Minor-league week in review: Jhailyn Ortiz homers twice in record day for BlueClaws

A few Philadelphia Phillies prospects produced some head-turning series in the latest week of the minor-league season, the last full week before the Major League Baseball trade deadline.

Among those players was Jersey Shore’s Jhailyn Ortiz, who slugged his way to High-A East player of the week honors with his performance against the Winston-Salem Dash.

The BlueClaws split their six-game series with Winston-Salem, bringing their record to 32-40; the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs are also 32-40; the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils are 29-43; the Low-A Clearwater Threshers are 35-36; the FCL Phillies entered Monday with a record of 9-6.

Ortiz homers twice in record day for BlueClaws

The 22-year-old Ortiz launched two home runs on Sunday, helping the Blue Claws win 12-8 as they hit a team-record six home runs. D.J. Stewart also hit two homers, while Cole Stobbe and Nate Fassnacht each added one.

Ortiz’s day at the plate capped an excellent week for the outfielder. In six games, he went 11-for-27 with a double, six home runs and 12 RBIs. Ortiz now has 18 home runs in 70 games this season.

Brito continues breakout in Lehigh Valley

Infielder Daniel Brito was having an impressive season for the Fightins when he was promoted to Class AAA on Thursday, and he continued the trend in Lehigh Valley.

The 23-year-old hit a home run in his first Triple-A game and kept it rolling from there. In five games for the IronPigs, Brito went 7-for-17 with two home runs, a double, a triple and seven RBIs.

Reading’s Stephen records two hits in one inning

Outfielder Josh Stephen became the first Fightin Phil since 2016 to record two hits in one inning on Saturday, singling and doubling in the fourth inning of a 6-0 win over New Hampshire.

The 23-year-old also added another double and single in the game. After really struggling to begin this season, Stephen is hitting .303 with five homers, seven doubles and a triple in his last 25 games.

Rojas hits injured list in Clearwater

Outfielder Johan Rojas was removed in the middle of the Threshers game on Friday, sparking some to speculate about whether or not it could be related to a potential trade. It turned out that the 20-year-old had suffered an injury.

Rojas was officially placed on the seven-day injured list on Saturday. The specific injury was not announced. He had been hitting .240/.299/.385 with six home runs in 65 games.

Farm Notes

• The FCL Phillies played just one game last week. Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported that the team faced a number of COVID-19 cases.
• The IronPigs saw a number of newly promoted players this week. In addition to Brito, outfielder Jorge Bonifacio and pitcher Braden Zarbnisky were sent to Triple-A for the first time this year. Infielder Austin Listi, pitcher Bryan Mitchell and outfielder Ryan Cordell were released by the Phillies.
• Reliever Seranthony Domínguez could start a minor-league rehab stint next week, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. The Phillies fireman underwent Tommy John surgery last July.

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