By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor
The Philadelphia Phillies are starting to show some good signs out of the All-Star break, posting a 5-4 record in the second half thus far. All year long though, the organization has had young talent in the minor leagues playing well and their performances were reflected in Baseball America's Midseason Phillies Top 10 prospects. In each player description, we'll also indicate where they were ranked in the preseason top 10.
1. Mickey Moniak (OF, Preseason Rank: 2) - The 2016 Phillies first round pick is putting together an okay first full year with Class 'A' Lakewood, slashing .260/.314/.372 with 18 doubles, three triples, three home runs, 46 runs scored, 32 RBIs, nine steals, 75 strikeouts and 23 walks. He's hitting just .156 over his last 10 games. Growing pains were expected for Moniak, who still needs to bulk up a bit as he develops in the Phillies system, but at the age of 19, there's not a whole lot to be concerned with right now.
2. Sixto Sanchez (RHP, PR: 5) - Sanchez has become the Phillies prospect most talked about over the past month or so, blowing away hitters with Lakewood after posting a 0.50 ERA in the Gulf Coast League last year. In 11 starts thus far in 2017, Sanchez is 4-3 with a 2.88 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and he's holding the opposition to a .199 average. He's struck out 54 hitters and walked just six. Sanchez has surrendered just one homer in 56.1 innings pitched.
3. Scott Kingery (2B, PR: 9) - After hitting .313 with 18 home runs in Double-A, Kingery was promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on June 26 and has been holding his own since. In 22 games, the the 23-year-old out of Arizona is slashing .275/.306/.495 with three doubles, a triple, five home runs, 14 RBIs, 15 runs scored and seven steals. While many wanted Kingery to take Hernandez's place while he was on the DL, he still needs some fine tuning and consistency in Triple-A. Over his last 10, he's hitting .238.
4. Rhys Hoskins (1B, PR: 6) - Hoskins started the season hot, hitting .338 in April, .300 in May and .280 in June, but recently, the Ironpigs slugger has slumped at the plate. Overall, his stats are still impressive on the power end of things, slashing .282/.377/.556 with 22 homers and 73 RBIs. In 19 games during the month of July, he's only hitting .200, but every player goes through a bit of a rut from time to time. He trails teammate Dylan Cozens in the IL home run lead by one. If the Phillies find a way to deal Tommy Joseph, Hoskins should be up in the bigs soon, but expect him to be promoted at some point this year anyway as it's time the organization sees what he can do in the Major Leagues.
5. Jorge Alfaro (C, PR: 3) - Like Hoskins, Alfaro started the season off well at the plate, hitting .333 in 18 games during the opening month of the season. Since then though, Alfaro's offense has gone downhill. Overall this season, the 24-year-old native of Colombia is hitting .246 with 12 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 40 RBIs, 32 runs scored, 98 strikeouts and 16 walks. While many expected Alfaro to force his way into the big league picture this season, the steady play of Andrew Knapp has combined with Jorge's offensive issues are keeping the Phillies' top catching prospect in Triple-A for now. In 13 games this month, he's hitting just .170 with 21 strikeouts in 47 at-bats.
6. JP Crawford (SS, PR: 1) - Crawford dropped big time on the Baseball America Midseason Top 100 list and he falls five spots to no. 6 in the Phillies rankings. Hampered by a slow start at the plate, Crawford looks to have turned things around as of late after hitting just .211 in 76 games prior to the All-Star Break. In 10 games since, the 22-year-old is hitting .333 with two doubles, two triples, two home runs, six RBIs, 10 runs scored, seven walks and three strikeouts. Some folks seem ready to give up on Crawford, who has been the teams' top prospect for three years, but at just 22, there's still a lot of development time available for the former first rounder. Luckily, Freddy Galvis' defense and occasional offensive pop has given Crawford the opportunity to fine-tune his game in Triple-A.
7. Adam Haseley (OF, PR: None) - The Phillies' first round pick from this year's draft is off to a strong start in the minors, slashing a combined .318/.408/.455 between the GCL and Class 'A' Short Season Williamsport. The 21-year-old out of Virginia has hit seven doubles, a triple and a home runs so far in 2017, but is hitting an offensive wall as of late with a .158 average over his last 10. It wouldn't be too surprising to see him up in Lakewood by seasons' end, but he could very well stay put in Williamsport if his offense doesn't pick up in the coming weeks.
8. Nick Williams (OF, PR: 4) - The Phillies promoted Nick Williams to the Major Leagues on June 30, shortly after Howie Kendrick went down with an injury. Originally, his stay wasn't supposed to be for long, but his performance has kept him in the lineup on a regular basis and he looks to be in a good position to keep playing with Aaron Altherr out for 3-4 weeks. Williams is slashing .309/.347/.603 in 19 games since his promotion, hitting four doubles, two triples, four home runs, 15 RBIs and 10 runs scored. Expect the Phillies to play Williams every day, even when Altherr returns, unless his offense takes a hit. Once Altherr returns, it appears likely that the team will go with a Williams/Herrera/Altherr outfield.
9. Adonis Medina (RHP, PR: None) - Medina is a part of the Lakewood Blueclaws rotation that, leading into their game on July 23, had posted a 1.76 ERA in July, holding opposing teams to zero or one run in 14 of 20 starts. Medina himself is locked in during three starts in July, going 2-0 with a 0.95 ERA, striking out 21 and walking just two. In his last outing, he allowed just one run on five hits in seven innings, lowering his season ERA from 3.32 to 3.16.
10. Franklyn Kilome (RHP, PR: 7) - Kilome, 22, is impressing during his first season in Advanced 'A' ball with Clearwater, pitching to a 5-4 record and 2.74 ERA in 17 starts, spanning 85.1 innings. Over his last 10 outings, his ERA is at 2.01 and during four starts in June, he had a 2.11 ERA and is following that up with a 2.82 ERA in four July starts. If Kilome continues to pitch well, he could earn himself a late-season promotion to Double-A Reading.