By: Brandon Apter, contributor 
Earlier on Monday, Phillies pitching prospect Zach Eflin was announced as the International League Pitcher of the Week after posting a 2-0 record to go along with a 0.64 ERA through two starts. Just a few hours later, Double-A Reading catcher and Phillies top prospect Jorge Alfaro was named the Eastern League Player of the Week.
The @EasternLeague weekly awards go to @ReadingFightins C Jorge Alfaro and @PortlandSeaDogs RHP Aaron Wilkerson. https://t.co/5eTvgc26w2
— Eastern League (@EasternLeague) April 18, 2016
Alfaro, 22, came to the Phillies in the trade that sent Cole Hamels to the Texas Rangers on July 30th, 2015. After sitting out the majority of last season with an ankle injury, Alfaro has gotten off to an extremely quick start to the 2016 campaign. Through eight games this season, he is hitting .500 (18-for-36) with four doubles, a triple, a home run, 10 RBIs and seven runs scored. Alfaro leads the Eastern League in batting average (.500) and hits (18) and he's 2nd in RBI (10), doubles (4) and OBP (.526). He's also tied for third in total bases with 27.
"He's real aggressive on the fastball, he comes to the plate and he's looking to swing," Reading hitting coach Frank Cacciatore said. "Basically he's such an aggressive guy and he's got such good hands, and he just kind of reacts. He's been really getting after it, not trying to be too picky, just trying to get something up in the zone, and he's done a great job. I can't say enough about him.
"He comes to work every day and I think that has been a real big part of it to me." [MiLB.com]
The Double-A backstop is ranked as the 6th best prospect in the Phillies organization, according to MLB Pipeline, and comes in at 94th in the Top 100 prospect rankings. During Reading's weekend series in Harrisburg, Alfaro went 7-for-13 with a double, a triple, a home run, five RBI's and two runs scored.
Alfaro and the rest of the Reading Fightin' Phils look to build on Sunday's 14-2 win in Harrisburg as they head to Richmond for a three-game series with the Double-A affiliate for the San Francisco Giants. Ben Lively (1-0, 3.27) gets the nod in game one for Reading.
