Carson Taylor and George Klassen earn organizational honors for month of April

Reading first baseman Carson Taylor and Clearwater right-handed pitcher George Klassen have been named Phillies Minor League Hitter and Pitcher of the Month, respectively, for April.

Taylor, 24, slashed .354/.426/.708 (1.134 OPS), going 17-for-48 with three doubles, one triple, four home runs, 18 RBI, five walks, two stolen bases and eight runs scored in 13 games for double-A Reading during the month. Among all Eastern League hitters with at least 50 plate appearances in April, the switch-hitter ranked second in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS, tied for second in RBI, tied for fifth in home runs and sixth in on-base percentage. On April 9 against Portland, the Atlanta native homered twice for the third time in his professional career and drove in a career-high-tying four runs. Originally a fourth-round pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2020 MLB Draft, he was selected by the Phillies from the Dodgers in the minor league phase of the 2023 Rule 5 Draft.

The 22-year-old Klassen, who was also named Florida State League Pitcher of the Month today, went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA (21.0 IP), 32 strikeouts, five walks and a 43.2 strikeout percentage (74 batters faced) in four starts during his first month in professional baseball. Among starting pitchers in the FSL (min. 15.0 IP), the West Bend, Wis., native ranked first in WHIP (0.57) and opponent batting average (.103), second in strikeouts, third in strikeouts per nine innings pitched (13.71) and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.40). His active four-game streak with at least seven strikeouts is the longest in the FSL this season. Klassen was selected by the Phillies in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Minnesota and was signed by Derrick Ross.