PHILADELPHIA -- Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery are one step from the big leagues, but first they will play in the All-Star Futures Game on Sunday, July 9 at Marlins Park.
Major League Baseball announced its Futures Game rosters on Thursday, and it is no surprise that Hoskins and Kingery made the cut. They are arguably the organization's top two hitting prospects, and both have been putting up monster numbers this season.
Hoskins, 24, is hitting .304 with 19 doubles, four triples, 18 home runs, 62 RBIs and a 1.002 OPS in 79 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He is tied with teammate Dylan Cozens for the International League lead in home runs. He also is first in RBIs, slugging percentage (.601) and OPS. He is second in on-base percentage (.401). He has walked 44 times and struck out 47 times.

The Phillies selected Hoskins in the fifth round of the 2014 Draft. There is a good chance the first baseman already would be in the big leagues, except Tommy Joseph has put up solid numbers since his promotion in May 2016. In 625 plate appearances since joining the Phillies, Joseph has hit .254 with 33 home runs, 84 RBIs and a .784 OPS. He has hit .274 with an .845 OPS since May 1.
Kingery, 23, just got promoted from Double-A Reading to Lehigh Valley. He hit .313 with 18 doubles, five triples, 18 home runs, 44 RBIs, 19 stolen bases and a .987 OPS in Double-A. He is 4-for-13 with two home runs and five RBIs in three games with Lehigh Valley.
Kingery is the organization's No. 11 prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com's preseason rankings. Hoskins is No. 13. Neither is on the 40-man roster, so for either of them to be promoted before the end of the season the Phillies would need to make a roster move. It seems almost certain Hoskins will see some time before the end of the season. Kingery seems unlikely to be promoted until September at the earliest.
Kingery does not need to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft this winter, meaning they could keep him off the 40-man roster until next season. That would allow them to protect one more prospect from the Rule 5.
And while Joseph is blocking Hoskins and Cesar Hernandez is blocking Kingery, it would not be completely surprising to see either of them starting for the Phillies early next season.