Skip to main content

Two top Phils prospects face off in Dominican League opener

r-hoskins-3
Hoskins, image- Jay Floyd
Another off-season league got underway on Thursday with the Aguilas hosting the rival Gigantes, but it was the pitting of two teammates against one another that should be of interest to Phillies fans. The co-winners of this year's Phillies Paul Owens Award, an honor bestowed upon players chosen as the top developmental performers in the organization each year, Dylan Cozens and Rhys Hoskins, faced off in the contest.

The two sluggers led their 2016 regular season club, the Reading Fightin Phils, to a division title in the Double-A Eastern League this year.

It was Cozens, who went 0-for-4 in the game, and his Aguilas that were victorious by a score of 4-2 over Hoskins (1-for-3, HBP) and his Gigantes team.

Also in that game for the Gigantes, Phillies starting pitcher Alec Asher tossed five scoreless frames for a no decision. The 25-year-old righty posted a 2-1 record along with a 2.28 ERA in five big league starts this year.

Cozens, the Eastern League’s Most Valuable Player, posted a .276 batting average with 40 home runs and 125 RBI in 134 games for Reading. 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, tallied a .281 batting average with 38 home runs and 116 RBI in 135 games with Reading this year. A Sacramento State product, Hoskins was the Phillies' 5th round draft selection in 2014.

Elsewhere in off-season leagues, outfield prospect Carlos Tocci is batting .326 with two doubles and five RBI in 12 games for the Tigres of the Venezuelan Winter League.

In the Arizona Fall League, third baseman Mitch Walding sports a .316 batting average with a double, a triple, an RBI and two steals in six games for Scottsdale. The lefty batting 23-year-old was a 5th round pick of the Phillies in 2011. Walding has played some first base thus far for the Scorpions.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mike McGuire Living a Dream With Favorite Team

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Every young ballplayer grows up wishing he could play for his favorite team. Mike McGuire has an opportunity to do just that after signing with the Phillies organization in July. McGuire was a 43rd round draft pick taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. Early scouting reports liked McGuire's abilities, despite some arm trouble. He advanced as far as High A Level Kinston last season. While there, he posted an 0-3 record with a 5.46 ERA in 9 games, 8 of which were starts. The Indians weren't happy with McGuire's efforts this spring and released him. McGuire caught on with the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League, where he stayed in shape and pitched against other formerly affiliated minor leaguers. As a starter with the Skyhawks, McGuire went 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 8 outings. From there, just as all players in those independent leagues hope for, the 24-year-old McGuire got noticed. The Phillies wer...

Harry's Plaque Has Misprint

At the ballpark today for the first time since Harry Kalas was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday, I noticed an error in the text on his plaque. Verbage on the plaque reads like this... Voice of Phillies baseball on radio and TV for 39 seasons. Teamed with Richie Ashburn from 1971 until 1997. Harry was on the air for all of Mike Schmidt's 548 home runs, five Phillies no-hitters, seven National League Championship Series, three World Series, the first and final games at Veterans Stadium and the Citizens Bank Park 2004 opener. Received the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award in 2002 for "Major Contributions to Baseball" and was inducted into the broadcasters' wing at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. His calls were legendary, especially his signature home run call, "Outta heeere." On October 29, 2008, he brought utmost joy to Phillies fans: "The 0-2 pitch, swing and miss , struck him out. The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 Worl...

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. ...