Philadelphia Phillies Minor League Report – AAA

We know that the Philadelphia Phillies have some promising prospects. But which minor leaguers have been the most impressive so far this season?

We’re going to pick two players, a pitcher and a hitter at each level that has impressed so far during the season. Let’s start off with the Philadelphia Phillies AAA minor league affiliate, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

26 games into the season, the IronPigs are sitting dead even at 13-13 which is good for a .500 record. They’re in third place in the International League behind Syracuse and Scranton Wilkes-Barre. They’ve had some impressive performances this season but two players whose performances stand out are those of third baseman Taylor Featherston and pitcher Zach Eflin.

Taylor Featherston:

Taylor Featherston is hitting to the tune of a .317 average in AAA as he tries to work his way back to the majors. Fetherston played in 101 games for the Los Angeles Angels last season but he only hit .162 for them and looked overmatched in the majors. Fetherston was acquired from the Angels for cash considerations  after he was designated for assignment to be a utility player for the Philadelphia Phillies as well as a direct backup to Mikael Franco.

Check out this video of Fetherston hitting a leadoff triple for the Iron Pigs:

Featherston’s hot start may see him be called up to the Philadelphia Phillies if they decide to move on from Darin Ruf. Ruf has had a disappointing start to the season so it is possible that they could try to find a trade partner or DFA him. The most impressive stat for Featherston is his .374 on-base percentage. He has taken five walks while only striking out eight times which shows that he isn’t getting lucky at the plate.

More from Philadelphia Phillies

• The Real Reason Behind Trea Turner’s Recent Hot Streak
• VIDEO: Bryce Harper Hustles for Inside-the-Park Home Run vs. Giants
• Phillies Fans Let Ex-Manager Gabe Kapler Hear It in First Inning
• Andrew Knapp Finds New MLB Home With AL Contender
• VIDEO: Phillies Send Touching Message to Media Little League Team Before World Series

Featherston got a brief spell with the Philadelphia Phillies during Spring Training and his most impressive attribute was his defense. At 26, he’s not at prospect age anymore but Featherston could still have a role to a rebuilding team because of how long he will be under team control. Featherston’s play mirrors that of Andres Blanco who is currently 32 so in the future the utility role could be Featherston’s for the taking.

Zach Eflin:

We’ve written about Mark Appel on the site but currently Eflin is outpacing him in almost every statistical category. Eflin is one of the less heralded prospects that the Philadelphia Phillies have picked up during their rebuilding process. Eflin was acquired in the Jimmy Rollins trade and since he’s reintroduced the curveball to his pitching arsenal, Eflin has looked like a completely different pitcher. In AAA, Eflin has a 2.05 ERA over 26.1 innings pitched which leads the staff.

Check out MLB.com’s prospect report on Eflin here:

Eflin doesn’t have the gaudy strikeout numbers of some of the other pitchers in the Philadelphia Phillies system (he has 22 in his 26+ innings) because he relies on generating weak contact. Eflin has held opposing hitters to a .125 average while only walking three batters this season. This has led to a minuscule WHIP of  .760.

On his potential baseball prospectus says, “Low strikeout numbers belie what Zach Eflin could be turning into, as he tweaked his curveball and began hitting the upper 90s with his fastball later in the season, keeping him on a mid-rotation track.” Eflin is a player that is currently under the radar that could make a significant impact for the Philadelphia Phillies in the future. While the trio of Vincent Velasquez, Aaron Nola, and Jerad Eickhoff are getting all the attention there will be two spots to fill behind them in the future.

Next: Has Ryan Howard Found the Foutain of Youth?

Eflin is in the mix for those spots or he could have value as the long man out of the bullpen.

These two players may not be stars on Philadelphia Phillies teams of the future but they could be very important role players and that’s what a team with championship aspirations needs. Taylor Featherston looks like a prototypical “glue guy” that every team needs on the bench and Eflin is hard to describe because he’s so young but he’s on the right track. If they are able to produce it will show just how shrewd the trades were that the Philadelphia Phillies made to restock the minors.