Philadelphia Phillies' Prospect Ortiz to Participate in Arizona Fall League's Home Run Derby
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While it's mostly gotten glossed over due to the Philadelphia Phillies' playoff run and participation in the World Series, the club currently has seven representatives in Major League Baseball's Arizona Fall League (AFL), all of which are on the Surprise Saguaros' roster.
With the exception of outfield prospect Johan Rojas, who's batting .310 and has stolen 13 bags, none of the Phillies' players have particularly blown anyone away with their performance in the AFL thus far.
One of those players is another outfield prospect, Jhailyn Ortiz, who is slashed a measly .189 but boasts a .794 OPS. The 23-year-old is also tied for the team lead in home runs with three.
Ortiz spent the 2022 Minor League Baseball season with Double-A Reading, where he hit 17 home runs and collected 61 RBI. Carlos De La Cruz, Ortiz's teammate in the AFL and at Reading, was tied with him in home runs during the regular season.
Ortiz has one more big fly than De La Cruz in the Fall League, and therefore, will represent Surprise in the Home Run Derby on Nov. 5 at Sloan Park in Mesa, Az. at 8:35 p.m. EDT. It will be the AFL's first-ever Home Run Derby.
Ortiz will compete against seven other prospects: Arizona Diamondbacks' Deyvison De Los Santos, Minnesota Twins' Edouard Julien, Baltimore Orioles' Heston Kjerstad, Chicago Cubs' Matt Mervis, Los Angeles Dodgers' Andy Pages, Seattle Mariners' Robert Perez Jr., and Boston Red Sox' Stephen Scott.
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