seven.
- Tom Windle (Double-A) - The 23-year-old southpaw is the one pitcher the Phillies acquired this offseason that hasn't quite settled in to his new surroundings just yet. In 30 1/3 innings, Windle has given up 17 earned runs, good for an ERA of 5.04. His issue seems to lie within his command. So far this year, Windle has walked 18 batters, compared to 24 strikouts. Opponents also have a .278 combined average against him. His most recent start was encouraging, despite getting the loss. Windle went five innings and gave up two runs on four hits against Harrisburg. He struck out five and walked four. Windle gets the nod tonight at home against the Fishercats. He has seen them once already this year and it was one of his better starts. On the 13th of April, he held them to just one run in six innings.
- Ben Lively (Double-A) - Looking to rebound from his worst outing of the season, Ben Lively took the hill on the 14th and had a nice bounce back performance. The 23-year-old out of Central Florida pitched seven shutout innings in a winning effort, scattering just three hits while striking out five. Lively is 3-0 with a 3.06 ERA this season. He's struck out 31 and walked 10 while opposing hitters have a .246 average against. In five of his first six starts, Lively has allowed less than three runs and in three starts, he's held opponents scoreless. His next start will be on Tuesday night at 6:35pm in Reading.
- Roman Quinn (Double-A) - During our last prospect check-in, Quinn's bat had come back to earth a bit. He was hitting .375 back ion April 24th and last week, he was down to .310. Four multi-hit ballgames have raised the speedy outfielders' average back up to .333 on the year. This weekend against Erie, Quinn went 5-for-12 with three runs scored, a walk, two strikeouts and four steals. Over his last 10 games, Quinn is hitting an impressive .378 with nine runs scored, five walks and six strikeouts to go along with eight steals. On the season, Quinn has 19 stolen bases, best in the Eastern League. His .333 average is good for fifth overall, one spot higher than teammate Brock Stassi.
- Carlos Tocci (Class 'A') - One of the best stories on the list is that of Carlos Tocci. At just 19 years old, Tocci leads the South Atlantic League in hitting (.362), on-base percentage (.429) and is third in OPS (.900). Last week, Tocci's average was at .363 and he hasn't fluctuated much from there, maintaining an average just one point below that. In Lakewoods' four-game set with Kannapolis this past weekend, Tocci had three multi-hit games, going a combined 8-for-17 with a run scored, a double, triple, four RBI's and two strikeouts. He'll look to keep things rolling as the Blueclaws head to Delmarva for a three-game series with the Shorebirds.
- Aaron Brown (Advanced 'A') - Before heading to the disabled list for a little over 15 dyas, Brown was hitting just .209 (14-for-67) with four doubles, three triples, a home run, seven RBI's and nine runs scored. Since returning to the lineup, he's raised his average to .220 and has tallied two multi-hit games in that time frame. Brown, 22, had a great weekend series against Daytona, notching five hits in 12 at-bats. He scored three runs, hit two doubles and drove in a run as well.
- Matt Imhof (Advanced 'A') - The Phillies 2014 second round pick was shut down after two starts with shoulder tendinitis. According to a report from The Morning Call, Imhof is close to returning after tossing a successful bullpen session this past week. Before being placed on the disabled list, Imhof was 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA.
Phillies Minor League Standings:
Lehigh Valley (AAA): 12-26, 6th place in International League North Division
Reading (AA): 19-16, 3rd place in Eastern League Eastern Division
Clearwater (Advanced 'A'): 17-20, 4th place in Florida State League North Division
Lakewood (Low 'A'): 17-18, 4th place in South Atlantic League Northern Division
Williamsport (Short Season 'A'): Season begins June 19th
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
