The Phillies made a somewhat surprising move over the weekend when they purchased the contract of outfielder/first baseman Felix Reyes from Lehigh Valley.

It’s not that Reyes isn’t a good player or wasn’t playing well, but the prevailing opinion was that he wasn’t quite ready to make his MLB debut.

He looked pretty ready on his first trip to the plate as a major league ballplayer. Reyes took a 2-0 pitch from former Cy Young winner Chris Sale and sent it 348 feet to the opposite field to become one of just seven Phillies who hit a home run in their first major league at-bat.

He is also just the second former IronPig to accomplish that feat. The first was in August of 2023 when Weston Wilson homered in his first at-bat with the Phillies. He was overshadowed by pitcher Michael Lorenzen throwing a no-hitter for the Phillies.

Reyes has a difficult job ahead of him. He will be platooning in left field with Brandon Marsh, which will limit his playing time. Otto Kemp, who was optioned back to Lehigh Valley, had that role and found that being able to produce while being limited in how often he gets the opportunity to play, was difficult. Kemp hit just .100 (2-for-20) this season with the Phillies.

It was thought that if the Phillies did make a roster move, Bryan De La Cruz, who has played nearly 500 games at the major league level, would get the call, but he was bypassed in favor of Reyes.

While Reyes was with Lehigh Valley, they featured two reigning MVPs on their roster. Reyes is the reigning MVP of the Double-A Eastern League from his time with Reading last season, and De La Cruz was the MVP of the Dominican Winter League.

SPEAKING OF FORMER PHILLIES ... Garrett Stubbs has continued to hit since being assigned to Lehigh Valley. The former backup catcher for the Phillies, Stubbs had to go through waivers before being sent to the IronPigs, and he went unclaimed.

In nine games with Lehigh Valley, Stubbs is hitting .324 (11-for-34) with three home runs, eight RBI and seven runs scored.

Stubbs is working on relearning third base and left field, positions he played in college. He has served as the Pigs catcher in five games, played left in two, and third base in two other games.

THE KID CAN PLAY ... Christian Cairo continues to play well for Lehigh Valley. He is hitting .307 (23-for-75) with a .453 on-base percentage thanks in part to drawing 18 walks in 21 games. The walk total puts him third in the International League. Cairo has walked almost as many times as he has struck out this season (19). He is currently third in the League in runs scored with 16.

Cairo has also been able to help at third, shortstop, and left field this season for Lehigh Valley.

OTHER LEADERS ... Liover Peguero is tied for second in the league in doubles with eight. Among pitchers, Alan Rangel is fourth in the league with a 1.66 ERA and fifth in innings pitched with 21.2 innings of work. Connor Gillespie is tied for sixth in opponents’ batting average (.167), and seventh in WHIP (0.98).

AN HONEST ANSWER ... De La Cruz is off to a good start with Lehigh Valley this season and leads the team with 16 RBI. Players aren’t always honest with the fans or the media when they’re asked a question. De La Cruz is not one of those guys. When asked how he likes playing for Lehigh Valley, he took a second to think about it before replying. “I don’t like it; it’s too cold!” He went on to explain that the fans are great, and he has been impressed with the turnout and their enthusiasm. He also likes the ballpark. But being from the Dominican Republic, De La Cruz is not accustomed to the weather. When things heat up this summer, it figures that he will be much happier.