Jorge Alfaro Callup Gives Phils A Glimpse Into Future

With their fourth straight losing season all but wrapped up, the Phillies are providing a glimpse of the future.

Philadelphia recalled top catching prospect Jorge Alfaro, along with center fielder Roman Quinn, from Double-A Reading on Sunday after Reading’s season ended in the Eastern League semifinals.

Alfaro, 23, hit .285/.325/.358 with 15 home runs and 67 RBI for Reading and ranked No. 67 in BA’s Midseason Top 100 Prospects update. The Phillies briefly called Alfaro up as an emergency catcher for one day after the A.J. Ellis-Carlos Ruiz trade, but he did not play. This will be his first extended big league look.

SCOUTING REPORT

The Rangers signed Alfaro for $1.3 million as a 17-year old out of Colombia in 2010 and made him one of the centerpiece prospects in last summer’s trade for Cole Hamels.

Alfaro, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound righthanded hitter, has been afflicted by various injuries in his career but shown impressive raw power at the plate when healthy, hitting 18 home runs in 2013 and 17 home runs in 2014 in addition to his 15 homers this season.

His plate discipline remains a work in progress, with his 105 strikeouts coming against just 22 walks this season while maintaining a 26 percent career strikeout rate. Still, his .266 career average with power profiles well enough for a catcher, and he showed signs of improvement with a career-best .285 average this season.

Defensively, Alfaro took a tremendous leap forward this season in turning promise into production. He consistently draws plus grades on his arm and threw out a career-best 44 percent of runners this year, while his previously below-average receiving and blocking improved immensely this year. He allowed a career-low seven passed balls, compared to 23 in his previous full season in 2014, while posting a career-best .993 fielding percentage. Previously considered a candidate to move to right field because of his natural arm strength but lack of defensive polish, Alfaro now has upgraded his blocking and receiving to the point he is considered the Phillies’ everyday catcher of the future.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Alfaro won’t make a tremendous impact in Philadelphia this year, with playing time expected to be intermittent behind Cameron Rupp and A.J. Ellis. Still, his first taste of facing major league pitchers and handling a big league staff will be valuable for his development moving forward, as will being in a clubhouse and taking pointers from the veterans ahead of him.

If all goes well, Alfaro will take whatever he learns from this stint and apply it to the offseason as he prepares to compete for a more permanent role with the Phillies in 2017.