With minor-league seasons nearing the finish line, there won't be too many more Future Phillies Reports. But with Double A Reading and Triple A Lehigh Valley both in playoff position, both clubs will be playing beyond Sept. 5. Reading is 79-43 and LHV is 74-51.
Reading just lost its top starting pitcher, Nick Pivetta, who was promoted to Triple A. That's where this week's farm check-up begins:
RHP Nick Pivetta (AAA)
The Phillies' major-league pitching staff has been ravaged by injuries, which has resulted in several pitchers coming up from Triple A. That created a hole in Lehigh Valley's rotation, which Pivetta filled last week.
In two starts with the IronPigs, the 23-year-old Pivetta has allowed two runs in 11 innings with 14 strikeouts. He had nine K's in six shutout innings on Thursday night to improve to 11-6 with a 3.27 ERA overall in 24 starts this season.
There's some extra relevance with Pivetta at the moment after Jonathan Papelbon was released by the Nationals earlier this week. Pivetta was the player the Phils acquired from Washington in exchange for Papelbon last summer. It was shocking at the time that the Phillies received anything of value given how little leverage they had in Papelbon trade negotiations. But with how quickly Papelbon fizzled out in D.C., this trade is looking like an obvious win for the Phillies.
Phillies president Andy MacPhail and GM Matt Klentak have talked several times about the need to have "waves of pitching." The reasoning is that pitchers are more fragile than position players, succumbing to injuries at a moment's notice. You can't just put together a rotation of five and think you'll get through the season. We've seen every Phillies starting pitcher except Jerad Eickhoff get hurt during the season, and even Eickhoff suffered an injury in spring training.
The Phils are hoping Pivetta will be part of that next wave. Even if he's simply a back-end rotation piece, that's good value for a controversial, loudmouth closer who served no purpose here.
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SS J.P. Crawford (AAA)
Crawford returned to the IronPigs' lineup Thursday after missing eight straight games with a ribcage injury. The Phillies exercised caution with their top prospect to make sure he didn't suffer an aggravation.
Crawford has been in a slump, going 13 for 71 (.183) over his last 21 games. He does, however, have more walks (14) than strikeouts (13) over that span. Again, that ability to get on base even during a cold spell has allowed Crawford to provide his team value.
In 477 plate appearances this season (311 at Triple A), Crawford has hit .257/.362/.348 with 66 walks and 66 strikeouts. He hasn't hit the way most top prospects do, but the on-base skills he's shown since he was drafted 16th overall in 2013 inspire the confidence that he can be a viable option batting second in the majors some day soon.
Pete Mackanin said this week that if it were up to him, he'd have fewer prospects come up when rosters expand on Sept. 1. Mackanin wants the additional bullpen help, but doesn't want a clubhouse or dugout crowded with additional position players for which he'll have to find playing time.
Of course, it's not Mackanin's decision -- that falls on the front office. But with the Phils facing many 40-man roster decisions this fall and winter, Crawford's MLB debut could be put on hold until early next season. Crawford, unlike Nick Williams, Mark Appel, Andrew Knapp, Ben Lively and some others, does not need to be placed on the 40-man roster this winter to be protected from the Rule 5 draft.
OF Nick Williams (AAA)
From one slumping top prospect to another, Williams is 4 for 35 with 15 strikeouts over his last nine games. He's had two Golden Sombreros (four strikeouts in a game) in his last five games.
His season numbers have dropped to .268/.298/.439.
Williams has 19 walks and 114 strikeouts on the year. Over his last 32 games, he has one walk and 32 K's. Those are plate selection numbers you just can't ignore, even if Williams' bat speed and tools remain intriguing.
You have to keep in mind, though, that these guys are not finished products. Not Williams, not Crawford, not even guys in the majors like Maikel Franco and Odubel Herrera. They're all still finding themselves as professional baseball players.
Williams is 22 years old. He's had 468 plate appearances this season and 461 have come against pitchers older than him.
