When the Phillies traded Cole Hamels and Jake Diekman to the Rangers, they received three top prospects in return, Jake Thompson, Jorge Alfaro and Nick Williams. Thompson has pitched very well thus far in Double-A while Jorge Alfaro remains on the disabled list. Until Alfaro suits up, the key offensive part of the Hamels trade is outfield prospect Nick Williams.
Since joining Double-A Reading, Williams and the Fightin' Phils have gone 13-1 and sit atop the Eastern Division of the Eastern League by 4.5 games with a little over two weeks left to play this season. Williams himself is hitting .355 (22-for-62) since the trade with three doubles, two triples, three homers, 14 runs scored and nine RBI's.
The Phillies are in a rebuild/transition phase, so when Williams was dealt by the Rangers, folks with his former team in Frisco assumed Nick would rise to the bigs rather quickly because the Phils didn't really have any players in the way. After joining Double-A Reading though, Williams told Marshall Harris of CSNPhilly.com that he has no idea what his former coaches and teammates were talking about.
"You're gonna there mighty fast, all my coaches over there [in Frisco] were saying and a lot of the players, cause you know the Phillies don't really have anybody, but I came to this team and was like 'I thought they said we didn't have anybody', but I've never played with a team my whole pro career that's as good as this team."
Williams wasn't kidding either. The Double-A Reading club currently has some of the best young talent in the organization with Williams, J.P. Crawford, Jake Thompson, Zach Eflin, Ben Lively, Tom Windle, Roman Quinn, Nick Pivetta, Cam Perkins and even guys like Brock Stassi, who is hitting .308 with 11 home runs this season. With the Reading offense armed with so many weapons, it gives guys like Williams more opportunities to wreak havoc at the top of the lineup. On Tuesday night, he went 2-for-4 with a run scored, raising his overall season average to .307.
"This team is loaded. I feel like I literally hit every inning with this team. I'm not used to getting five or six AB's every game, so the future is going to be really bright for this organization."
With the success that Double-A Reading is having now, it's hard not to get excited at the prospect of these players being the center of the next Phillies young core. The Fightin' Phils continue their four-game series with New Hampshire, Double-A affiliate of the Blue Jays, tonight at 7:05pm at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading. Top pitching prospect Zach Eflin (6-6, 3.43) will oppose Albright, PA native Casey Lawrence (11-11, 4.41).
