Cornelius Randolph Among 7 Phillies Headed to Arizona Fall League

Seven players will represent the Phillies' farm system in the Arizona Fall League this year.

Pitchers Trevor Bettencourt, Garrett Cleavinger, Elniery Garcia and J.D Hammer, catcher Edgar Cabral, infielder Zach Green and outfielder Cornelius Randolph are on the Glendale Desert Dogs' roster.

The biggest name of the bunch is Randolph, the Phillies' first-round pick in 2015. An all-bat leftfielder, Randolph has had a rather disappointing first three seasons in the Phils' system. This has been his best season and he's hit .249/.339/.394 with 18 doubles, four triples, 12 homers and 53 RBIs in 496 plate appearances with High-A Clearwater. He's walked 55 times and struck out 122.

Hammer and Cleavinger were both acquired by the Phillies at the trade deadline, Hammer for Pat Neshek and Cleavinger for Jeremy Hellickson.

Hammer's success has continued in the Phillies' system. After posting a 1.20 ERA with 47 strikeouts and five walks in 30 innings with Asheville (Colorado's Class A affiliate), Hammer has allowed just one run in 12⅔ innings with Clearwater. He's struck out 14 and walked two. Overall this season, Hammer is 6-2 with a 1.98 ERA, 13.0 strikeouts per nine innings and 2.6 walks. He hasn't allowed a home run.

Cleavinger has made nine appearances with Double A Reading since the trade and allowed 12 runs (eight earned) in 12⅓ innings with 16 strikeouts. Throughout his three-year minor-league career, he's been a high-strikeout, high-walk reliever.

Garcia, a lefty on the Phils' 40-man roster, missed most of this season because of a PED suspension. He returned to Double A Reading on Aug. 9 and has gone 2-0 with a 1.40 ERA and .200 opponents' batting average in four starts. Playing in the AFL will allow him to recoup some of the valuable development time he missed in 2017.

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