Bohm, Howard among six Phillies prospects bound for Fall League
Alec Bohm is the Phillies No. 1 overall prospect. (Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire)
Minor league season is winding down and we are just a few short weeks away from the Arizona Fall League (AFL) beginning on September 18. Each year, a variety of baseball’s best prospects show their skills in the AFL and 2019 might be a season for Phillies fans to pay close attention to. Rosters for the Arizona Fall League were announced today and six Phillies prospects will suit up for the Scottsdale Scorpians, which will also include players from the Braves, Mets, Giants and Blue Jays.
Representing the Phillies will be six of their top 30 prospects — 3B Alec Bohm (No. 1), RHP Spencer Howard (No. 4), OF Mickey Moniak (No. 8), LHP JoJo Romero (No. 10), SS/2B Nick Maton (No. 14), and RHP Connor Seabold (No. 30).
Bohm, 23, is the Phillies’ top prospect and he’s also the 35th ranked prospect in all of Major League Baseball. Drafted in the first round of the 2018 draft out of Wichita State, Bohm has spent time at three levels this season between Class ‘A’ and Double-A ball. Overall, he’s slashing .306/.521/.897 with 30 doubles, four triples, 20 home runs and 76 RBIs.
Howard, 23, was selected by the Phillies out of Cal Polu San Luis Obispo in the second round of the 2017 draft. The right-hander has become one of the most well-known prospects in the Phillies system during the 2019 season. After posting a 1.29 ERA in seven starts with Advanced ‘A’ Clearwater, Howard has dazzled in Double-A, going 1-0 with a 2.52 ERA in five starts. He’s struck out 32 while walking just six since joining Reading. He’ll make his final start of the regular season on August 28 with an Eastern League playoff berth on the line.
Moniak, 21, is in his fourth year with the Phillies organization after being drafted in the 2016 draft. He had really strong performances in May and June, hitting .290 and .294 respectively, with 15 doubles, seven triples, two home runs and 27 RBIs. He has since fallen off a bit, hitting .237 in July and .229 in August. Overall on the season, Moniak is slashing .254/.306/.440 with 27 doubles, 13 triples, 10 homers and 65 RBIs. He has walked a career-high 32 times, but has also hit a career-high in strikeouts (107). Moniak has been showing off some more power, though, as his slugging percentage is 57 points higher than it was in 2018.
Romero, 22, was a fourth round pick of the Phillies back in 2016. In 2018, the southpaw made 18 starts to the tune of a 3.80 ERA, in Double-A, but has had trouble replicating similar results. He started 2019 in Reading (4-4, 4.84) before joining Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He has made 12 starts for the Ironpigs, going 3-4 with a 7.35 ERA in 49 innings. He has 34 strikeouts and 31 walks while opponents are hitting .318 off of him.
Maton, 22, was a seventh round selection of the Phillies in 2017. After slashing .276/.358/.380 with Clearwater in 93 games, Maton was promoted to Reading. In 16 games, the Chatham, Illinois native is hitting .239 with a double, two homers and four RBIs.
Seabold, 23, has had a 2019 campaign highlighted by injury rehab, but he’s worked his way back up to Reading, where he was in 2018. The former 2017 third round pick is 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA in six starts for the Fightin Phils, which is a big improvement from the 4.91 ERA in Reading from a season ago. Seabold has allowed two runs or less in each of his starts with Reading.
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