Boston Red Sox prospect Phillip Sikes finding life with hitting-streak
Honestly, you’ll be forgiven if you aren’t really familiar with Phillip Sikes. The Boston Red Sox used an 18th-round pick on the outfielder out of TCU in the 2021 MLB amateur draft. Not exactly a round that many people pay attention to.
Sikes put up mammoth numbers in Rookie Ball last year. But unless you’re some prized prospect, no one is paying much attention to those stats either.
The right-handed hitter was slated to start the 2022 season in Low-A. Finally a stage where some fans might take notice.
Heading into May 18 though, Sikes was slashing .164/.300/.209. Back-to-back big games could have been the momentum he needed, getting Sikes up to .213. The outfielder quickly slipped back down to .200 heading into May 24. A 1-for-4 game that featured a triple might have sparked something, because the next day Sikes went berserk, going 3-for-4 with one double and two home runs.
Okay so now we were at the turnaround to his season, right? Sikes was up to a .226 average and added a couple extra-base hits. Clearly it was time to get things going. He went 0-for-his-next-10 and was back down to a .204/.314/.379 slash line heading into May 29.
If that wasn’t the momentum shifter, maybe it isn’t going to happen. Sikes needed to capitalize on that big game and he didn’t do it.
Well I guess we might as well look at what he’s done since May 29. We’re already here.
Oh, Sikes is riding a seven-game hitting-streak? Not just a seven-game hitting-streak, but one that’s seen him draw 10 walks. TEN.
In this seven-game-stretch, the 23-year-old is 8-for-16 with four doubles, two triples, and 10 walks. He’s seen a monster shift in his slash line too, as he now boasts a .244/.385/.462 trio.
In just seven games, Sikes has gotten his average up 40 points. His OBP has risen an absolutely ridiculous 71 points. And not to be outdone, his slugging percentage has shot up 83 points.
To go along with that slash line, Sikes has 11 doubles, three triples, and three home runs on the season. He’s also driven in 17 runs and scored 27 more, stealing nine bases in 10 attempts.
The Red Sox have a lot of talented prospects. Their outfield certainly holds a couple of big names. So if Phillip Sikes still isn’t on your radar, that’s honestly pretty understandable. Unless you’re a massive nerd like me, you probably only check in on the top prospects in Low-A (like Marcelo Mayer).
But it looks like the bat has found life during this hitting-streak. Everything is coming together at the plate right now, and it’s extremely entertaining to watch.