In the midst of a surprising start to the season that has seen the team breakout to a 20-15 start, despite scoring the fourth-fewest runs in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies have promoted prospect Tommy Joseph to the majors. The first base prospect is being brought in to hopefully provide a bigger bat for a Phillies' lineup that has scored just 115 runs this season.
Joseph was a notable prospect in 2012 when the San Francisco Giants traded the catching prospect to the Phillies as part of the package to land Hunter Pence. Joseph represented the backstop of the future for the Phillies, but things derailed quickly for him.
Between 2013-2014, Joseph would play in just 63 games as he suffered multiple concussions that progressively got worse and kept him out of action for extended time. Lingering issues with concussions from working behind the backstop continued to May of 2015, when he suffered another concussion and a short time later, the Phillies moved him to first base to protect his health.
After weeks of training for first base, Joseph saw action in 2015 between Triple-A and Rookie-level ball, but wouldn't fully be cleared to play until this season.
Joseph began the year in Triple-A Lehigh Valley where he absolutely tore the cover off the baseball, hitting .347 with six home runs, seven doubles, 17 RBI's and a .611 slugging percentage. His numbers at the plate after 27 games earned him a promotion to the majors on Friday.
While Joseph won't see everyday at bats, his .367 batting average against lefties this year in Triple-A, could push him to take Darin Ruf's role as a lefty-platoon player if his success continues at the majors. While Joseph doesn't offer any fantasy value currently, it's tremendous to see him now be in the major leagues after his career was threatened by multiple concussions.