As the minor league honors roll in, Felix Reyes has collected a biggie. The Double-A Eastern League has named the Phillies OF/IF their Most Valuable Player for 2025. In his first season at the Double-A level, Reyes opened a lot of eyes and led the EL in average (.335), slugging (.532), OPS (.937), doubles (34), extra-base hits (53), and total bases (210). Not only did he lead the EL in average, slugging, OPS, and doubles, but he led all of Double-A baseball in those categories. All of this from a guy who slashed .243/.280/.375 at High-A Jersey Shore in 2024.

Reyes’ turnaround started last winter when he played in Columbia and followed that up with a trip to the Dominican where he worked with the Phillies Dominican Republic Field Coordinator, Manny Amador. It’s amazing what a little tweak can do for a hitter. Amador was able to get Reyes to raise his hands slightly while in his stance, which gave him a quicker, straighter path to the ball. The result was more balls put in play and as Reyes got more comfortable, the power started to show. In 2025, Reyes hit 16 home runs for a new career-high, besting his 2023 mark of 10. His home run production had actually dropped to eight in 2024, which prompted some of the changes. This winter, Reyes is going to play in the Dominican and continue his work with Amador.

Felix Reyes next to Syracuse SS Jett Williams. (Photo courtesy Lehigh Valley IronPigs.)

The Phillies list Reyes at 6′ 4″, which is entirely believable. The 195 pounds that they attribute to him are not. As John Kruk would say, “he is a large man.” Consider that both Max Kepler and Taijuan Walker are listed as 6′ 4″ with Kepler being listed as 225 pounds and Walker at 235 pounds and it is easy to see that Reyes would be in a higher weight class if they were boxers.

Whatever Reyes’ weight, he has surprising quickness. He swiped 13 bases with Reading and was tossed out just twice. Of course, if a fielder sees Reyes coming toward him, he may just give up and move out of the way.

Reyes has played the corner positions in both the outfield and infield. Statistically and by Reyes’ own admission, he is not much of a third baseman and prefers to be in the outfield. His surprising quickness comes into play defensively. He has shown the ability to get to balls in the gaps that look like they will fall in when they ricochet off of the hitter’s bat. It doesn’t hurt that Reyes also has good natural instincts.

After more work with Amador and a season of work at Triple-A, it will be easier to make an assessment on whether the 2025 season was a fluke or a bright sign of things to come for the 24-year-old.