Lehigh Valley has certainly played better during the second quarter of the season (even if there was only one place to go), and credit must be given to the front office, manager and players for recognizing several “problem areas”, and either let them go, or addressed them.  Several fundamentally sound players were brought in after the horrific start and that has led to some exciting days at Coca Cola Park.  The following grades are simply my opinion, of the performance thus far this year of players currently on the Lehigh Valley roster.

Catcher: Jason Jaramillo has come on very strong after a horrible first quarter of the season. The 25 year old prospect is now hitting .260 with 3 homers and 17 RBI’s, to go along with a .327 on base %. He is hitting .250 with RISP, and has hit close to .300 over May/June.  He has 7 errors (which is too many) and 2 passed balls to go along with a 27% caught stealing rate, which is vastly improved over the beginning of the year.  Grade C+

Backup Catcher John Suomi, 29, has given Lehigh Valley what they have asked, nothing more and nothing less. He is hitting .256 in 12 games behind the plate with a homer and 5 RBI’s. He has only thrown out 2 of 15 potential base stealers, which must improve.  Grade C.

Infield: After a very slow start, 34 year old Andy Tracy has begun to provide Lehigh Valley just what they acquired him for, professional hitting.  He is now hitting .280 with 10 HR and 42 RBI’s, to go along with a .379 OBP.  He has reached base safely in 42 of his last 50 games, and even has managed to steal 4 bases, a lofty total for the big man. He is hitting .356 with RISP, including 32 RBI’s.  Although he is lacking in range, his glove has been sound, having not made an error all season.  Grade : A-

Oscar Robles, 32, is a member of the Phils 40 man roster, and has played in 34 games since his acquisition this year. He is hitting .243 with 1 HR and 14 RBI’s, and hitting .250 with RISP.  He has played primarily at second since his acquisition, however has picked up an odd game at SS, and has made 4 errors thus far.  While he is a seasoned veteran, there is room for improvement.  Grade C-.

Mike Rouse, 28, has been the primary SS over the last 35 or so games.  He is hitting .239 with a homer and 15 RBI’s, however hitting only .212 with RISP.  He has committed 11 errors since his acquisition, which is too many.  Grade C-.

3B Brennan King, 27, has picked up the pace over the last several weeks and is now hitting .252 with 3 HR and 25 RBI’s.  His OBP is only .282, which must improve., and he is hitting .286 with RISP.  His fielding has been extremely solid as he has made only 5 errors all year and is at .975 fielding %. Grade C+.

Backup 2B Casey Smith continues to have a very rough year, and is still hitting only .182.  The 29 year old, after years as a solid hitter has not been able to find his stroke in Allentown, and as such, has found himself on the bench.  He has 2 HR and 12 RBI’s to go along with a .224 OBP.  He is hitting only .163 with RISP. The bright side is his fielding, which has been very good with only 2 errors all year and a fielding % of .990.  Grade D-.

Outfield: 28 year old TJ Bohn, has been called up twice to the Phils during the first half of the season but is still managing only a .175 average in AAA, to go along with 2 HR and 5 RBI’s in 120 AB’s.  He has 3 SB’s.  His average is woeful with RISP at .150.  His defense and his arm continue to be above average which was the reason for his recall.  Grade D-(probably a bit generous).

Jon Knott, 29, is hitting .275 since his acquisition from Rochester and has has many key hits, including several walk off hits. He has 3 HR and 20 RBI’s in his 40 games with the ‘Pigs and has an OBP of .363.  A clutch hitter, he is hitting .357 with RISP, and has played a strong right field for Lehigh Valley. Grade: B+

Brandon Watson, 26, continues his solid hitting with his average at .288. He has played fairly regularly and in his 57 games has 0 HR and 11 RBI, out of the lead off position to go along with 4 steals and a .324 OBP.  For a player hitting so close to .300 and leading off, he needs to be drawing more walks.  He is hitting .213 with RISP and plays a good outfield, even with a weak arm.  He remains very difficult to strikeout.  Grade B-.

Rich Thompson, 29, was acquired primarily to change some of the attitude around the ‘Pigs and he has done that.  Known for his grit, he has hit .280 in the 40 games since his acquisition with 2 HR and 20 RBI’s, hitting primarily 2nd in the order. He has shown speed, leading the team with 11 SB’s and has a decent eye, as his OBP is .368. He is also hitting .258 with RISP. He has made 2 errors in the field, however, the errors are quickly made up by the ground he covers and the walls he is willing to run into.  Grade B

Mike Cervenak has been primarily the DH for Lehigh Valley, but also seen time at 1B, 3B, and the OF, in order to keep his bat in the lineup.  He is hitting .314 which includes a recent 19 game hitting streak.  He has 6 HR and 37 RBI’s, a .344 OBP and a .456 Slugging %. . He is very difficult to strikeout as well. When asked to play the field, he has done a decent job both in the OF as well as the corner IF spots.   Grade A-.

