Phillies View Jhailyn Ortiz As A Special Talent

The Phillies believe they had two first-round talents playing at short-season Williamsport this summer.

Center fielder Adam Haseley, the 21-year-old whom Philadelphia selected No. 8 overall out of Virginia in June, earned a promotion to low Class A Lakewood in mid-August.

Meanwhile, hulking 18-year-old right fielder Jhailyn Ortiz earned a spot on the New York-Penn League all-star team.

The Phillies spent a club record $4 million to sign Ortiz as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2015. This would have been his draft year had he grown up in the U.S.

“He’s a first-round talent,” director of player development Joe Jordan said. “If he gets to his potential, (his ceiling is) higher than anyone we have in our system . . . Now, there’s a lot of road to travel, a lot of things to accomplish developmentally, but he’s pretty exciting.”

Ortiz, who checks in at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds, has shown surprisingly good athleticism in right field, a plus throwing arm, aptitude for the game and a desire to learn, according to Jordan.

“He’s into all of it,” Jordan said. “You don’t have to force him to go out and work on his defense or his baserunning. He’s just a sponge . . . and it’s really exciting. He’s fun. He’s happy. He’s easy to like.”

Manager Pat Borders, who was with Ortiz for three months in extended spring training and now at Williamsport, called Ortiz a “special talent.”

“There’s not a negative quality to the kid,” Borders said. “He’s smart. He works hard, and his teammates love him. I don’t talk that highly about anybody, but he deserves it.”

Ortiz’s strikeout rate concerned some scouts when he signed, but he has developed his pitch-recognition skills as a pro. Through 45 games this season he hit .283/.389/.520 with seven home runs and 46 strikeouts. He was successful on five out of six stolen base attempts.

“I believe he will hit for average and power,” Jordan said. “I think he’s been a little more of a complete hitter than we might have thought at this stage. I’ve been mostly impressed with the fact that he’s gone up there and been a hitter. It hasn’t been feast or famine.”

Ortiz’s power is so impressive that international scouting director Sal Agostinelli predicts that “he will be in the (major league) Home Run Derby some day.”

PHIL-UPS

• After a disappointing first half at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, shortstop J.P. Crawford turned his season around. In 56 games since June 20—when he returned from a 10-game mental break—he hit .296/.390/.559 with 11 of his 13 home runs.