June was quite a month for the Phillies' top prospects. Three in particular stood out, taking home the organization's monthly minor-league honors.
The Phillies' Minor League Hitter of the Month was first baseman Rhys Hoskins, the Pitcher of the Month was Jake Thompson and the defender was shortstop J.P. Crawford.
Hoskins, who was also named the Double A Eastern League Player of the Month, hit .351 with nine doubles, 13 home runs and 33 RBIs in 27 games. His OPS in June was 1.198.
Hoskins hasn't stopped hitting as the calendar's flipped, though. On Tuesday night, he hit two more homers and drove in six runs for the unconscious Reading Fightin Phils, who at 61-24 are eight games better than the next-best Eastern League team.
Hoskins, the Phils' fifth-round pick in 2014 out of Cal State Sacramento, is hitting .287/.347/.574 this season with 24 homers and 75 RBIs. He and teammate Dylan Cozens have been battling for weeks for the league-lead in home runs. Cozens currently has 23.
Thompson has been dominant the last month. He went 3-0 with a 0.76 ERA in June, and in his last start July 1 allowed one run over seven innings. Thompson has pitched at least seven innings in four of his last five starts. Over the last month, he's lowered his season ERA from 4.23 to 2.76. He's kept International League hitters off balance and generated many groundballs with a repertoire that includes five pitches: a sinker, a four-seam fastball, curveball, slider and changeup. Thompson continues to look like he'll be next in line for a promotion when the Phillies need another starting pitcher.
Crawford, at Triple A since May 20, went 29 games without an error upon arriving at Lehigh Valley before committing two in June. Crawford has just four errors in 374 innings and 192 defensive chances with the IronPigs. At .979, his fielding percentage is 25 points higher than it was last season.
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Crawford has also settled in offensively at the minors' highest level. He hit .153 in his first 19 games at Triple A but has hit .312 with a .369 OBP over his last 105 plate appearances, boosting his batting average to .242.
