Phillies believe Jorge Alfaro can develop in the majors

Jorge Alfaro likely would have spent the last five weeks in Allentown had the Phillies not needed him in August after Andrew Knapp suffered a broken  hand. Alfaro, one of the team's top prospects, was expected to fine-tune his catching in triple A in preparation of assuming a full-time role with the Phillies in 2018.

His development was instead taken to the majors, perhaps a bit earlier than scheduled. Alfaro is not a finished product but he has likely played his final minor-league game. And the Phillies will need him to develop on the job.

"Sometimes you have to finish guys here in the big leagues," said Dusty Wathan, who managed Alfaro the last two seasons in the minor leagues and joined the Phillies this week as a coach for the rest of the season. "And he's going to be one of those guys."

Alfaro cannot be optioned to the minors next season, making it almost a certainty that he is with the Phillies in Atlanta on opening day. He may not be polished, but there is promise. The 24-year-old has an electric arm. He seems to have a solid understanding of pitch sequences and game-calling. He can hit for power. Alfaro's trouble comes with the finer fundamentals like where to position himself on close plays at home, setting a steady target for pitchers, and transferring the ball from his glove to throwing hand when runners steal.

"You can develop here. Ideally, it's best to develop here," manager Pete Mackanin said. "He has issues both offensively and defensively but they're being addressed. He's shown some improvements. Little by little, he's shown improvement. If he continues to get his hits and improve on some of these little things that he doesn't do well catching wise, he can do that here. He's shown improvements in both areas. He obviously has potential to show a lot of power. I've seen that."

The Phillies will take an extended look at Alfaro over the final weeks of the season as he is expected to start a majority of the games. He will then play in the winter in his native Colombia before reporting to spring training. There is time for development. And that is what brought Alfaro onto the field hours before a game this week. Wathan, who caught for 14 seasons in the minors, and bullpen coach John McLaren, who oversees the team's catchers, ran him through drills. It was a chance to develop.

"This is stuff that normally would be covered in the minor leagues but this is where we are," Wathan said. "We have to finish him here. I think he has the ability to do it and the aptitude to do it. I don't think it will be that big of an issue going forward."

Extra bases

Henderson Alvarez, who was added Wednesday to the 40-man roster when Daniel Nava was placed on the 60-day disabled list, is tentatively scheduled to start Sunday against Oakland. …Rhys Hoskins entered Thursday with a 1.218 OPS in 143 plate appearances. Just seven players — Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Ted Williams, Mark McGwire, Roger Hornsby, Jimmie Foxx, and Lou Gehrig — have finished a season with at least 140 plate appearances and that high of an OPS.