By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor
The Philadelphia Phillies have made a significant promotion prior to Friday night's game against the New York Mets, calling up outfielder Nick Williams from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. With the move, Howie Kendrick will be heading to the disabled list with a nagging hamstring injury.
Nick Williams is on his way to NY. Promoted!!
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) June 30, 2017
Williams, 23, was acquired by the Phillies back on July 31, 2015, in the deal that sent left-hander Cole Hamels to the Texas Rangers. Williams will be the fifth player in that trade to make his debut for the Phillies. After a 2016 season that saw him hit just .250 in Triple-A, Williams has put together a very strong 2017 campaign that has him slashing .280/.328/.511 with 16 doubles, two triples, 15 homers, 44 RBIs and 43 runs scored. Over his last 10 games, he's shown improved plate discipline, walking seven times to 11 strikeouts. So far in the month of June, he's hitting .282 with five home runs and 13 RBIs.
While the promotion of Williams may excite a lot of fans, unfortunately his stay in Philadelphia may not be long.
Regarding Nick Williams' promotion: might only be a few days. Not necessarily a long term thing.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) June 30, 2017
MLB Pipeline has Williams ranked as the Phillies' No. 4 prospect in the organization, behind J.P. Crawford, Mickey Moniak and Jorge Alfaro.