Phillies Promote 2017 No. 8 Overall Pick OF Adam Haseley to Triple-A Lehigh Valley

By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor

Amid the future of center fielder Odubel Herrera being in question — at least in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform — the club on Wednesday promoted its No. 3-ranked prospect, OF Adam Haseley, to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, according to The Morning Call's Tom Housenick.


Haseley, 23, slashed .268/.356/.471 through 41 games this season at Double-A Reading, posting eight doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 19 RBI, 21 walks and 30 strikeouts through his 177 plate appearances. In May alone, he hit .337/.410/.584 with five home runs in 24 games.

MLB Pipeline details the left-handed hitter:

Haseley helped The First Academy in Florida win the National High School Invitational back in 2014, then went on to be one of the top two-way players in college, starring in the outfield and on the mound for the University of Virginia for three years. His bat took a big step forward in his junior year, catapulting him into the top 10 of the 2017 Draft to No. 8 overall, where he signed with the Phillies for an above-pick value $5.1 million. He reached Double-A in his first full season of pro ball.

A contact-first hitter for most of his college career, Haseley's stock soared when his power from the left side started to show up as a junior. He has the innate ability to barrel up the baseball and send it to all fields. He doesn't strike out a ton and can draw walks and there's the chance for more power to come as he learns to add more leverage to his swing, something he did more of later in his first season. An above-average runner, the Phillies feel he can stay in center long term and be better than average there, though he saw time at all three outfield spots in 2018.

The Phillies feel Haseley's first year was a bit under-appreciated and are excited to see how he can build off of his successful opening season. If he does have to move to left field full-time, there's more pressure on the bat, but there's confidence he could be a solid regular in center at the big league level.

Haseley was drafted eighth overall in the 2017 amateur draft out of the University of Virginia. The Orlando, Florida, native has yet to commit an error in the field this season, logging 206 2/3 innings in right field (49 chances), nine innings in left field (one chance), and 144 innings in center field (35 chances).

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