The Reading Fightin Phils got knocked out of the Double-A Eastern League playoffs on Saturday. While that might be a disappointing end to a Minor League season, it did mean the big league club could call up some reinforcements, most notably catcher Jorge Alfaro and outfielder Roman Quinn.
Alfaro, ranked No. 61 overall on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list and No. 4 on the Phillies' Top 30, is technically making his second trip to the big leagues. The 23-year-old backstop was called up in late August as the Phillies were waiting for A.J. Ellis to arrive from the Dodgers, but he didn't appear in a game. Now would be a good opportunity to see just how close to big-league ready he is.
The two big tools Alfaro brings to the Phillies are his power bat and his power arm: He gets a 60 grade for his pop at the plate (on the 20-80 scouting scale) and a 70 for his arm strength. He hit 15 homers and slugged .458 in 404 regular-season at-bats with Reading this year. He hit two more homers in the playoffs. The big question remaining is whether he'll be able to consistently tap into that power at the highest level.
There is still a good amount of swing and miss to his game -- he struck out in 24.1 percent of his plate appearances during the regular season while walking in just 5.1 percent. He still needs to refine his approach to have more success offensively. Especially in the short term, don't expect much in the way of batting average from Alfaro, but he could run into a few if he's given regular playing time. He also runs very well for a catcher.
His arm, however, will play in the big leagues just fine. While he's still working on the other parts of his catching, his cannon really controls the running game. Alfaro threw out 44 percent of would-be basestealers in 2016 and he does love to show off his arm. How much time he gets back there, with Ellis and Cameron Rupp around, remains to be seen.
His Reading teammate Quinn also has a tool that plays at any level: speed. Ranked No. 8 on the Phillies' Top 30, Quinn hit .302/.372/.451 in the Minors this year, albeit in just 308 at-bats. Injuries have kept the speedster from playing more than 100 games in a season at any point since making his pro debut in 2012. He did manage to steal 36 bases despite the lack of playing time, the fourth time he's topped the 30-steal mark in his career. He stole three more bases in the postseason.
He got the start on Sunday against the Nationals in center field. Hitting in the No. 2 spot in the order, he went 0-for-3 with a walk. When healthy, Quinn has shown the ability to hit for average from both sides of the plate and uses his top of the scale speed well. Once a shortstop, Quinn has made a solid transition to center, where his speed is a huge asset. Should he continue to get looks in September, expect him to show that he can be a game-changer on both sides of the ball with his legs.