Philadelphia Phillies add four pitchers to 40-man roster.
The Philadelphia Phillies added four pitching prospects to their 40-man roster on Monday, protecting them from being selected in next month's Rule 5 Draft.

Right-handers Franklyn Kilome, Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Taveras and left-hander Ranger Suarez were all protected. The club also claimed infielder Engelb Vielma from the Giants. To make these moves possible the club designated Mark Appel and Alberto Tirado for assignment and outrighted Elniery Garcia to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Appel, a former No. 1 draft pick, started 17 games at Triple-A finishing 5-4 with a 5.27 ERA. In five minor league seasons his ERA sits at 5.06. The Phillies acquired him from the Houston Astros in December of 2015 via the Ken Giles trade. The 26-year-old battled elbow and shoulder issues over the past two seasons.

Kilome, 22, combined to go 7-7 with a 2.83 ERA in 24 starts last season with Class A Advanced Clearwater and Double-A Reading. He's currently ranked as the Phillies No. 7 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com. Taveras, 24, went a combined 9-6 with a 2.22 ERA in 25 starts with Clearwater, Reading and Lehigh Valley. Dominguez, 22, went 4-4 with a 3.61 ERA in 15 appearances (13 starts) with Clearwater and Suarez, 22, went 8-6 with a 2.27 ERA in 22 starts with Class A Lakewood and Clearwater.

Suarez is No. 14 and Dominquez No. 28 according to MLBPipeline.com's organizational prospect rankings.

Vielma, 23, can play three infield positions and is an excellent defender, though he hit just .229 in 121 games with Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Rochester last season.
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BY PATRICK GORDON
Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com

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