As the ‘Pigs have won only  6  out of 36 games through the first quarter of the season, dont expect this to be pretty.

1B–  Andy Tracy has been improving as of late, trying to undo a very difficult beginning.   He currently had a 11 game hitting streak that was just snapped, and many of those hits have been clutch. His power numbers are picking up, as he now has 6  homers and 19 RBI’s, to go along with a .237 average . He is hitting .346 with runners in scoring position, far better than most ‘Pigs.   Grade: C

2B– A big season was expected from minor league veteran Casey Smith when he was acquired during the off season and Lehigh Valley has got just next to nothing from him.   He is hitting .179 with 2 homers and 9 RBI’s, along with a .216 OBP.   Even more startling is his .111 average with RISP.  Grade D-.

SS– Oscar Robles was just acquired a week or two ago, and it is too early to grade him, although so far it isnt looking pretty(.160).  Grade: Incomplete.

SS/3B– Mike Rouse was just acquired yesterday and went 0-5 in his first game as a ‘Pig.  Grade Inc.

3B– Brennan King has been playing far below what he can do and I think he may be playing injured.  He has spent a good deal of the season below the Mendoza line, although he has come on a bit as of late. His average is now at .222, and he has hit only a lone homer and has 6 RBI’s. His OBP is .246 and slugging % is .299  AT one point, he went 15 consecutive games without an RBI. Additionally, hitting .160 with RISP.  Has been adequate in the field.  Grade D

1B/DH–  Mike Cervenek has been fairly steady after a slow start.  He is hitting .272 with 3 homers and 14 RBI’s, with a stolen base.  Hitting .189 with RISP, and his on base % is .316.  He is generally hitting #3 in the order and at that position, he must hit better with runners in scoring position. Grade C+.

OF– TJ Bohn has been on the roster for only 23 games because of his callup to Philly, but in those 23 games he has been poor.  He is hitting .188 with a homer and 3 RBI’s, 21 strikeouts in 69 at bats, and a .284 on base %..  On the bright side, has shown a very good arm in the field.  Grade D.

OF– Jon Knott was just acquired last week.  It is too early to tell, although he has given the ‘Pigs a good  spark as of late with his contributions.  He is hitting .407 in his 27 AB’s as a ‘Pig, including 2 homers, one being a walk off game winner. Grade B.

Of– Brandon Watson is hitting .288 with no homers, 4 RBI’s and 1 stolen base.  Hitting .080 with RISP.  Fielding has been ok, with a couple of critical errors. Needs to create more opportunities on bases.  Grade C+.

OF– Rich Thompson was recently acquired as a free agent.  Hitting .281 thus far, through 32 at bats, with a .368 on base %, and a .500 slugging percentage.  SO far, so good, but still very early. Grade B.

C– Jason Jaramillo has been just a shade above brutal offensively hitting only .191 with 3 homers and  8 RBI’s.  His on base % is .235 on is hitting .143 with RISP.  Defensively, he hasnt been much better, although improving a bit as of late.  He has now thrown out around 19% of runners attempting to steal, and has had several passed balls.  If he hasn’t been surpassed already, Lou Marson is certainly close is passing him as the #1 catching prospect in the organization.  Grade D.

C– Tim Gradoville has only appeared in two games and is 0-7 in those 2 games. Known for his defense, only one runner has tried to steal on him and that runner was successful.  Grade Inc.

Rotation:

1. JA Happ- is 0-4 with a 2.72 ERA.   He has pitched 46.1 innings,  walked 23, struck out 45, and given up 4 homers.  He has given up only 34 hits, his WHIP is 1.23 and the opposition is hitting .205 against him.  He started the year with difficulty but has picked up the pace tremendously over the last four starts. He has given up only 2 earned runs over his last 27 innings and deserves far better than his 0-4 record.  The Phillies should start taking notice of him.  Grade A-.

2. Brian Mazone has given the ‘Pigs just what was expected of him with a 4-3 record and a 2.96 ERA.  He has pitched 45.2 innings, walked 6 and struck out 25, while giving up 6 homers.  Opponents are hitting .234 against him and his WHIP is 0.98.  He has been extremely consistent and effective all year. Grade A-.

