Skip to main content

Hoskins, Tocci, three other BlueClaws honored as Sally League All-Stars

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Five Phillies prospects, including top performers Carlos Tocci and Rhys Hoskins will represent the Lakewood BlueClaws in the Class A South Atlantic League All-Star game in Asheville, NC on June 23rd.

Tocci, a 19-year-old center fielder, is batting .324 with a home run, 23 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 54 games with Lakewood.

According to a press release from the BlueClaws, Tocci received more votes than any other player in the SAL, marking the second straight year that the team has had the leading vote-getter, following shortstop J.P. Crawford in 2014.

R Hoskins2
Rhys Hoskin, image- Jay Floyd
Last year's 5th round draft pick by the Phillies, Hoskins, has a league leading .335 batting average with seven home runs and 40 RBI.

The 22-year-old first baseman was recently honored as the Phillies' minor league player of the month for May, after posting a .342 average with two homers and 23 RBI in 29 games. The righty batting slugger has been a bit reserved in regards to that honor, stating that he doesn't want to let the organizational recognition consume his thoughts, but expressed enthusiasm on what it would mean to be able to head to the All-Star Game with his teammates.

"It'll be awesome for the fans. It'll be awesome for the team in general," Hoskins stated. "Being recognized for the hard work that we've been putting in these last couple months is something that's pretty special.

Lakewood's hitting coach Nelson Prada feels the honor to be an All-Star is a very big deal.

"To be one of the best in the league, it's always got to be an honor," Prada said. "You've got to be proud, because you don't have the chance to go every year. You know...a lot of times, you don't have a good year every year in this game. I think they're very proud about. And they talk about it and I think when they go, they're going to have fun over there."

Also joining the Tocci and Hoskins at the SAL All-Star Game will be shortstop Malquin Canelo as well as relief pitchers Alexis Rivero and Joey DeNato.

Canelo, 20, is batting .302 with two home runs, 11 RBI and eight stolen bases as the BlueClaws' lead-off man.

Rivero, a 20-year-old righty, has a 2-0 record with six saves and a 2.35 ERA in 17 relief appearances.

DeNato, 23, was the Phils' 19th round pick a year ago. In 17 games, the left-hander sports a 2-1 record with a 1.46 ERA.

Hoskins, Tocci, and Canelo are all slated to start for the Northern Division squad  in less than two weeks and each could be in line for promotions following the annual exhibition.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Patreon Exclusive: Logan O'Hoppe answers Nine Silly-ass Questions

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Logan O'Hoppe was the subject of a recent player feature I posted here three days early.  When I talked with Logan, he was kind enough to not only chat about some serious baseball related topics, he also had some fun with me and answered Nine Silly-Ass Questions! In this interview, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, offered his thoughts on his experiences playing in Australia last off-season, super powers, some surprising movies he's never seen, teammate Albertus Barber and plenty more.  Read ahead for some excerpts from this Silly-ass interview... -You can 4-for-4 and your team loses, or you can get hit in the groin and your team wins...which do you choose? I mean, if we win, then the whole team has a good night, so I have to go with that one.  That really benefits everybody. -Tell me, if you can, four words to describe Albertus Barber . One,...

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Is it time to be concerned about Mickey Moniak?

Mickey Moniak with Lakewood in 2017 Almost daily I am engaged via Twitter or email or text messages or in person about Phillies prospects. It comes with the gig.  The player that scores the most inquiries is, as should be expected, 2016 top overall draft selection Mickey Moniak . Questions from fans that don't want to seem overly judgmental will ask, “Should we be concerned?” Others, living up to the more stereotypical Philadelphia sports fan reputation, will assert the notion, “He’s a bust!  Somebody didn't do his job right!” For the most part I have responded in defense of Moniak and others, letting people know that the youngster’s skills are real and his coaches stand by them. I’d caution fans that he was young, still a teenager, among the five youngest position players in the Class A Advanced Florida State League (per his team the Clearwater Threshers, as of the end of April), and he just needed time to catch up to the older, more mature pitching at that level....