Phuture Phillies

I heard there were riots in the streets of Allentown last night after the first win of the season. I should probably not mention anything else in this post, for fear of detracting attention away from win #1 in franchise history. But because the Iron Pigs stink like, well, pigs, we’ll turn our attention to something a tad more important. Is something wrong with Andrew Carpenter? Something might be, and it might be something I’ve discussed at length in other places; the Rule of 30.

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Much like the big-league club, this year’s Reading Phillies are off to a so-so start. At 4-4, they’re in the middle of the pack in the Eastern League Southern Division. They started off hot, taking three of four from the Altoona Curve to open the season, but have cooled down and lost their last three straight games.

By now, I’m sure most of you have heard about OF Greg Golson hitting the tar out of the ball. After 8 games, Golson’s batting a tidy .323 with three doubles, a triple, and seven steals, all while tying for the team lead in runs scored with five. It looks as if his winter spent with Charlie Manuel has helped Golson up his game. However, before we sing his praises and worship him as the savior of the Phils minor-league chain, it’s important to note that his OBP is only .344, while his K-BB ratio is 8-1 on the young season. Golson’s going to have to get on base more often before he can really display one of his most impressive tools — his speed. His season is certainly one to keep an eye on as he looks to possibly earn a call-up during September.

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As you know by now, Andrew Carpenter turned in a gem of a performance yesterday, and everyone is raving. Scott Lauber with the recap

In their final Grapefruit League game at Bright House Field, the Phillies brought Carpenter over from the minor-league complex to relieve Brett Myers. He tossed four scoreless innings against the Yankees in an outing that featured several highlights. Take your pick:

- Sixth inning: He walked Bobby Abreu with one out, then got Alex Rodriguez to ground into a double play.

- Seventh inning: He struck out the side, including Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada.

- Ninth inning: After loading the bases with no outs, he struck out Nick Green, got Jose Molina to foul out to the catcher and caught Chris Woodward looking at strike three.

The last time a young Phillies pitcher looked so good against the Yankees in spring training, Cole Hamels was striking out Tony Clark, Derek Jeter and A-Rod in 2004. That wasn’t enough to get Hamels, then a Class A pitcher, a spot on the roster, and Carpenter’s performance today won’t win him a job, either. But Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee were effusive in their postgame praise of Carpenter, and if he gets off to a good start at Class AA Reading, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get called up to Philly.

Here’s the thing. Just like folks were getting excited over Carrasco’s great outings earlier, this has to be taken in context with Carpenter’s pro career and his scouting report. I ranked him #9 on my Top 30, and I think that still fits. He doesn’t have the raw stuff of Outman, Savery or Carrasco, but he does have the best control out of the group. He’s likely to be the first one of the group called up because he has the most polish, but he might still be behind JA Happ on the depth chart.

These performances are great to see in spring training, but they are just that, spring training performances. Carpenter wasn’t pitching for a roster spot, there was no pressure on him, and he pitched well. If he carries that over with him to Reading and pitches in the same fashion, he’ll be just fine.

First and foremost… I’ve always called you Andrew, but I keep seeing you referred to as “Drew” Carpenter around the net.  Which is it…Drew or Andrew?

Andrew

I know from talking with you earlier that you said you’ve been in Clearwater working out since January to try to be in better shape this year than you were last year. What sort of goals have you set for yourself in 2008?  

I think everyone’s goal each year is to get to Philly because I know mine is. Other than that they are to win another championship, to keep my team in every ball game to give them a chance to win, to keep progressing on my changeup and making that better, and now in AA maybe get a couple of hits this year.
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Yesterday’s game was shortened to 6 innings, much to the delight of Adam Eaton and Chad Durbin who both got smacked around. No real prospect action to report. This article, albeit from Phillies.com, talks about JA Happ, his rough 2007, and his desire to bounce back this year. I’m still kind of worried about him healthwise, as nothing concrete ever came about with his elbow, but I’m hoping he can put it together this year, as we’ll likely need him at some point. Scott Lauber also has a feature on Drew Carpenter, and how he could possibly be this year’s Kyle Kendrick. I disagree with that notion, only because Carpenter is much more on the radar (at least to people who follow the minors) than Kendrick was at this time last season.

So says Kevin Goldstein at Baseball Prospectus..

Philadelphia Phillies

A third-round pick last June, infielder Jason Donald surprised even those within the organization with his line-drive bat, gap power, and keen batting eye; hitting .304/.395/.473 between Low-A Lakewood and High-A Clearwater.

Honorable Mention: Right-hander Drew Carpenter mixes three average pitches, throws strikes, and keeps hitters on their toes by changing speeds–all of which helped him put up a 3.20 ERA at Clearwater while winning 17 games. Defensive-minded catcher Lou Marson made big improvements with the bat, hitting .288/.373/.407 in the Florida State League.

There ya have it. Link

The Clearwater Threshers clinched their first playoff berth since 1999 on Saturday night by sweeping a double header against the Lakeland Flying Tigers.  Andrew Carpenter threw six innings of one-hit baseball in the first game with his only hit allowed being a home run as the Threshers won the first game 11-1.  In the second game of the night Anthony Bastardo got his first start for the Threshers after being promoted from Lakewood.  Bastardo gave up four runs on five hits with 12 ks and three walks in the game.

Word came down in the top of the fifth inning of the second game that both Dunedin and Tampa had lost their games, so a Threshers win would clinch their playoff berth.  At that point the score was tied 4-4 so the game became crucial for the Threshers.  The team went on to score two runs in the bottom of the sixth to go up 6-4, but Lakeland made it interesting in the final frame picking up a run and getting two base runners before the Threshers could seal a victory with the 6-5 margin. Read the rest of this entry »

How about that? Carpenter threw a 7 inning perfect game tonight, as Clearwater defeated Fort Myers 2-0. Of his 21 outs, 7 came via strike out, 4 on the ground and 10 in the air. I guess he read the blog earlier today and wanted to make a statement. Mr Happ, I’m not sure how you can top a 7 inning perfect game, but the ball is in your court.

Though it wasn’t his prettiest game of the year the bullpen picked him up and helped get Andrew Carpenter his record tying 15th win of the year. Andrew joins Ezequiel Astacio of the 2003 Clearwater Phillies as the only Clearwater pitcher to have ever earned 15 wins in a season. Andrew currently has a record of 15-6 and is 8-2 since the all-star break with an ERA of 2.22 over that stretch.

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Andrew Carpenter kept his solid pitching going for the Threshers on Wednesday night by picking up a complete game win for his 14th victory of the year.   The all-time Clearwater record for wins in a season is 15, and with at least three if not four more starts on tap before the season is over Andy has an excellent shot at eclipsing that mark.

Andrew was a member of the Western Division All-Star team, and since the all-star break he owns a record of 7-2 with a 1.95 ERA allowing opponents to hit just .228 against him.

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