{"id":78516,"date":"2016-08-15T13:02:17","date_gmt":"2016-08-15T13:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=78516"},"modified":"2023-04-18T16:23:45","modified_gmt":"2023-04-18T16:23:45","slug":"sportstalk-shop-next-best-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/sportstalk-shop-next-best-prospects\/","title":{"rendered":"The SportsTalk Shop:  The &#8220;Next Best&#8221; Prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve brought you quite a bit of information on top-level, up-and-coming minor league prospects in both the <a href=\"http:\/\/philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com\/index.jsp?c_id=phi\">Phillies <\/a>and <a href=\"http:\/\/washington.nationals.mlb.com\/index.jsp?c_id=was\">Nationals <\/a>organizations this summer.\u00a0 Here at \u201cthe Shop\u201d and on RCN-TV, we\u2019ve given you interviews with the players themselves along with their coaches and have provided insights, statistics and progress reports throughout the Minor League season.\u00a0 With the Minor League season winding down, we thought we\u2019d take one more look at the Phillies players just below the Major League level who might be getting a September call-up in the near future.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?player_id=641487#\/career\/R\/hitting\/2016\/ALL\"><strong><em>JP Crawford<\/em><\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nThe Phillies number-one ranked prospect in their entire organization has cooled off a bit in August, after a sizzling six-to-seven week span that saw his overall batting average rise to .290 (he\u2019s currently hitting .258).\u00a0 People around the Triple-A team suggest he isn\u2019t ready for a call-up and could use a few more weeks at Triple-A (he\u2019s missed the last several games because of what is being described as an injury to his side) so it not certain if he\u2019ll get a cup of coffee this September with the parent club.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Phillies fans anxious to see him sooner rather than later, it would probably be best if they did NOT call him up this year\u2014keeping him in the minors would keep him off the 40-man roster and allow the team an additional roster to protect a player from this winter\u2019s Rule 5 draft.\u00a0 Also, the Phillies Triple-A team is likely to make the playoffs, so he could get additional \u201cABs\u201d and playoff-like experience for several weeks in September.<\/p>\n<p>That being said, I still think there\u2019s a better than average chance he\u2019s the Phillies Opening Day \u201817 shortstop\u2014or at least be called up by Memorial Day 2017 if he struggles in spring training.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?player_id=608384#\/career\/R\/hitting\/2016\/ALL\"><strong><em>Nick Williams<\/em><\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nHis bat has also cooled off of late.\u00a0 But after some controversial headlines and several showings of a definite lack of hustle, Williams has been doing and saying all the right things lately.\u00a0 He\u2019s been batting in the .270 &#8211; .280 range and is currently leading the team among active players in RBI and is second in home runs.\u00a0 While he\u2019s played all three outfield positions with regularity, Williams will probably fight for playing time in one of the crowded corner outfield spots this September, unless\u2014like Crawford\u2014the Phillies prefer to play their best prospects in a Minor League playoff series.\u00a0 Also, the Phillies might want to see more of Cody Asche and some of the other veterans for evaluation purposes, which could be another reason to keep Williams in Triple-A.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?player_id=595284#\/career\/R\/hitting\/2016\/ALL\"><strong><em>Andrew Knapp<\/em><\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nThe Phillies \u201ccatcher of the future #1\u201d has had a decent year offensively and has improved overall defensively this summer.\u00a0 However, he has shown some inconsistency behind the dish\u2014which has been more worrisome as it has occurred occasionally over the last few weeks.\u00a0 With Cameron Rupp being one of the few sources of power at the major league level and Jorge Alfaro playing well in Reading, Knapp will have to start impressing the Phillies front office in a big way to remain part of the team\u2019s main core of players for future seasons, or run the risk of falling back on the organization\u2019s depth chart.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?player_id=573088#\/career\/R\/hitting\/2016\/ALL\"><strong><em>Cam Perkins<\/em><\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nTwo seasons ago, he had a strong Double-A season, following by a quality start in Triple-A and was thought by then General Manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. to be a candidate for a big league outfield spot.