Lehigh Valley outfielder Dylan Cozens, Reading second baseman Scott Kingery, Lehigh Valley right-hander Tom Eshelman and Reading outfielder Zach Coppola have been selected as the Phillies Minor League Co-Hitters, Pitcher and Defender of the Month, respectively, for May.
The 23-year-old Cozens batted .330 (34-103) with four doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 26 RBI, nine walks, three stolen bases, a 1.075 OPS and 20 runs scored in 26 games. He hit safely in 21 of those games, recording multiple hits 10 times, including each of his final five contests of the month. Seven of his home runs came in an 11-game span from May 10-23, during which he drove in 14 runs. Cozens, who raised his batting average by more than 100 points in the month, is tied for the International League lead in home runs (13) and RBI (41) and is tied for fourth in total bases (95). He was selected by the Phillies in the second round of the June 2012 draft.
Kingery, 23, batted .325 (41-126) with seven doubles, three triples, 10 home runs, 13 RBI, 12 walks, eight stolen bases, a 1.055 OPS and 30 runs scored in 30 games. He recorded two multi-home runs games and 13 multi-hit games, including six straight from May 25-30. Kingery's 30 runs were the most in Minor League Baseball in May, and his 10 home runs were tied for the second-most. The Phoenix, Ariz., native became the first minor leaguer since 2014 with at least 16 home runs by the end of May, and his 17 total home runs lead all minor league players in 2017. He is tied with the Yankees' Aaron Judge for most in affiliated baseball. Additionally, Kingery is top in the Eastern League in extra-base hits (33), slugging percentage (.682), runs (51, next closest has 33) and total bases (135), and is tied for first in triples (4), tied for second in hits (64) and stolen bases (13) and seventh in average (.323). Now in his third professional season, Kingery was selected by the Phillies in the second round of the June 2015 draft.
Eshelman, 22, went 4-0 with a 1.38 ERA (7 ER, 45.2 IP), 0.72 WHIP (5 BB, 28 H), 29 strikeouts, a .176 opponents' average and just one home run allowed in six starts between double-A Reading and triple-A Lehigh Valley. He began the month with a 7.0-inning, one-run outing for Reading, in which he only allowed one hit. He was then promoted to Lehigh Valley, where he threw 8.0 scoreless innings in his first-ever triple-A start. Eshelman tossed 8.0 innings or more in three of his five starts with Lehigh Valley, and walked one batter or none in all five. He recorded two complete games, finishing his month with the first 9.0-inning shutout by a Lehigh Valley starter in five years and just the third in team history. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder led all minor leaguers in innings pitched in May, and ranks third in the minors with 67.2 innings this season. He is one of only seven minor league pitchers to already have at least two complete games. Eshelman, who also became the third Lehigh Valley player ever to win International League Player of the Month, was acquired by the Phillies in the seven-player deal that sent right-hander Ken Giles to Houston on December 12, 2015.
Coppola played in 26 games during the month of May, and made just one error while starting at least five games at each outfield position for single-A Clearwater before his recent promotion to Reading. The 23-year-old has a .991 fielding percentage (1 E, 106 TC) in 45 games this season, and is tied for seventh in the Florida State League with five outfield assists. He is also one of nine outfielders in the league to start at least two double plays. Coppola, who began the season with 36 straight errorless games, was selected by the Phillies in the 13^th round of the June 2015 draft.