Thompson, Williams Shine In Reading Debuts

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There was a lot going on in Trenton last night as the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils defeated the Trenton Thunder, 7-1.

Phillies second baseman Chase Utley played second base for Reading as he continued his rehab assignment, working his way back from an injured ankle. Utley went 1 for 4 with a couple of runs scored and played a flawless second base while getting a ton of action, including three straight ground balls to start the bottom of the first. He will play for Reading again on Wednesday night, and if it all goes well, sounds like he could return to the Phils as early as Thursday.

Past Utley, last night's game was intriguing because two of the prospects the Phillies acquired in the Cole Hamels trade with Texas made their Reading debuts and both gave reasons for fans to be excited.

21-year-old right-hander Jake Thompson was outstanding on the mound, needing only 75 pitches to throw seven strong innings. He allowed just a run on six hits. He did not walk a batter, and had one strikeout, getting ground ball after ground ball.

"Usually I'm a pretty big ground ball guy," Thompson said after the game. "Tonight I got a little bit more because I usually strike out some guys, I got a bunch of ground balls instead. But I'll take it."

14 of the 21 outs Thompson recorded came courtesy of the ground ball, including three double plays.

21-year-old outfielder Nick Williams led off and played center field last night for Reading. The left-handed hitter started the game with a single and finished 2 for 5 and in the field he recorded an outfield assist.

"Felt great," Williams said afterwards. "It was different, fields, the league, new team, but it felt right. Coming in, meeting the team earlier, I thought it was going to be kind of weird, you know, but I liked it. I liked the feeling of something new."

Listen to Reading outfielder Nick Williams

Williams says getting traded to the Phillies did not really catch him by surprise.

"I'd been having a strong feeling about it," Williams says. "I was telling (Reading shortstop) J.P. (Crawford) at the Futures Game, I was like, 'Bro, we may be teammates in a few weeks, maybe a few days.'"

As far as nerves, Thompson says he kept them in check on the mound.

"This isn't the first time I've been traded," Thompson says. "My debut with the Rangers (after being traded by Detroit last July) I was really, really nervous and I went out there and didn't throw very well. So I tried to stay calm and stay within myself and I think I did a pretty good job of that."

You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.