RHP Tyler Viza (AA)
This is Viza's first appearance on the Future Phillies Report, but he's pitched pretty well all season.
A 32nd-round pick in 2013 out of Desert Vista HS in Phoenix, Viza has exhibited excellent control this season. The Phillies have placed importance on walks and strikeouts for their pitchers and hitters this season and so it wasn't a big surprise when Viza made the jump from Clearwater to Double A Reading in early June.
In 22 starts this season, Viza is 10-6 with a 3.60 ERA. He's struck out 104 and walked just 25 in 127⅔ innings.
Things haven't been as easy for him at Double A, however. With Reading, Viza is 4-4 with a 4.27 ERA and his strikeout rate has dropped from 10.0 per nine innings to 5.7.
Viza throws a low-90s fastball, a slider and changeup. The changeup will need to continue to improve for him to push his way toward the major-league rotation. Lefties have hit .294 with a .460 slugging percentage against him this season.
C Jorge Alfaro (AA)
Alfaro has had a slow start in August, going 9 for 45 with 14 strikeouts in 11 games. He's hitting .281/.325/.440 on the season with 12 homers and 56 RBIs.
Reading as a team has stumbled a bit lately, losing five of its last seven games. In a season filled with success after success, a bad week is a surprising development for the Fightin Phils.
Alfaro continues to nab base stealers at a high clip. He's thrown out 29 of 67 would-be base stealers for a 43 percent caught stealing rate.
1B Rhys Hoskins (AA)
Hoskins is 3 for his last 21 with no extra-base hits, but he's walked seven times in his last seven games. That's a big development because earlier in the year his plate selection was questionable.
Hoskins' walks by month: eight, eight, 11, 14, 17. He's walked in 26 percent of his plate appearances so far in August.
Everyone knows the raw power is there with Hoskins, who has 35 homers and 104 RBIs in 507 plate appearances. If he can shrink the strike zone like he has, he could have a legitimate future as a big-league first baseman.
OF Dylan Cozens (AA)
Cozens caught Hoskins in the home run race by hitting solo shots Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday. He's hitting .289 with 35 homers, 35 doubles and 108 RBIs in his epic season.
Again, though, just way too many K's at Double A for a hitter who should be walking more and striking out less with his success enticing pitchers to stay away from him. Cozens is on pace for about 175 strikeouts.
Aside from that, the other big concern with the left-handed hitting Cozens is that he's batting .218 with a .690 OPS vs. lefties compared to .311 with a 1.081 OPS vs. righties.
CF Roman Quinn (AA)
Quinn has set the table well since his return from an oblique injury. In 12 games back with Reading, he's gone 11 for 44 (.250) with eight walks for a .365 on-base percentage.
Quinn started the season slowly, hitting .195 through his first 18 games. But he's been on fire since, hitting .340 with a .422 OBP and 25 steals in his last 225 plate appearances.
RHP Jimmy Cordero (AA)
The hard-throwing right-handed reliever has made five straight scoreless appearances for Double A Reading. Cordero, 24 years old and already on the Phillies' 40-man roster, could get a look in September as the Phils attempt to rest Hector Neris more often.
Cordero has missed most of the season with arm injuries. If he can stay healthy and throw a few more strikes per appearance, he could be a future setup man or closer. Cordero has struck out 163 batters in 163 career innings in the minors.
C Andrew Knapp (AAA)
The shine has worn off somewhat with Knapp, who has hovered around .260 with a .700 OPS the entire season. Through 387 plate appearances, he's batted .261/.323/.377 with 18 doubles, seven homers and 39 RBIs. It's a far cry from last summer's production at Reading, when Knapp hit .360 with more RBIs than games played.
OF Mickey Moniak (GCL)
Moniak's second month in pro ball is going even better than his first. Moniak has four doubles in his last five games and eight extra-base hits in his last 13.
Through 155 plate appearances in the Gulf Coast League, the 18-year-old has hit .302/.361/.432.
