Last off-season I started a different writing venture - rather than producing a hard copy version of what was an annual Phillies Minor League Digest I went with a new approach and posted a series of articles on the webpage instead. A large portion of the digest was my player notes - views that are not entirely built upon seasonal or short term stats - while I referenced them I relied more upon my observations and feedback from players and coaches.
This off-season we continue the series “Annual Phillies Minor League Player Notes”with profiles presented in groupings by defensive positions. I intend to offer notes on every stateside player I watched perform this past season that finished the 2023 season with the organization. I can attest that I actually watched most every Phillies minor league game each evening, attended practices and interacted with a vast amount of players, coaches, scouts and front office folks. Recently I sent a couple questions to the players - asked them what was their biggest personal takeaway from the 2023 season and what they are focusing on this off-season to prepare for 2024. Where I have responses I will include them in the notes. Also where I’m able I will include feedback from coaches and player development leadership.
The initial set of twenty articles were on the pitchers - if you missed them here’s a link to article 20, it contains within it links to the other 19 pitcher’s articles - https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/11-17-23-annual-phillies-minor-league-player-notes-pitchers-part-twenty.
The second set was four articles on the catchers - if you missed them here’s a link to article 4, it contains within it links to the other 3 catcher’s articles - https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/11-21-23-annual-phillies-minor-league-player-notes-catchers-part-four
We now present notes on infielders in eight groups of as listed below.
Today we focus on group eight of the infielders.
Group Eight : Will Toffey, Nick Ward, Bryson Ware, Weston Wilson, Rixon Wingrove
Link to previous infielders articles :
Group One : Keaton Anthony, Zach Arnold, Pierce Bennett, William Bergolla, Erick Brito - https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/11-22-23-annual-phillies-minor-league-player-notes-infielders-part-one
Group Two : Chad Castillo, Kody Clemens, Oliver Dunn, Drew Ellis, Trent Farquhar - https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/11-23-23-annual-phillies-minor-league-player-notes-infielders-part-two
Group Three : Wilfredo Flores, Diego Gonzalez, Jim Haley, Darick Hall, Lou Helmig - https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/11-24-23-annual-phillies-minor-league-player-notes-infielders-part-three
Group Four : Otto Kemp, Scott Kingery, Dakota Kotowski, Matt Kroon, Casey Martin - https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/11-25-23-annual-phillies-minor-league-player-notes-infielders-part-four
Group Five : Pedro Martinez, Aidan Miller, Freylin Minyety, Cole Moore, Nick Podkul - https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/11-26-23-annual-phillies-minor-league-player-notes-infielders-part-five
Group Six : Nikau Pouaka-Grego, Marco Soto, Ty Penner, Esteban Quiroz, Felix Reyes - https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/11-27-23-annual-phillies-minor-league-player-notes-infielders-part-six
Group Seven : Bryan Rincon, Devin Saltiban, Jehisbert Sevilla, Kendall Simmons, Madison Stokes - https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/11-28-23-annual-phillies-minor-league-player-notes-infielders-part-seven
So we continue - the eighth article in the 2023 series on infielders ⚾️🤓.
3B - Will Toffey - 28 years old - acquired in trade with SF Giants for Luke Williams - 3/27/22
2023 Stats : did not appear in games - injured.
2023 Notes : suffered a separated shoulder in spring training and missed the entire season. Was at the complex in October working with the rehab team, took BP and infield practice, looked back to good health and able to play next season.
2024 Projection : minor league free agent
UTL - Nick Ward - 28 years old - signed as free agent - 12/19/22 - West Chester University
2023 Stats : had a .270/.392/.371 slash line in 392 plate appearances for Jersey Shore with 8 doubles, 8 home runs and 50 RBIs - walked 54 times and stole 22 bases in 25 attempts. When he was promoted to Reading on 8/7/23 he was second in the South Atlantic League in runs scored (70) and fifth in OBP (.392). At Reading appeared in 21 games and had 92 plate appearances with a .200/.293/.325 slash line, 4 doubles, 2 home runs, 8 RBIs and 10 walks. Defensively played all four infield positions - the majority of time was at third base - .950 fielding percentage in 199 chances and second base - .973 fielding percentage in 74 chances.
2023 Notes : It was a whirlwind nine months from November to September for the native of Kennett Square, PA. After playing independent baseball in the summer of 2022 in the Frontier League he joined the Adelaide Giants in November and was a lineup regular for the Australian Baseball League Champions and garnered strong consideration for league MVP. While playing in Australia he was offered and signed a minor league contract with the team he grew up rooting for. During the spring he not only made his debut in a Phillies jersey but also played for Team England in the World Baseball Classic. Coming out of spring camp Nick was assigned to High A Jersey Shore and was a BlueClaws lineup regular earning a promotion to Reading in August. After the minor league season ended he once again played for Team England, this time in the European Championship tournament. This winter he’s returned to Australia to play once more for Adelaide. Best way to describe him is that he’s a professional. Same attitude and approach day in and day out, team first and play to win, does whatever it takes to do so. Has a very patient approach at the plate, works counts and will take walks but can also turn on pitches to drive them. His OBP was exemplary, will line drive hits all over the field, ability to hit the pitch where it’s delivered. Just an all-around good ball player who’s the epitome of a winner, every team he’s a part of will compete, leadership by example. A positive and good person off the field as well.
Nick’s reflections : “My biggest takeaway was that being a part of the Phillies organization was everything I could’ve imagined and then some. It felt so good to be back in affiliated ball and have the opportunity to play with my hometown team. The biggest thing I am focusing on this offseason is my defense. I will need to be prepared to play multiple positions again next year, whether it’s with the Phillies or elsewhere. I will be mainly taking groundballs at shortstop to work on my footwork and then taking many reps at the other spots to assure my versatility.”
