Promising Phillies Prospects Dazzle in Arizona Fall League

While the Philadelphia Phillies picked up a critical 10-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 2 of the NLCS Tuesday night, two prospects had an unforgettable game in the Arizona Fall League.

Jack Vita | Oct 19, 2023

Promising Phillies Prospects Dazzle in Arizona Fall League /

In this story:

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies made MLB playoff history Tuesday night, setting a new record for home runs hit during a four-game stretch in the postseason.

The Phillies have bashed 14 home runs over their last four games. Tuesday night, Kyle Schwarber blasted two long balls, while Trea Turner contributed a solo shot of his own.

While Philadelphia was issuing a 10-0 beatdown of the Arizona Diamondbacks en route to a 2-0 National League Championship Series lead, a pair of Phillies prospects joined in on the club's power surge, all the way from Scottsdale, Arizona.

As they say, hitting is contagious.

While playing in the Arizona Fall League Tuesday night at Scottsdale Stadium, Philadelphia's prospects Matt Kroon and Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit a pair of two-run homers in the Scottsdale Scorpions' 7-5 win over the Mesa Solar Sox. Rincones went 2-for-4 with a walk, chipping in with a double and scoring three runs.

Rincones' big blast was the outfield prospect's second of the Fall League.

He's listed as the Phillies' No. 9 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and is enjoying a very nice fall. Through 11 games, the 22 year-old is batting .310/.420/.991 with seven RBI.

Kroon's home run was the infielder's first of the Fall League.

He got off to a slow start, slashing just .192/.344/.690 with six RBI, but perhaps his homer is a sign of things to come for the 26 year-old Scottsdale native.

In 97 games across Triple-A, Double-A and High-A, Kroon slashed .326/.399/.925 with 11 home runs and 58 RBI during 2023.

MLB Pipeline does not have the infielder ranked as a top-30 prospect.

Kroon and Rincones were the only two Philadelphia prospects to see game action on Tuesday night.

Infield prospect Oliver Dunn, catcher Caleb Ricketts and pitchers Dominic Pipkin, Mitch Neunborn, Christian McGowan, Jordi Martinez and Andrew Baker have all seen time for the Scorpions in the Fall League since the start of the month.

Follow along for more Fall League updates on Inside the Phillies.

Published Oct 19, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Phillies, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.