Phillies prospects Ben Lively, Scott Kingery win April awards

Share

Right-hander Ben Lively, whose name has gotten lost in the Phillies' prospect mix with all the acquisitions they've made over the last year, was named the organization's Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April.

Lively, 24, was acquired from the Reds for Marlon Byrd on New Year's Eve 2014. He was coming off a season in which he was Cincinnati's Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

This April, Lively went 3-0 with a 1.55 ERA in five starts, striking out 30 batters and walking six in 29 innings for Double A Reading. Lively struck out two more in a start Wednesday, giving him 32 for the season, second-most in the Eastern League.

Lively has now made 31 starts for Reading over the last two seasons and gone 12-7 with a 3.75 ERA. He's struck out 143 and walked 54 in 177⅔ innings.

Single A second baseman Josh Tobias won the Phillies' farm system's offensive award for April by hitting .347 with a .462 on-base percentage in 20 games. Tobias, 23, had 11 extra-base hits and 19 RBIs in 87 plate appearances for Lakewood. He was a 10th-round pick by the Phillies in 2015 out of the University of Florida.

Defensive honors went to Clearwater second baseman Scott Kingery, the Phillies' second-round pick in 2015 out of the University of Arizona. Kingery, 22, did not make an error in 94 chances and 180 innings at 2B in the month of April.

In 400 plate appearances with Class A Lakewood and High-A Clearwater since being drafted last June, Kingery has hit .256/.327/.362 with 20 steals in 21 attempts.

Contact Us