2016 Reading Fightins Roster Released

The Reading Fightin Phils, Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, have announced the club's 2016 roster, in conjunction with the Philadelphia Phillies. 

The 25-man roster features four of the Phillies' top 10 prospects according to MLB.com, including shortstop J.P. Crawford, the number five overall prospect in all of baseball. He's joined in Reading by fellow Phillies prospects Jorge Alfaro (no. 6), Roman Quinn (no. 7), and Ricardo Pinto (no. 10).

Reading's roster also features five members of the Phillies 40-man roster, including pitcher Alec Asher, Severino Gonzalez, and Edubray Ramos as well as Alfaro and Quinn.

The roster will also feature a majority of familiar faces as 16 of the 25 players on the roster are Reading alums.

Crawford highlights that a Reading infield that's predominantly filled with Reading veterans. 

Since he was drafted in the first round by the Phillies in 2013, Crawford has impressed many at each level of play. In 2014, he was the Paul Owens Award winner player in the Phillies minor league system as well being selected to his first MLB All-Star Futures Game. Last season, Crawford hit .288 with 22 doubles and 42 RBIs between Clearwater (A+) and Reading. At the time of his promotion to Double-A, he was the youngest player in the Eastern League. The California native was also selected to the Eastern League All-Star Game and his second MLB All-Star Futures Game.

He will be joined by newcomer and first base prospect Rhys Hoskins. Hoskins, who hit .319 with 17 and 90 RBIs in 135 games between Lakewood (A) and Clearwater, was selected in the fifth round of the 2014 draft by the Phillies. He led the Phillies minor league system in hits (159), doubles, (36), home runs (17) total bases (258), runs (86), and games (135). Out of his 67 games with the Threshers, he reached base safely in 57 games and posted a .394 OBP.

Also new to the infield will be Jesmuel Valentin, son of former major league infielder Jose Valentin. The switch-hitting 21-year old batted .359 (23-for-64) with a .411 OBP in 18 games out of the leadoff spot for the Threshers. He was acquired by the Phillies prior to last season as part of the Roberto Hernandez deal.

Rounding up the Reading infield will be 2015 alums Harold Martinez, Angelo Mora, KC Serna, and 2012 and 2014 Fightins slugger Jake Fox. After starting the season with Reading in 2015, Martinez returned to the club after a short stint in Clearwater and batted .400 (16-for-40) over his first 12 games back to lift his average almost 60 points to .300. Mora made the jump to Reading after being named a Florida State League All-Star, and between Reading and Clearwater, the 23-year old hit .312 with 29 multi-hit games. Serna comes back to Reading for his third season after a season where he received his first promotion to Triple-A. 2014 Fightins MVP Jake Fox returns to the Phillies organization after a season spent with the Toronto Blue Jays system and in Korea. In 2014, the former major leaguer hit 22 home runs to finish third in the Eastern League despite playing in just 78 games.

Backing up home plate this year will be catching prospect Alfaro and 2014-15 Fightins catcher Logan Moore. Acquired by the Phillies as part of last July's Cole Hamels deal, Alfaro began the 2015 season with Double-A Frisco and hit .253 with 15 doubles and five homers in 49 games before undergoing season-ending surgery in June. Scouts attribute the 22-year old's huge potential to his power bat and power arm. Prior to being traded, he was Texas' number three prospect. Moore spent 2015 bouncing back-and-forth between Reading and Lehigh Valley and threw out 52.7% of potential base runners between the levels. 

Reading's outfield features an equal mix of both 2015 veterans and Baseballtown rookies. Leading the pack is Quinn, who was selected as an Eastern League All-Star in Reading before suffering a year-ending quadriceps injury. Despite playing in 58 games, Quinn finished third in the Eastern League with 29 stolen bases and tied for fourth in triples (6). 

The outfield corps will also feature Dylan Cozens, Aaron Brown, and Christian Marrero. Cozens made his way to Double-A last year in the midst of Reading's Eastern League playoff push. He went on to hit .350 (14-for-40) in 11 games while driving in nine runs over his first five games. Brown will make his Double-A debut in 2016 and finished tied for seventh in the Florida State League in homers (11). Minor league veteran Marrero will enter his first season in the Phillies system a year after he finished second in the Southern League in walks (78), tied for fourth in OBP (.390), and 10th in average (.282). He also led the Barons in homers (13) and RBIs (63).

Reading's rotation will be highlighted by 2015 Phillies pitcher Alec Asher, Ben Lively, and Paul Owens Award winner Pinto. Asher, who was traded to the Phillies in the Hamels deal, averaged 9.00 strikeouts over nine innings over eight Double-A starts. Upon being traded to Philadelphia, he had a 10-inning scoreless streak for the IronPigs and had his contract selected by the Phillies at the end of August. Lively will start the season in Baseballtown for the second straight season and finished first among Phillies minor leaguers in games started (25) and second in innings pitched (143.2). Pinto went a combined 15-4 with a 2.97 ERA in 24 starts between Clearwater and Lakewood and finished tied for fifth in the Florida State League in wins (9).

They will be joined in the rotation by 2015 Reading pitchers Nick Pivetta and Anthony Vasquez. Pivetta, who came to Reading as part of the Jonathan Papelbon traded, went 2-2 over seven starts over the final stretch. Vasquez, who ended the season in Lehigh Valley, posted a 1.76 ERA and allowed just 12 base runners as a reliever with the Fightins last year. He made two starts for Reading last year before being promoted to Triple-A.

The starting rotation will be backed up in the bullpen by Gonzalez, Ulises Joaquin, Ramos, Yacksiel Rios, Joely Rodriguez, Reinier Roibal, and Tom Windle. Gonzalez, who last played in Reading in 2014, made his major league debut in 2015, but spent most of the season in Lehigh Valley where he issued one walk or none in 12 of his 16 starts. Joaquin went 4-2 with a 2.95 ERA in 46 appearances for Clearwater and was selected to the FSL All-Star team. Rios, who posted a 1.40 ERA in 16 relief appearances with Clearwater last year, finished the season by pitching in the Arizona Fall League.

Four 2015 Reading alums round out the bullpen. Ramos combined to post a 2.07 ERA in 47 minor league games between Reading and Clearwater and pitched in the Arizona Fall League, where he was an All-Star. Splitting time between the bullpen and rotation, Rodriguez made 11 relief appearances for the Fightins en route to their playoff push. Between his stops in Clearwater and Reading, Roibal posted a 1.64 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP in his first season back in affiliated baseball in 20 relief appearances.

Manager Dusty Wathan returns to the club for his fifth season as skipper. Joining Wathan with be pitching Steve Schrenk, who is back for his second season in Reading, and longtime hitting coach Frank Cacciatore, who is back with the team for his eighth year. Athletic trainer Aaron Scott and strength coach Kenny Matanane round out the coaching staff.

Single game ticket for the Fightin Phils 50th season affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies are available now by visiting Fightins.com, by calling 610-370-BALL, or by stopping by the Fightins Ticket Office located at FirstEnergy Stadium.