Tommy Joseph

Tommy Joseph

Tommy Joseph at the AA All-Star Classic in Reading PA. July 11, 2012
Philadelphia Phillies – No. 19
First baseman
Born: (1991-07-16) July 16, 1991
Phoenix, Arizona
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
May 13, 2016, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
(through 2016 season)
Batting average .257
Home runs 21
Runs batted in 47
Teams

Thomas Richard Joseph (born July 16, 1991) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Career

Joseph attended Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he played for the school's baseball team. A first baseman in his first three years of high school, Joseph became a catcher in his senior year.[1] In 2009, he was named the Arizona high school player of the year.[2]

The Giants selected Joseph in the second round, with the 55th overall selection, of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft as a catcher and first baseman.[1] In 2010, Joseph was named a South Atlantic League all-star for his performance with the Augusta GreenJackets.[3] He suffered a concussion during the 2010 season.[4] The Giants invited Joseph to spring training in 2011.[3] Joseph played for the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Class AA Eastern League in 2012, and appeared in the All-Star Futures Game that year.[5]

During the 2012 season, the Giants traded Joseph with Nate Schierholtz and Seth Rosin to the Philadelphia Phillies for Hunter Pence.[6] The Phillies assigned Joseph to the Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League. After the 2012 season, he was assigned to the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League (AFL),[7] and participated in the AFL Rising Stars Game.[8]

Joseph played in 36 games in the 2013 season due to a concussion.[9] The Phillies added him to their 40-man roster on November 20, 2013, to protect him from being exposed to the Rule 5 draft.[10] Joseph suffered a wrist injury in 2014 which limited him to 27 games played, and required season ending surgery.[9] Joseph began the 2015 season with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs of the Class AAA International League, where he suffered his third concussion in May 2015. Due to the concussions, the Phillies converted him into a first baseman.[4]

After posting a .347 average and a .611 slugging percentage in the first 27 games of the 2016 season, the Phillies promoted Joseph from Lehigh Valley to the major leagues on May 13, 2016.[11] He hit his first major league home run on May 17.[12] On June 1, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin announced his plans to give Joseph extended playing time at first base and keep the slumping veteran Ryan Howard on the bench.[13] Joseph officially supplanted Howard as the everyday first baseman on June 10, and he punctualized the move by hitting his sixth and seventh home runs of the season that day, with Mackanin calling Joseph "the real deal".[14]

References

  1. 1 2 Garcia, Jose (June 9, 2009). "Giants nab Joseph; Blue Jays pick Barrett". Arizona Republic. azcentral.com. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ Obert, Richard (June 12, 2009). "Giants' pick Joseph named Player of Year". Arizona Republic. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Haft, Chris (February 23, 2011). "Home opener not a concern for rotation". MLB.com: News. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  4. 1 2 Breen, Matt (June 28, 2015). "Tommy Joseph moving to first base after concussions". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  5. ↑ Haft, Chris (July 8, 2012). "Giants catching prospect Tommy Joseph has solid day in All-Star Futures Game". SFGiants.com: News. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  6. ↑ Crasnick, Jerry. "San Francisco Giants acquire Hunter Pence from Philadelphia Phillies, source confirms". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  7. ↑ Emerick, Tyler (October 17, 2012). "Joseph displays potential behind plate in Arizona Fall League". phillies.com: News. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  8. ↑ Mayo, Jonathan (November 2, 2012). "AFL Rising Stars Game is Major for prospects". MLB.com. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  9. 1 2 "Tommy Joseph to have season-ending surgery". Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia. August 3, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  10. ↑ Zolecki, Todd (November 20, 2013). "Phillies add four prospects to 40-man roster". MLB.com. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  11. ↑ Gelb, Matt (May 13, 2016). "Phillies promote Tommy Joseph from triple A". Philly.com. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  12. ↑ Gelb, Matt (May 19, 2016). "Joseph hits first homer as Phillies beat Marlins". Philly.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  13. ↑ Stark, Jayson (June 2, 2016). "Phillies to start Tommy Joseph in place of Ryan Howard for 3-4 days". ESPN. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  14. ↑ Putterman, Alex (June 10, 2016). "Joseph supplants Howard at first base". MLB.com.
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