Skip to main content

Phillies minor league hot list: Joseph, others opening eyes


Tommy Joseph, image- Jay Floyd
The standout player on any hotlist of late should be the man that I receive daily tweets from fans about, asking when he’ll be called up to replace Darin Ruf or Philadelphia legend Ryan Howard. The man who was recently an afterthought or a player most fans thought was a fizzled out prospect who had been ravaged by concussions. The player that had to abandon his catching position due to those injuries and moved elsewhere on the diamond in order to continue his career. The guy that was acquired from the Giants in a trade for Hunter Pence back in 2012, Tommy Joseph.

The 24-year-old first baseman/designated hitter has been on fire, excelling at the plate all season. In 23 games for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, he sports a .392 average and a 1.126 OPS, both of which lead the Triple-A International League. Joseph a right-handed hitter, has slammed seven doubles and six homers while driving in a team-best 17 runs.

He’s playing like someone very deserving of a shot in the majors, but Joseph was a .197 hitter in parts of two seasons at the Triple-A level prior to this year, so it’s possible the team isn’t convinced what they are seeing is the real Tommy Joseph. The Phils do have a new front office in place that seems to be doing things differently, so striking while the player is hot could be in the works and a promotion may not be too far off for the player once ranked among the team’s top prospects.

It would be a smart move for a team whose 1st basemen rank 28th out of 30 MLB teams in batting average.


With the Double-A Reading Fightins, outfielder Dylan Cozens is having a successful season, showing plenty of offense. In 29 games, the 21-year-old is batting .264 with seven home runs and 22 RBI while stealing seven bases without being caught. An Arizona native, Cozens, a lefty batter, was the Phillies’ 2nd round draft selection out of high school in 2012. Cozens, mainly a right fielder, has player seven games in left field this year as well.

Also in Reading, right-handed pitcher Ben Lively has been very solid, posting a 4-0 record with a 2.12 ERA and an 8.5 K/9 mark in six starts this season. Lively, 24, was acquired from the Reds in a trade for Marlon Byrd and a was a 4th round pick of Cincinnati in 2013.

Righty pitcher Tyler Viza has been scorching hot all season on the mound for Class A Advanced Clearwater. In four starts the 21-year-old has a 4-0 record with a 1.14 ERA while striking out 28 and walking four in 23 2/3 innings. Also from Arizona, Viza was a 32nd round draft pick in 2013.

Puerto Rican infielder Emmanuel Marrero has been excellent near the top of the batting order for Class A Lakewood. On Sunday, the 22-year-old switch hitter had his third straight multi-hit game and is batting .333 through 26 games this season. The 7th round draft pick from 2014 has played second base, shortstop as well as third base this season for the BlueClaws.

Righty pitcher Shane Watson may be in line for a promotion, as he’s been strong in five outings for Lakewood. His 2-1 record, 3.10 ERA and 8.4 K/9 mark have him looking ready for a bigger challenge. The 22-year-old was a supplemental 1st round pick (40th overall) in 2012. He missed approximately two years while recovering from two separate shoulder surgeries. Watson was childhood teammates with top Phils prospect J.P. Crawford.

Transactions: Reading announced that RHP Mark Leiter Jr. has been activated from the disabled list and added to the active roster on Monday. Leiter, a NJ native, had been out with a shoulder strain dating back to spring training. That move results in the demotion of righty reliever and Temple product Matt Hockenberry, who was promoted from Clearwater over the weekend.

Reliever Edubray Ramos was promoted from Reading to Lehigh Valley on Friday. The 23-year-old Venezuelan notched seven saves and sported a 2.40 ERA with a 9.0 K/9 mark in 11 outings prior to the promotion and has thrown three scoreless innings with the IronPigs since moving up. Ramos was ranked by PhilliesNation as the team’s number 18 prospect this year and is deserving of a Hot List mention.

This post was originally published on PhilliesNation.com.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Diekman a Late Addition to Mesa AFL Roster

On Wednesday, Phillies lefty pitching prospect Jacob Diekman made his Arizona Fall League debut. Diekman, who was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 amateur draft, was assigned to Mesa late, in order to increase his 2010 innings total, according to Mesa hitting coach Mark Parent, who managed Diekman in Lakewood this past season. Diekman, 23, posted a 2-0 record with 1.90 ERA in 21 games with Class A Lakewood before being promoted to High-A Clearwater on June 24th. In 24 games with the Threshers, Diekman went 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA. Combined, Diekman tossed 55 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average against at two levels in 2010. However, after not pitching in an official game since he threw a shutout inning to wrap up the Clearwater season on September 5th, Diekman was unable to record an out as all seven batters he faced reached base, six with hits, one on an error. Diekman was charged with 5 earned runs in the outing. Diekman had spent time at instructional ball from

2022 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #24 RHP Cristian Hernandez

Venezuelan born right-hander Cristian Hernandez has begun to earn recognition as one of the Phillies most promising pitching prospects. Signed as a 16-year-old in 2017 for a reported $120,000, Hernandez got his professional career started the following summer as a starter for the Phillies' Red Dominican Summer League club.  There, in 13 starts, Hernandez tallied a 2-3 record with 2.57 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP as well as a 7.0 K/9 mark. An injury sidelined Hernandez in 2019 and the 2020 season was cancelled due to the global pandemic. In 2021, Hernandez saw his first regular season action in the United States, starting his season in Florida Complex League.  After two appearances there, the six-foot-three 185-pounder was promoted to the Class A Clearwater Threshers.  In 20 combined outings (17 starts), Hernandez notched a 2-7 record with a 3.57 ERA, a .228 batting average against and an 11.2 K/9 mark. Projectability is something that baseball folks like about Hernandez.  His size, consistent

Who is Your Favorite Willie 'Mays' Hayes?

PhoulBallz.com is wondering which individual who has portrayed Willie "Mays" Hayes is the favorite of the public. Hayes, of course, is the character made famous in the Major League motion picture series. In Major League , Willie "Mays" Hayes was portrayed by budding Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes, who would go on to action movie superstardom. Snipes has starred in major motion pictures like the Blade trilogy, Passenger 57 , Undisputed and many more. Snipes remains an impact Hollywood actor, despite legal troubles related to income tax evasion. Snipes was replaced for the sequel, Major League II when his busy career, and possibly the film's budget, would not allow him to return, by Omar Epps. Another budding actor, Epps had previously worked with director David S. Ward, on the film The Program , and landed the role of Hayes, who had become a Hollywood action star over the off-season that occured between the two films. Epps' career portraying athletes rolle