The outcome for the Best First Baseman Poll was predictable.  Rhys Hoskins was the runaway winner.  I know that there were some who didn’t think that he should be included in the poll.  But, if Hoskins can be awarded the International League’s Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player then I wasn’t going to arbitrarily exclude him.  This was an instance where voters could have overridden my decision, and didn’t.

(Don’t forget to submit your top prospect list by e-mailing it to prospectpoll@yahoo.com.  To date, I have received about thirty.  Please don’t be one of those guys who criticizes the outcome if you don’t participate.)

I think the interesting observation from the poll is who is deemed to be the next first base prospect behind the 24-year old Hoskins.

The twenty-two year old Darick Hall was voted the South Atlantic League’s Most Valuable Player after a season where he broke the BlueClaws’ club record for HR and RBI with 27 and 96 respectively before spending the final week of the season in Clearwater.  His feats were even more impressive when you consider that Hall missed 3 weeks in April with a sprained ankle.

Twenty year old Greg Pickett was selected as the starting first baseman for the New York – Penn League’s South Division.  The 2015, eighth round draft pick had his first injury-free season and slashed .271/.343/.403/.745.  His 6 HR and 25 RBI, third highest on the Crosscutters.  He finished second on the team with 25 walks and had a team high 60 base hits.

Twenty-six year old Damek Tomscha continued to hit.  He slashed .303/.397/.458/.854 in half a season with Clearwater, and continued to perform with a .314/.374/.421/.795 in Reading.  In 374 combined at bats, Tomscha hit 11 HR, had 52 RBI, walked 38 times and struck out 57 times.  Tomscha repeated Lakewood in 2016 after a very strong 2015 campaign.  At the time, he was probably blocked by Kyle Martin.

Quincy Nieporte was drafted in 2017 out of FSU.  He is a big player at 6’1, 225 and was probably too old for the GCL.  But, a player can only perform where he is assigned, and the 23-year old Nieporte provided power in the Phillies line up.  He slashed .299/.355/.494/.848 with 5 HR and 35 RBI, team highs.  He walked 12 times and struck out 17 times in 154 AB.

With the 24-year old Hoskins more than likely taking over first base for the Phillies next season, these four prospects will likely find themselves blocked for a few years.