While the Phillies top 10 prospects may not be offense-heavy, but the position players are off to great starts for the most part. Meanwhile, the pitching has been very impressive thus far as well. The players that the Phils received in the Rollins and Byrd trades have looked good in their first few starts for Double-A Reading, while one Phillies top prospect finds himself on the disabled-list. Let's take a look at how the Phillies top farmhands performed over the last week of play in the minors:
- J.P. Crawford (Advanced 'A') - Crawford remains sidelined with an oblique injury, but is moving closer and closer to returning. On April 16th, Philly.com reported that if all goes well, Crawford would be back on the field for Clearwater around the first week of May. A little over a week ago, he swung a bat for the first time since his injury.
- Aaron Nola (AA) - Nola reached the seven inning mark for the first time this season on the 23rd against Harrisburg, the Nationals Double-A affiliate. The Phillies 2014 first-round pick allowed two earned runs and struck out six in a losing effort for Reading, 3-0. On the season, Nola has a 1-2 record and a 3.06 ERA. Opposing hitters are averaging .238 against him and he's walked only two hitters all season while striking out 13.
- Maikel Franco (AAA) - Franco has continued to hit the ball well for the Ironpigs this season, hitting .333 with nine doubles, a triple, a home run and 10 RBI's. Though Franco is off to a hot start, his strikeout to walk numbers a little concerning. The 22-year-old corner infielder has struck out 17 times in 75 at-bats and walked just twice. His average shows that he is being more aggressive, so obviously some strikeouts will trickle into the picture. Franco went 5-for-17 with an RBI in the Ironpigs four-game series with the Buffalo Bisons from Thursday-Sunday. In the last ten games, he's hitting .341 with three RBI's and 11 strikeouts.
- Zach Eflin (AA) – Heading into his last start, Eflin had strung together 14 scoreless innings to start the season. His phenomenal start earned him Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the first week of the season. Eflin took the mound against Harrisburg and lasted just 1 2/3 innings before getting ejected for throwing behind a Senators batter. Because he threw such a short amount of innings this time out, he'll either start at 10:35am in Richmond on Wednesday or at home against Portland on Friday, May 1st.
- Tom Windle (AA) - On the 21st against Akron, Windle gave up eight runs on nine hits. He rebounded in his last outing against Harrisburg, tossing seven innings of one-run ball. Windle struck out nine Senators hitters and walked just one. In two of his first three starts this season, Windle has held the opposing team to just one run. He'll look to continue that trend in his next start, which will likely be against Portland this weekend in Reading. He's 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA this season.
- Ben Lively (AA) - Lively gave up three runs in his first start of the season before taking the mound against Akron on the 22nd. He threw six shutout innings, allowing just three hits. He struck out five and walked three. Lively has a 2.25 ERA through two starts and will take the mound for Reading when they visit Richmond this week.
- Roman Quinn (AA) - As of last Monday, Quinn was hitting .378 for Double-A Reading. He's had a slight drop-off from his hot start, but it still at .361 (22-for-61), which is very impressive for his first year in Double-A ball. Over the last ten games, Quinn is hitting .289 and has swiped four bases. He has eight steals on the year. In Reading's recent four-game series in Harrisburg, Quinn went 3-for-10 with two runs scored. Quinn has four doubles, two triples and a home run on the year with five RBI's and 17 runs scored.
- Carlos Tocci (Class 'A') - The 19-year-old center fielder from Venezuela is off to a great start for Lakewood, hitting .338 (22-for-65) with eight runs scored, seven doubles, a homer and 11 RBI's. He's walked seven times and struck out six times, so he seems to have good plate discipline thus far. In Lakewood's recent four-game series with Hagerstown, Tocci went 3-for-14 with an RBI.
- Aaron Brown (Advanced 'A') - Out of the offensive players on the prospect list, Brown seems to be having the most issues out of the gate. Last Monday, he was hitting .238 and his average has dropped to .209 (14-for-67) after getting just four hits over the last seven games. He had a good day at the plate on 24th against Lakeland, going 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI's, but over the last ten games, he is hitting just .162 (6-for-37).
- Matt Imhof (Advanced 'A) - Currently, Imhof finds himself on the seven-day disabled list with a strained left shoulder. The Phillies 2014 second round pick last pitched on the 14th for Clearwater, tossing five shutout innings, striking out two and walking three. He's 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA through two starts this season.
Phillies Minor League Standings:
Lehigh Valley (AAA): 5-13, 6th place in International League North Division
Reading (AA): 9-7, 3rd place in Eastern League Eastern Division
Clearwater (Advanced 'A'): 9-9, 3rd place in Florida State League North Division
Lakewood (Low 'A'): 8-10, 6th place in South Atlantic League Northern Division
Williamsport (Short Season 'A'): Season begins June 19th
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