Chris Snelling spent some time in Philadelphia and was hurt for about 6 weeks, so he has soent little time in the Valley.   The 26 year old is hitting .267 with an RBI in his 40 at bats for Lehigh Valley.  Grade Inc.

Starting Pitching:#1 Brian Mazone (LHP)–  Mazone, 32, has been fantastic this year, giving the ‘Pigs a quality start in just about every appearance.  He is 7-4 with a 2.93 ERA in his 14 starts. He has walked 14 and struck out 50, with a WHIP of 1.04.  The opposition is hitting .246 against him, and only .226 with RISP.   Ten of his 14 starts have been quality starts.  Grade A.

#2 JA Happ (LHP)–  Happ, 25, is 4-5 with a 3.95 ERA in his 14 starts thus far.  He is leading the league in strikeouts with 87 and has a WHIP of 1.34.  His control sometimes gets him in trouble, but other times he can be dominating. He has received little run support when he pitches, contributing to the 4-5 record.  After a very difficult first 4 starts of the year, has settled in nicely.  Grade B-.

#3 Les Walrond (LHP)- Walrond, 31, is 1-6 with a 3.42 ERA in his 9 starts since his acquisition out of the Cubs organization. He has given up 17 walks and struck out 39 in the 47.1 innings he has pitched.  Opponents are hitting .257 against him and his WHIP is 1.33. He too, has suffered from little run support in the games he has started. You can’t ask for much more than 3 ER or less in every game he has started.   Grade B-.

#4 Travis Blackley (LHP)– Blackley, 25, is 2-3 with a 5.07 ERA in his 11 starts this year.  He has walked 26 and struck out 40 in his 49.2 innings and his control problems have led to difficulty.  His WHIP is 1.55 and opponents are hitting .260 against him. Blackley missed about 3 weeks of the season with a groin pull that landed him on the DL.  A striking statistic is his first inning ERA of 6.22, which needs alot of improvement.  Grade D+.

# 5 Gary Knotts (RHP) — Knotts, 31, has done everything Lehigh Valley has asked of him this year, starting the year as a reliever and now as a starter after the departure of Ron Chiavacci.  Knotts 2-2 with a 3.83 ERA on the year.  He has started only 5 games, but appears capable of giving Lehigh Valley Moyeresque workmanlike outings each time out.  He has walked 20 and struck out 53 in his 49.1 innings and has a WHIP of 1.42. Opponents are hitting .273 against him. Grade B-

Relief Pitching:  Jason Anderson, 29, has appeared in 9 games for Lehigh Valley this year, mostly in mop up duty.  He is 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA and his role appears to be that of “inning eater”.  Grade C+.

John Ennis, 28, has had a up and down year, howver has been down most recently.  He has appeared in 25 games, going 2-3 with a 4.88 ERA.  In 31.1 innings he has walked 13 and struck out 32.  Opponents are hitting .304 against him and his WHIP is 1.63.  Ennis is a reliever who had been counted on by the ‘Pigs and has come up small.  Grade: D.

Steve Green, 30, has been outstanding this year.  He has been asked to play a difficult role, mostly of relieving various starters who have been coming out of the game as a result of pitch counts and he has been excellent, keeping Lehigh Valley in almost every game he has pitched.  He is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in the 20 games he has pitched.  In 43.1 innings he has walked 16 and struck out 47.  His WHIP is 1.11 and opponents are hitting only .203 against him.  Grade A.

Stephen Randolph, 34, has pitched well for Lehigh Valley, but the issue that continues to hold him back is his questionable control.  Randolph is 1-0 with a 2.12 ERA and one save in his 12 appearances.  He has walked 13 and struck out 26 in 17 innings and has a WHIP of 1.35.   Opponents are hitting a mere .169 vs. him.  Grade A-.

RJ Swindle,24, is  1-0 with a 2.29 ERA in his 14 appearances.  He has walked 5 and struck out 23 in his 18.2 innings of work.  His WHIP is 1.12 and opponents are hitting just .233 against him.   One issue is that he has retired the first batter he has faced only 7 of 14 occasions.  Still, even with a rocky recent outing, the stats dont lie.  Grade A-.

Matt Childers, 29, has been the ‘Pigs closer all year and has been largely effective, with a rocky outing thrown in here and there.  He is 3-2 with a 3.18 ERA in his 27 games, with 9 saves.  He has walked 12 and struck out 35 in 34 innings, producing a WHIP of 1.38.  Opponents are hitting .261 against him.  He has converted 9/12 save opportunities.  Grade B.