Phillies Outfielder Raylin Heredia Vaults Into Top 30 Prospects

After Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford officially graduated from prospect to rookie status with his 130th big league at-bat, Double-A Reading outfielder Raylin Heredia stepped in to fill the open spot on the organization’s prospect leaderboard.

Heredia checks in at No. 30 on MLB Pipeline’s updated list. The six foot tall, 174-pound 22-year-old spends most of his time in the corner outfield spots, although he also earned playing time in center at the lower rungs of the Phillies’ organization. After a slow start at the plate this season — Heredia’s OPS sat at .664 through ten games — he burst onto the scene with a triple and a home run on April 16 against the Somerset Patriots.

That kicked off a stretch of eight extra base hits in seven games: through 38 games in his Double-A career, Heredia has 16 doubles, a triple and five home runs to his name. With just five walks across 150-odd plate appearances this season, in stark contrast with a strikeout rate north of 30 percent, the righty bat still needs to refine his approach at the plate. However, he’s walking more and striking out less since the calendar flipped to May, and with a walk rate between seven and ten percent over the last two seasons, his potential remains.

Given a full season to adjust to Double-A pitching — often regarded as a steeper challenge than Triple-A pitching because fringe big leaguers tend to stagnate there, as opposed to top prospects who move consistently through the system — Heredia could climb up the rankings in the months to come. An average defender, Heredia possesses an above-average arm: he has three outfield assists already this season, adding another tool to his capable all-around profile.