Spencer Howard, Alec Bohm are among six prospects selected to represent Phillies in Arizona Fall League

Last week, after Spencer Howard’s latest impressive start for double-A Reading, manager Gabe Kapler said he has been dreaming of a time when the Phillies’ top pitching prospect is ready for the big leagues.

For now, at least, Howard is scheduled to spend the autumn in Arizona.

Howard is among a half dozen Phillies minor leaguers who will be assigned next month to the Scottsdale Scorpions of the Arizona Fall League, a finishing school of sorts for prospects, the team announced Wednesday. The league’s schedule has been moved up by nearly a month and will run from Sept. 17 through Oct. 26.

Third baseman Alec Bohm, the Phillies’ top prospect, is also slated to play in Arizona. So, too, are outfielder Mickey Moniak, shortstop Nick Maton, left-hander JoJo Romero, and right-hander Connor Seabold.

Howard, who was scheduled to start for Reading on Wednesday night, has a 2.52 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 25 innings through five double-A starts. He posted a 1.29 ERA and 48 strikeouts in 35 innings at high-A Clearwater but missed nearly two months with shoulder soreness.

The Phillies have had exploratory conversations, however preliminary, about whether to call up the 23-year-old right-hander for the final month of the season. It’s a move that appears unlikely given Howard’s absence of triple-A experience and his lack of familiarity with the different baseballs that are being used this season in triple-A and the big leagues.

“I think everyone is kind of dreaming of what he can be, whether that happens at some point late this season or it happens next year,” Kapler said last week. "I think it’s inevitable that Spencer Howard is going to be on a big-league mound, and I don’t think it will take very long.”

Bohm, the Phillies’ first-round pick in 2018, was batting .268 with 13 homers and an .843 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in 220 at-bats for Reading entering play Wednesday night. It seems likely that he will be ready for the majors at some point next season.

Moniak, the first overall pick in the 2015 draft, was batting .254 with 27 doubles, 13 triples, 10 homers, 15 stolen bases, and a .746 OPS in 445 at-bats for Reading.

Scott Kingery returned to the Phillies lineup after not leaving Monday night’s game and not starting Tuesday night because of lower abdominal soreness that is considered gastrointestinal, not muscular. “All of the tests came back negative,” Kapler said. “When I talked to Scott, he said once he’s out there and playing, he doesn’t have it. It’s not on his mind. It’s not bothering him.” ... Aaron Nola will start the series opener Friday night against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park followed by Jason Vargas and Zach Eflin on Saturday and Sunday night, respectively. The Phillies will miss Mets aces Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. Instead, they are scheduled to face Zack Wheeler, lefty Steven Matz, and Marcus Stroman in the three games.