By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
The Phillies have made a handful of trades over the past few years, acquiring top young players for proven veterans like Cole Hamels, Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley. Beyond the acquired prospects, the team still has home grown talent that is impressing in the minor leagues. One of the guys who has been talked about quite a bit over the past couple of years is speedy outfielder Roman Quinn. Drafted in the second round of the 2011 draft, Quinn is projected to be the future center fielder for the Phillies and entered 2016 finally healthy after missing time at the end of last season with a hip flexor tear.
Roman Quinn hits lead-off for the Reading Fightin' Phils and is a threat whenever he reaches base, though that didn't happen much in April. In 20 games during the opening month of the season, Quinn hit just .233, striking out 23 times in 86 at-bats. May was a different story for the former shortstop, who hit .310 in 100 at-bats with five doubles, two triples, a homer, seven RBI's and 25 runs scored, which was 11 more than he had in April. Quinn's hot bat has continued thus far through four June games. He's hitting .410 (8-for-18) with three doubles, a homer, four RBI's and four runs scored. Overall in 2016, Quinn is slashing .289/.360/.422. His .360 OBP is the highest since his first year in the Phillies organization, .370 in 2012.
Speed is the biggest attribute to Quinn's game. His 25 steals rank second in the Double-A Eastern League along with his 43 runs scored, one behind teammate Dylan Cozens. Before going down with an injury in 2015, he stole 29 bases. Although he strikes out more than a normal lead-off hitter should (53 K's in 204 AB's), Quinn's increasing power stroke makes those strikeouts a bit less of an issue at this point in his career. In addition, he has walked one more time than he did in 2015 in nine fewer games.
Over his last 10 games, Quinn is hitting .370 with four doubles, two homers, 10 runs scored, eight RBI's, 11 strikeouts and two walks. He's tallied five multi-hit efforts, four of which included three-hit games, in that 10-game span. Quinn is on pace to reach double digits in triples and homers this season. He ststruck out 11 times during that stretch and walked twice.
One challenge that Quinn has been getting more comfortable with is hitting from the left side of the plate. A natural right-handed hitter, Quinn hit .281 from the left side and .350 from the right side in 2015. This season, he seems to be getting those numbers closer, with a .287 average from the left side and a .296 average from the right side. All four of his triples and all three of his homers, including the one shown below, have come from the left side of the plate.
One of the biggest concerns about Quinn is his injury history. Since being drafted in 2011, the 23-year-old outfielder hasn't played more than 88 games. He played 66 games in 2012, 67 in 2013, 88 in 2014 and 58 in 2015. This season, he's played in 49 games with Double-A Reading, not slowing down a bit on the basepaths or in the outfield despite his injuries.
Quinn has played only center field since moving from shortstop in early 2014, a spot that he is likely to keep as he advances to the next level. He has great closing speed in the outfield and also an accurate arm as you can see below, gunning down a runner at the plate from center.
If Quinn's offensive performance keeps up, he could get a promotion to Triple-A over the next month, maybe sooner. Currently, the Ironpigs outfield includes Nick Williams, Cedric Hunter and Cam Perkins. Williams has been playing center field, but can play both corner spots. If Quinn were to be promoted, Hunter and Perkins could split playing time in either right or left field.
