Sports - Philadelphia Phillies - Lehigh Valley shortstop J.P. Crawford, Williamsport outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz, Williamsport left-hander Kyle Young and Lakewood shortstop Arquímedes Gamboa have been selected as the Phillies Minor League Co-Hitters, Pitcher and Defender of the Month, respectively, for July.
Crawford, 22, batted .281 (27-96) with four doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 18 RBI, 16 walks, 21 runs scored, a .389 on-base percentage and a 1.025 OPS in 27 games. His 15 extra-base hits and 16 walks were both tied for second-most in the International League in July. Crawford recorded seven multi-hit games, including his first multi-home run game of the season on July 4. His eight home runs were the most he has ever hit in a month, and he has now tied a career high with 11 this season. Selected by the Phillies in the first round of the June 2013 draft, Crawford leads all triple-A players with 60 walks in 2017.
Ortiz, 18, batted .342 (27-79) with eight doubles, a triple, five home runs, 19 RBI, nine walks, a .436 on-base percentage and a 1.094 OPS in 23 games. He recorded 11 multi-hit games, finishing third among New York-Penn League players in batting average during the month. Ortiz leads the league this season in slugging percentage (.565), is tied for first in home runs (7) and extra-base hits (17), second in RBI (25) and fourth in both on-base percentage (.407) and total bases (65). He was signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent on July 9, 2015.
Young, 19, made five starts in July, going 4-0 with a 0.72 ERA (2 ER, 25.0 IP). He surrendered just 15 hits and six walks (0.84 WHIP) while striking out 29 batters and holding opponents to a .172 batting average. Four of his five starts were scoreless, and he began the month with a 15.0-inning scoreless streak over three starts. Young's ERA was the lowest in the New York-Penn League by more than a full run, and his 1.60 ERA for the season (7 ER, 39.1 IP) ranks second. The 6-foot-10 southpaw is also tied for fourth in the league in strikeouts with 47. Young was selected by the Phillies in the 22nd round of the June 2016 draft.
The 19-year-old Gamboa played in 23 games at shortstop for Lakewood in July, and committed only one error. He had a 20-game errorless streak from June 29 to July 24, the longest such streak of his professional career. Gamboa, a Venezuela native in his third professional season, was signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent on July 17, 2014.
