By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
One of the most talked about trades of the Ruben Amaro Jr. era was the one that sent Hunter Pence to the Giants for Nate Schierholtz, Tommy Joseph and Seth Rosin. Schierholtz provided some solid defense for the team in right for a bit while Rosin never really got much time with the big league club. The cornerstone of the trade that went down on July 31st, 2012, was the acquisition of Tommy Joseph, a power-hitting catcher that was hopefully going to be Carlos Ruiz's successor down the line.
During the 2011 season, Joseph played 127 games for the Giants Advanced 'A' affiliate in San Jose, CA, and showed off his offensive abilities, slugging 22 homers and driving in 95 RBI's. That's the bat that attracted the Phillies to deal Pence for him, but unfortunately, the 127 games played in 2011 would be the last time he went through a season without injury. Joseph played in 108 games between the Giants and Phillies Double-A affiliates in 2012, hitting .257 with 11 homers and 48 RBI's, significantly lower than his 2011 numbers with San Jose. Injuries, specifically concussions, derailed Joseph's career in the following years. In 2013, he played in just 36 games, he played in 27 games in 2014 and 58 in 2015. His concussion issues last season forced the Phillies to move the 24-year-old former top prospect from catcher to first base, where he doesn't have to worry nearly as much about his past injury history. 2016 Spring Training gave the Phillies brass a nice look at a finally healthy, clear-minded Joseph.
"I think we've had some real surprises — Tommy Joseph the last two weeks of spring training," Jordan said Thursday before the Phillies' Futures Game. "It's the first time we've really had a chance to see him healthy. He's just been really good offensively. He had some vision deficits due to the concussion stuff he went through and that was addressed last fall and over the winter.
"He looks like the guy we traded for three years ago offensively." [CSNPhilly.com]
Joseph is currently on the Triple-A Lehigh Valley roster, playing first base behind Brock Stassi and serving as the teams' designated hitter on occasion. With concussions a thing of the past for the former backstop, Joseph's career resurgence will depend on his offensive production. The Phillies, beyond Stassi and Joseph, don't have a top tier first base prospect, so now is as good a time as ever for him to show the Phils that he still has some left in the tank.
"I don't think my career is back on track yet," Joseph said. "I haven't played that much over the last few years and everybody here knows it. I've got to get out there on the field and get back to playing every day. I'm excited to get to do that. I've still got a lot left to prove." [CSNPhilly.com]
He's proving something to start the 2016 campaign. Through 12 games, Joseph is hitting .385 (15-for-39) with five doubles, three home runs, eight RBI's and five runs scored. He has just six strikeouts in 39 at-bats as well. Joseph has tallied multi-hit games in three of his last four, driving in five runs, a span that has seen the Ironpigs go 3-1 and climb atop the International League North standings by a half game. After tallying just one hit over his first two games, the 24-year-old is hitting .438 and has had success against both lefties (5-for-12) and righties (10-for-27). He's 3-for-9 with runners in scoring position, all three hits being homers, while also hitting three of his five doubles to lead off innings for the Ironpigs, setting them up nicely to score out of the gates.
Although his focus is now on his offense and first base defense, it doesn't mean he can't miss his natural position behind the plate. Throughout Spring Training and the start of the minor league season, Joseph has gotten good looks at Andrew Knapp and Jorge Alfaro, two backstops that the Phillies have high hopes for like they once did with Joseph. While he doesn't miss getting hit behind the plate, he does miss the ability to control the game with the pitcher.
"Miss it every day," he said. "I don't miss when the catcher's back there getting hit. I'm not a huge fan of catching [bullpen sessions] either, but between the lines, getting to have the gear on … as a catcher, it's your game, you're the one controlling it. That's something I'm always gonna miss."
He no longer gets to wear the tools of ignorance, but nowadays Joseph is having a good time watching Alfaro and Knapp.
"I'm always looking at them and picking out, 'Wow, he's a lot better at that than I am,'" he joked.
Joseph is fourth on the Ironpigs roster in hitting, behind Taylor Featherston (.412), Cam Perkins (.400) and Carlos Alonso (.400), who only has five at-bats. He leads the team with three homers and is second in doubles behind Brock Stassi, who is hitting .273 thus far in 2016. Joseph and the rest of the Ironpigs begin a three game series on the road in Scranton Wilkes/Barre against the Triple-A affiliate for the Yankees.
