Rhys Hoskins, 1B, Phillies
Tommy Joseph has had a pretty good May so far, hitting .380/.458/..800. He needed it too, after his .179/.222/.254 March/April. That's because there has been pressure on his PT from AAA in the form of Rhys Hoskins (.337/.420/.688).
The 6-4/225, 24-year-old was a 5th round pick by the Phillies from Sacramento State. He has torn through the minors. All he did in his first tour AA last year was post 38 HRs in 498 ABs, good for a .285 ISO. All he's done in his first tour of AAA this season is challenge those paces. His start in AAA is important because there have been doubts about how well Rhys would work against more sophisticated breaking pitches.
The man can hit. And he'll hit for power. That's about the end of the story. Rhys is not a great defender. He isn't a gifted athlete. And the capper is that his power ceiling may not make him special at the position.
I really like Rhys' hit tool. He leverages counts. He covers the plate well, he's willing to hit it where it's pitched. And while he has holes, he makes adjustments well. I think he's an everyday player, even at first base. And seriously, I couldn't help but wonder while gathering reports about Rhys for this, if a lot of the same things were said about David Ortiz at this point in his career. (NO. No. NO! I'm not saying Rhys Hoskins is David Ortiz. I am just wondering if my description of Hoskins is similar to what we might have heard when Ortiz was coming up)
Tommy Joseph has held off Rhys' charge for now, but it's hard to imagine that Rhys doesn't get a look before the September roster expansion. Eventually, I think he'll get regular ABs eventually and show power and a hit tool. He'll likely end up a quality CI-level player. Nothing great, but potentially solid.
Long Term Fantasy Grade - B
Brent Honeywell, RHP, Rays
Brent Honeywell is one of my favorite pitching prospects. Not that he's the best pitching prospect in the game, but the kid throws a screwball for God's sake. He's also the pitching equivalent of a power/speed combo hitter. A lot of pitching prospects work from velo with a varying degree of support from their secondary offering(s). Or they work speed and location with varying degrees of velo support. Brent has the goods both ways.
He can go fastball quite a bit with his smooth mid-90s velocity. But he backs that with an array of quality offerings. That array is led by what is a surprisingly good screwball. Behind that is a quality change that should mature nicely and the beginnings of a good curve.
Brent ties all of this together with good mechanics, advanced command and control and Brent also has a real passion for sequencing and approach. He likes the craft. Look at what that package has produced in AAA this year, from a kid who just turned 22, and has just crossed off the 100th IP of his high minors career ... a 28% K rate, a 4.3% BB rate ...
If I had to pick on a flaw here, and at this point, I really have to search for one, I'd like to see him throw more ground balls. And despite the quality and variety of his offerings, I have yet to see a true, reliable out pitch emerge. Again. He just turned 22. There's time.
I love the floor on Brent's projection. I think it would be an upset (injury notwithstanding) if Brent doesn't rise to the level of a #2. Until a dominant out pitch shows itself I am not sure he has the ceiling of a #1, but I think that's going to happen. I am just not sure when.
Things move faster in player development these days, but the Rays don't play those reindeer games like the other reindeer do, either in a developmental sense or a financial sense. I would not bet anything on a 2017 contribution from Brent and I'd also be a little surprised if he started 2018 with the big club. Whenever it happens, however, I am looking forward to seeing this.
Long Term Fantasy Grade - A
Registered members can click on the following link to see the complete Prospect Central article for this week, which includes other prospects: http://www.fantistics.com/
