Moving on Up

With the baseball season now comfortably into its second half, let's spotlight several players just being promoted within their organizations.   After belting 12 homers and posting an OPS above .800 for Lehigh Valley, Brian De La Cruz was called up by the Phillies last week and homered Wednesday.  He then delivered two hits each Saturday and Sunday.  The 29 year old, who hit 58 homers in parts of five previous seasons with the Marlins and Braves, will now get a chance to prove that he can upgrade the Phillies weak numbers in right field -- with the trade deadline quickly approaching. 

Brady House (below:) has already benefited from a trade.  After batting .301 in 50 games at AAA Rochester, he gets the first crack at 3rd base for the Nationals, after Curtis Meade was sent to the Red Sox for pitcher Connelly Early.  

Franklin Arias, the most impressive prospect I've seen so far in 2026, is now just one step from the majors. After a sparkling 3-1/2 months, hitting .318 with 19 homers -- including an opposite field blast off this swing last Thursday night at Binghamton -- plus making the MLB Futures Game and the Top 10 of The Athletic's ranking of minor leaguers, he's now in AAA Worcester completing his "matriculation."

My image of De La Cruz is from the Phillies/Yankees exhibition game on March 10th.
I snapped House in 2024 with AA Harrisburg against Binghamton.
And Arias was in Binghamton last Thursday night with AA Portland just before being promoted to Worcester.


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