3.  Ron Chiavacci started out on fire and quickly came back to earth after his third start. He is 1-3 with a 4.54 ERA.   He has pitched 37.2 innings, walked 15 and struck out 32.  Opponents are hitting a lofty .279 against him and he has given up 4 homers.  His recent struggles with the flu have slowed him down.  His WHIP of 1.55 is high.  Grade C.

4.  Kevin Beirne  made his first start last week replacing the injured Travis Blackley and had a rough outing. His second start on Monday was no better. For the year Beirne is 0-3 with a 6.86 ERA.    He has pitched 21 innings, walked 9 and struck out 14, while giving up 4 homers, which is too many. Opponents are hitting .279 and his WHIP is 1.39.  Considering he was out of baseball last year, he is still adapting.  Grade D.

5.  Les Walrond has made 2 starts thus far and has been adequate 7.1 innings in those starts and giving up 2 runs on 4 hits.  He has walked 3 and struck out 7. Opponents are only hitting .154 thus far against him.  Still Very early to grade but ….B-.

DL– Travis Blackley was 0-3 with a 6.64 ERA before going on the DL with a groin problem last week.  He has pitched 20.1 innings, walked 14 and struck out 17.   Opponents are hitting only .211 against him but his WHIP is 1.50, as his control has been a major issue.  Blackley, a Rule 5 pickup has much more potential than his stats show.  Grade D.

RIght Handed Relievers– JD Durbin has been horrible.  Probably the ‘Pigs #3 starter entering the season, he has now been relegated to long relief. He is 0-5 with an 9.91 ERA. In 26.1 innings, he has walked 13 and struck out 21.  Oponents are hitting .345 against him with a WHIP of 2.01.  According to the grading system when I was in school, it is impossible to give below an F, so…Grade F.

Average is the best way to describe John Ennis thus far this year.  He is 0-2 with a 4.86 ERA.  Over 16.2 innings he has walked 8 and struck out an impressive 19.  The opposition is hitting .277 against h1m and his WHIP is 1.50.  He had begun pitching well ovcer his last several outings until he gave up a walk off homer last Wednesday.  Grade C-.

Another journeyman, Steve Green falls in the slightly below average category thus far.  He is 0-0 with a 5.30 ERA over 18.2 innings.  He has walked 10, struck out 22, and hitters are batting .283 on him.  His WHIP is 1.56.  Grade D+.

Set up man Gary Knotts has been ok thus far, going 0-0 with a 5.09 ERA in his 13 games pitched.  In his 17.2 innings, he has walked 9 and struck out 20.   Opponents are hitting .294 on him and his WHIP is  1.50.  He is capable of more.  Grade D+.

Left handed reliever Steve Kline, has been a disappointment.  He has clearly lost something as the years have gone by and doesnt appear to have major league stuff anymore.  Kline is 0-1 with an 6.55 ERA in his 10 appearances.  He was walked 6, struck out 10, and opponents are hitting .289 on him.  His WHIP is 1.60.  Having gone from someone that was being considered for the big club, to these statistics, he may be released shortly if he doesnt pick it up.   A telling statistic his that opponents average is .400 against him when runners are in scoring position. Grade D-.

Lefty RJ Swindle was just added to the mix this passed Tuesday.  In his first appearance, he gave up a bases clearing triple. His second apperance was better where he pitched a scoreless, hitless inning and struck out 2. He shows alot of potential but no grade yet, it’s too early..

Closer: Matt Childers has had hardly an opportunity to close, but when asked, has been adequate. He is 0-1 with a 3,52 ERA and 3 saves over 13 games, with one blown save.  He has gone 15.1 innings, walked 6 and struck out 14.  Opponents are hitting .297 against him and his WHIP is 1.63.  There is room for improvement and his last two outing have been rough.  Grade C+.

Transactions: Lehigh Valley acquired infielder Mike Rouse, 28 and he was in the lineup hitting 2nd last night against Columbus.  Rouse was once a fairly highly touted prospect in the A’s organization, hitting .300 through AA, but then slipped over the passed couple of seasons.  Rouse can play all infield positions and is generally a patient, contact hitter. Rouse is also considered to be a very good defensive player. Rouse was hitting .234 with 3 homers and 9 RBI’s with Charlotte(AAA) prior to his acquisition. A very refreshing statistic is that he was hitting .353 with runners in scoring position. He has spent parts of 3 seasons playing AAA, and has 24 major league at bats in the Indians organization.