\u00a0 Perkins struggled mightily in 2015 and was almost an afterthought at the beginning of this year.\u00a0 Perkins has been largely consistent playing all three outfield positions and hitting just under .300 for much of the year.\u00a0 Still, with all the outfield prospects already in the Majors, along with Williams and guys like Roman Quinn and Dylan Cozens playing well in Reading, Perkins will really have to do something special to be part of the organization\u2019s 2017 plans.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?player_id=573131#\/career\/R\/hitting\/2016\/ALL\"><strong><em>Darin Ruf<\/em><\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nAfter failing in his attempt to earn an everyday\u2014or even a steady platoon\u2014role with the Phillies this spring, Ruf has returned to his power hitting ways at the Triple-A level, hitting just under .300, leading the team in home runs and second in RBIs.\u00a0 Still, with Tommy Joseph moving ahead of him on the depth chart and fiery hot prospects moving up behind him, this will probably be Ruf\u2019s final year with the Phillies\u2014and is not a shoe-in to even be a September call-up.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?player_id=594902#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\"><strong><em>Ben Lively<\/em><\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nAcquired in the Marlon Byrd trade, Lively\u2019s spot on the organization\u2019s pitching depth chart plummeted after the trades of Cole Hamels and Ken Giles netted a bevy of prime hurling talent.\u00a0 Lively, who started the year in Double-A, might just have earned himself a look yet this year with an improving approach and more effective use of his pitches.\u00a0 He\u2019s been going longer into games and recently tied all minor league pitchers with 13 wins on the season.\u00a0 Heading into his most recent start (8\/12\/16), he hasn\u2019t lost a game in August and his ERA this month is under 2.\u00a0 While he doesn\u2019t have the stuff of an Aaron Nola, Vincent Velasquez, Jared Eickhoff or Jake Thompson, he still could prove to be a steady back-end of the rotation pitcher.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/index.jsp?player_id=570257#\/career\/R\/pitching\/2016\/ALL\"><strong><em>Joely Rodriquez<\/em><\/strong><\/a><br \/>\nAnother forgotten man after struggling mightily in Double-A ball (and spent time in High-A Clearwater), Rodriquez was converted into a reliever and has done a decent job in recent months, holding Triple-A left-handed hitters to a .194 batting average (.229 w\/RISP). Acquired for another hard-to-figure-out southpaw Antonio Bastard, Rodriquez might still have a remote shot as a lefty specialist with a Major League team, especially since left-handed throwers have suddenly become a scarce commodity in the upper levels of the Phillies system.<\/p>\n<p>If there\u2019s a young player who you don\u2019t see listed on today\u2019s blog, please check back with some of our recent blog entries to find more on your favorite player(s).<\/p>\n<p>********************<br \/>\nAlso, if you want to hear more baseball talk and rub elbows with some real \u201cboys\u201d of summer, we invite you to come out to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.buffalowildwings.com\/en\/locations\/Detail\/0474\">Buffalo Wild Wings<\/a> on Grape Street in Whitehall (PA) for this Thursday\u2019s \u201cRCN Sports Talk Gets Wild\u201d show starting at 7pm.\u00a0 Our guests will be past, present and future members of the Coplay baseball sports community,\u00a0 Select show topics include a discussion of the late, great Sam Balliet, the memories of the stadium named in his honor and a look at the current players who play there, along with future baseball stars.<\/p>\n<p>Go to the \u201cGets Wild\u201d page here on the RCN-TV website, click on the appropriate link for that evening\u2019s show\/charity and 10-percent of your total bill will be donated to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dreamcometrue.org\/\">Dream Come True<\/a> organization.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019d love to see you there!<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We\u2019ve brought you quite a bit of information on top-level, up-and-coming minor league prospects in both the Phillies and Nationals organizations this summer.\u00a0 Here at \u201cthe Shop\u201d and on RCN-TV, we\u2019ve given you interviews with the players themselves along with their coaches and have provided insights, statistics and progress reports throughout the Minor League season.\u00a0&#8230;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-sports","category-the-sportstalk-shop"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The SportsTalk Shop: The &quot;Next Best&quot; 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