2024 Projection : minor league free agent
3B,2B - Bryson Ware - 22 years old - drafted in 8th round of the 2023 draft from the University of Auburn
2023 Stats : appeared in 25 games (five with FCL Phillies and twenty with Clearwater Threshers) - 98 plate appearances - .176/.276/.318 slash line with 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 7 RBIs and 10 walks. Defensively played second base - .949 fielding percentage in 59 chances and third base.
2023 Notes : I didn’t see Bryson play this season but found these notes about him. “Bryson Ware had that DAWG in him this year. The senior was one of Auburn's most consistent and deadly offensive threats, only being held hitless in six SEC contests on the season. He had a 34-game on-base streak to open the season, and reached base in 50 of 53 games this year. He finished the year as the 6th Auburn player since 2016 to be on the Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list, and is the seventh player in program history to have 20 plus homeruns in a season.” - Auburn Daily
“Ware made a name for himself as one of the top juco players in the country in the 2020 class with Pearl River (Miss.) JC thanks to his defensive ability, athleticism and power potential. He went undrafted and made it to campus at Auburn, where he initially struggled with the bat. That changed in 2023, when Ware turned in a career year with a .350/.438/.731 slash line and homered 24 times—good for fifth among all SEC hitters. A 6-foot-2, 211-pound lefthanded hitter, Ware has played shortstop, right field and third base, though he’ll need to improve to stick at the hot corner, where he spent most of his time in 2023. His 2023 production, power and top-end exit velocities could make him a priority senior sign and late day two or early day three draft pick.” - Baseball America
Bryson’s reflections : “My biggest take away from pro ball is probably that it’s a marathon and not a sprint. You have to keep getting better everyday while also saving your body and making sure you are ready to go every day. My biggest focus this off season is probably just being more comfortable defensively everywhere on the field. Just being able to play everywhere and being ready to go whenever I am needed will be big for me in my career.”
2024 Projection : part of the Threshers opening day roster.
UTL - Weston Wilson - 29 years old - signed as a free agent - 1/11/23 - from Brewers organization
2023 Stats : played in 125 games with Lehigh Valley - .259/.363/.515 slash line in 544 plate appearances with 19 doubles, 3 triples, 31 home runs and 86 RBIs - an OPS of .878. Played in 8 major league games - .313/.500/.500 slash line in 22 plate appearances with a home run, two RBIs and six walks. He set the IronPigs single season franchise record for home runs (31) and became the first Lehigh Valley player to ever tally thirty or more home runs and stolen bases (32) in the same season. Weston finished in the league’s top ten in runs scored (6th with 89), home runs (3rd with 31), RBIs (T-6th with 86), walks (T-9th with 75) and stolen bases (T-8th with 32). Defensively played mostly shortstop - .985 fielding percentage in 266 chances but also saw time at first base, third base and all three outfield spots.
2023 Notes : had a career year including making his major league debut. Played multiple positions and hit the baseball with authority, also ran the bases very well. It was a great comeback from a disappointing 2022 season, earlier this summer Weston told me - “Yea man I think I put a lot of pressure on myself in 2022 to come back and repeat what I did in 2021. This year I had a fresh slate with new eyes on me and just got back to what I did before I had my blood clot/surgery. Really just trusted myself and my abilities and I have had a great group of teammates and coaches that allowed me to be myself and brought the best out. I think everything that the org has done (their communication along with the opportunities given to me) since I got to spring training on day one has given me confidence to just play.”
2024 Projection : will compete for a big league roster spot in spring training
1B - Rixon Wingrove - 23 years old - signed as an international free agent - 4/20/18 - Newcastle, NSW, Australia
2023 Stats : played for both Jersey Shore and Reading - combined slash line - .232/.323/.407 in 473 plate appearances with 20 doubles, 2 triples, 16 home runs and 66 RBIs. Walked 48 times and had an OPS of .730. When he was promoted to Reading on 8/21/23 he was second in the the South Atlantic League in RBIs (63), tenth in home runs (15), tied for sixth in doubles (20) and twelfth in hits (90). Defensively had a .990 fielding percentage in 784 chances.
2023 Notes : Rixon plays hard, competes to win. The effervescent Aussie left handed hitter can drive the baseball with the best of them, defensively we’ve seen him progress from being a converted catcher who initially struggled learning to play first base on the backfields to one who can more than hold his own at the position. In fact in a survey conducted by Baseball America he was selected as the South Atlantic league’s best best defensive first baseman. During his time with the BlueClaws he hit 27 home runs, 15 this year and 12 last year which tied him for third all-time in franchise history with Darick Hall. He’s now playing winter league baseball for the Adelaide Giants in the Australian Baseball League. Great personality and popular teammate.
Rixon’s reflections : “Well it’s been a long 18 months of straight baseball, finally get some time to reflect and recover. I’m excited to get prepared for 2024 with an understanding of the adjustments I need to make to become a more consistent hitter after the taste of double A.”
2024 Projection : a return to Reading to compete for playing time at first base.
Other Notes :
Now former Reading hitting coach Tyler Henson announced on his Facebook page that he’s accepted a hitting coordinator role with the Cincinnati Reds organization. Tyler has been a coach in the Phillies player development group since 2016 and also played for the organization from 2013 to 2015 as an infielder. Best wishes to Tyler in his new position with the Reds.
Outfielder Brewer Hicklen has signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. Outfielder Jordan Qsar has signed with the Washington Nationals. Both played for the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs last season.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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