Phillies prospect Cole Irvin back on track after Tommy John surgery

TRENTON — Cole Irvin left Los Angeles' Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in February 2014 with his left elbow repaired. The pitcher needed Tommy John surgery after his freshman season at Oregon. Irvin's college career had barely begun, and already he was sidelined.

Now a Phillies prospect at Reading, Irvin rehabbed and returned almost exactly a year after surgery. His first start back was last Friday night in Hawaii. Tough gig. Irvin's career was on track, and he had the perspective he needed to continue.

"It really helped me get to where I am today," said Irvin, who is the first member of last year's Phillies draft class to reach double A. "It helped me understand the adversity and other things that I might not have understood if I was in pro ball. I was able to live my life in college, get school done, get that out of the way and also just grow. Build muscle, build strength, and now 2 1/2, three years off surgery, I'm starting to see where I was at before. I'm feeling better and finally like myself."

The Phillies drafted Irvin in the fifth round last June. The 23-year-old lefthander had a 2.55 ERA in 67 innings at high-A Clearwater before pushing his way to Reading last month. He throws a low-90s fastball, a slider, curveball, and change-up. He has allowed five runs in his first 13 innings at double A and will make his third start Saturday. He could spend the rest of the season with Reading and then begin the next season at triple A, just a step from the majors.

"I haven't had time to think about it. It's been that fast," Irvin said about his rise through the system. "I try more or less to just think about day-to-day things. Now that I have a healthy arm, I can think about day-to-day things as opposed to month-to-month outlooks when I was rehabbing. I don't know how long it's going to take for my arm to say, 'Hey, I can't do this anymore.' Now, I'm playing like my life depends on it because I want to pitch 20 years in the big leagues. That's the end goal."

Carlos Tocci had back-to-back three-hit games this week as he continues to thrive at double-A Reading.

The 21-year-old centerfielder is batting .315 this season, with a .381 on-base percentage in 286 at-bats. He will need to be added to the Phillies' 40-man roster this winter. The native of Maracay, Venezuela is 6-foot-2 and weighs 160 pounds. He was signed as a free agent in 2011.

"It's been very impressive," said Joe Jordan, the team's director of player development. "Tocci is a good player. He's been a good player since the day he walked in here as far as his mature approach to everything. He's slowly added strength.  He can impact the game in different ways on both sides of the ball every night. We're very impressed."

Alberto Tirado, whom the Phillies acquired from Toronto in 2015 as part of the Ben Revere trade, was promoted to Reading this week and moved to the bullpen. The righthander throws a high-90s fastball and previously worked in relief before the Phillies pushed him last season back into the starting rotation. … The Phillies' monthly minor-league awards for June went to Reading third baseman Mitch Walding (hitter) and Clearwater lefthander JoJo Romero (pitcher), and Tocci was named the top defensive player.