Friday, September 9, 2016
COZENS, HOSKINS, LIVELY NAMED 2016 PAUL OWENS AWARD WINNERS
The Phillies have selected outfielder Dylan Cozens, first baseman Rhys Hoskins and right-handed pitcher Ben Lively as the recipients of the 2016 Paul Owens Award as the organization’s top minor league players and pitcher, Joe Jordan, Director of Player Development, announced today.
Cozens, 22, batted .276 with 38 doubles, three triples, 40 home runs, 125 RBI, 61 walks, 21 stolen bases, 106 runs scored and a .591 slugging percentage for double-A Reading. He led all of Minor League Baseball in home runs, RBI, extra-base hits (83) and total bases (308). Cozens was also the only player in the minors with at least 22 home runs and 20 stolen bases. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native set a new Reading single-season home run record and is just the second Phillies minor leaguer since 1963 with 40 home runs in a season, joining Ryan Howard (46 in 2004). Cozens’ season accolades also include an Eastern League MVP Award, a MLB Futures Game selection, EL midseason and postseason All-Star selections, EL Player of the Month honors in May and two EL Player of the Week awards. Cozens was selected by the Phillies in the second round of the June 2012 draft out of Chaparral High School (AZ).
The 23-year-old Hoskins batted .281 with 26 doubles, 38 home runs, 116 RBI, 71 walks, eight stolen bases, 95 runs and a .566 slugging percentage. He had three multi-home run games and seven games with four or more RBI. Hoskins ranked second among all minor league players in home runs, third in RBI and total bases (282) and was tied for ninth in extra-base hits (65) and runs. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder was also named Eastern League Rookie of the Year, EL Player of the Month in June, an EL midseason and postseason All-Star and collected one EL Player of the Week award. Hoskins was selected by the Phillies in the fifth round of the June 2014 draft out of California State University.
Cozens and Hoskins are the first Phillies minor league teammates to hit at least 35 home runs in a season since 1971. They are the third set of players to win the Paul Owens Award in the same season in franchise history, the last being outfielder Jeff Key and shortstop Jimmy Rollins in 1997.
“The hardest thing to develop is power and the hardest thing to find is a run-producing bat. We feel like both of these guys are going to be that,” Jordan said. “It has been a fantastic experience to watch them, and the reward was seeing them develop as players. We couldn’t have drawn it up any better. I think both of them should be a bright part of our future.”
Lively, 24, went a combined 18-5 with a 2.69 ERA, 0.94 WHIP (42 BB, 118 H), 139 strikeouts and a .192 opponents’ batting average between Reading and triple-A Lehigh Valley. He is the first minor leaguer to win 18 games since Colorado’s Jhoulys Chacin in 2008. Lively led the International League in WHIP and opponents’ batting average and finished second in ERA. He allowed three earned runs or fewer in 24 of his 28 starts, earning three league Player of the Week awards. He started Game 1 of the Governor’s Cup semifinals for Lehigh Valley, allowing just two runs in 7.2 innings with eight strikeouts. Lively, who won Reds Minor League Player of the Year in 2014, was acquired from Cincinnati in exchange for Marlon Byrd on December 31, 2014.
“Ben opened himself up in spring training and said, ‘I’ve got to do what I can to get better,’ and he has taken a huge step forward,” Jordan said. “His delivery is sound and he is a big, strong guy that lives at the bottom of the strike zone. We saw this summer what he has a chance to be.”
The award, instituted in 1986, is named for the late Paul Owens, who spent 48 years in the Phillies organization as a scout, farm director, general manager, manager and senior advisor. The players will receive their awards on the field on September 20, prior to the Phillies’ 7:05 p.m. game against the Chicago White Sox.
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Press Releases provided courtesy of the Phillies, Media Relations. Thanks, guys!
