Cozens, Hoskins and Lively honored as 2016 Paul Owens Award winners

Ben Lively, image- Jay Floyd

None of the names honored as the 2016 Paul Owens Award winners were a surprise, as each of the men dominated throughout the season. It was announced on Friday that right-hander Ben Lively was named the top pitcher while Dylan Cozens and Rhys Hoskins were co-winners on the offensive side.

Lively, who opened the season at Double-A Reading and helped lead the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs into the postseason following a promotion in May, tallied an 18-5 record along with a 2.69 ERA and a .192 batting average against in 28 combined starts at the two levels. The 24-year-old was acquired from the Reds in the 2014-2015 off-season in the trade for Marlon Byrd, who won the Paul Owens Award in 2000 and 2001.

Cozens, the Eastern League's Most Valuable Player, sported a .276 average with 40 home runs and 125 RBI in 134 games with Reading this season. The lefty batting 22-year-old right fielder was the Phillies' 2nd round draft pick out of high school in 2012.

Hoskins, a 23-year-old righty batting first baseman, posted a .281 batting average with 38 home runs and 116 RBI in 135 games for Reading this year. A Sacramento State product, Hoskins was the Phillies 5th round draft selection in 2014.

Instituted in 1986, the Paul Owens Award is named after the man who spent 48 years in the Phillies organization as a scout, farm director, general manager, manager and senior advisor. It is given to the top performers each season in the Phils' developmental ranks.

Winners of the award last year were catcher Andrew Knapp and pitcher Ricardo Pinto. Other previous winners include Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, Ricky Bottalico and Cole Hamels.

Comments

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog