Philadelphia Phillies: Hoskins, Cozens tapping into power

The Philadelphia Phillies have two prospects in Double-A who are hitting above their prospect rankings by tapping into their power potential.

The Philadelphia Phillies have had an up-and-down season, but that’s to be expected when a rebuilding team gives young players whom it views as part of its future lots of opportunities to grow. At an average of 26.5 years old according to Baseball-Reference, the Phillies have the youngest rotation in the majors; their lineup is the third youngest at 27.2 years.

That being said, of all the teams currently in rebuild mode, the Phillies are the closest to contending. Recent trades and solid drafts have netted them high-quality prospects, and now the Phillies have one of the best farm systems in baseball.

High profile prospects such as shortstop J.P. Crawford, outfielder Nick Williams and pitcher Jake Thompson get most of the attention, but there are two prospects in Double-A who deserve some recognition. One is first baseman Rhys Hoskins, who is the Phillies’ 19th-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. The other is outfielder Dylan Cozens, the Phillies’ No. 22 prospect.

The way these two are hitting this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them jump into the top 10 on 2017 lists. Entering play Saturday, Hoskins and Cozens were both in the top three in the Eastern League in weighted runs created plus, on-base plus slugging, isolated power and home runs (stats with EL rank):

Hoskins, taken in the fifth round of the 2014 MLB Draft, has been an above average power hitter since he was drafted. Through the EL All-Star break, which was Monday through Wednesday, he had a combined .396 weighted on-base average, .221 ISO, 8.8 percent walk rate and 19.8 percent strikeout rate in two and a half seasons as a professional player. This season he’s really starting to tap into his power potential, posting a career-high .283 ISO.

While Hoskins has been consistent, Cozens has gone through a more gradual refining process. He had power potential but couldn’t tap into it fully. In 2015, he cut back on his swing, which lowered his strikeouts and allowed him to make more consistent contact and let his ample raw power take care of itself. This season, his strikeouts are back up but so are the power numbers (2016 stats through July 8):

StatCorner’s park adjusted batted ball data suggests that even though Cozens is striking out more, he’s making a lot of hard contact.  Entering Saturday, 16.9 percent of Cozen’s balls in the air were going for home runs, the second highest rate of his career. His 24.4 percent line drive rate was the highest of his career, and his 29.8 percent fly ball rate was the lowest of his career. (Isn’t it odd that he’s hitting more home runs but fewer fly balls? This is a good reminder that batted ball data can be tricky.)

Next: MLB Draft Signing Deadline Recap

Both Hoskins and Cozens were involved in the Phillies’ domination of the EL All-Star Game, including Hoskins’ three-run home run. Both players may be promoted to Triple-A before the season is over, putting them on the cusp of joining a promising young major league team.

All stats from Fangraphs.com