Hello, everyone. This is my first report on the Reading Phillies. Hopefully, many more will follow. I am far from experienced when it comes to writing posts, so, if anyone has any suggestions I would be thrilled to hear them. I hope you enjoy the weekly reports on the Reading Phillies, which will usually be posted on Thursday of every week. Lets get to it…

The Reading Phillies won 3 and lost 5 on the week, dropping their record to an Eastern League Southern Division worst, 29-46. Luckily, the minor leagues are about the prospects and not the standings. Several big name prospects, most notably pitchers, had good weeks. Here are the game by game recaps.

Game Recaps

6/18 – Reading Phillies at Altoona Curve

The Phillies started off the week nicely, beating the Curve by a score of 6-4 in the first game of a double-header. JD Durbin did not have hist best outing, allowing 4 earned runs on 6 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings of work. Durbin was helped by Bisenius (WP), who came in and shut the door, allowing only 1 hit in 2 innings of work. Walls picked up his second AA save pitching a scoreless frame. At the end of the day, it was the offense that overcame the early deficit and got the Phillies the victory. The offense was lead by Donald and Slayden who both had 3 hits and 3 RBI’s. Two of Donald’s three hits were doubles.

6/18 – Reading Phillies at Altoona Curve

The Phils took it to the Curve once again in the second game, a 7 inning affair, with dominating pitching. The final score was a 4-1 victory. Minix, Pope, and Overholt (WP) combined to throw 7 innings of 3 hit ball, allowing only 1 unearned run between them. Overholt pitched particularly well, pitching the final three innings while allowing only 1 hit with 2 k’s. Spidale led an offense that did just enough to win, going 3-4 with 2 RBI’s.

6/19 – Reading Phillies at Altoona Curve

The Phillies rode the momentum from a double header sweep, beating the Curve by a score of 4-3. Tyson Brummett (WP), in his first AA start, pitched 8.2 innings, allowing 6 hits, 3 earned runs, and 2 walks while striking out 5 to get his first AA win. Brummett has already jumped two levels this season, as he started the year in Lakewood. Sam Walls came in from the bullpen in the ninth, allowing all three inherited runners to score, however, he did get the final out to record his 13^th save on the season, 3 of which have come at Reading. Slayden hit his 8^th home run of the year in the fifth inning. Slayden, Sellers, and Spidale all collected one RBI each, to help propel the Phils to a 4-3 win.

6/20 – Reading Phillies vs. Akron Aeros

The Phillies got beat thoroughly by the Aeros, losing 7-3. Phillies starting pitcher Kip Bouknight (LP) continued his consistently bad season, going 6.2 innings and allowing 10 hits, 2 walks, and 2 home runs which totaled to 5 earned runs. Outman faired no better, allowing 2 earned runs on 3 hits and 4 walks in 2.1 innings. As usual, Outman struck out his fair share, earning 2 k’s in 2.1 innings of work. Outman raised his season era as a reliever to 4.24. Every regular got at least one hit on the night. The standout hitter was again Sellers, who put together quality back-to-back games going 2-4 with 1 home run and 2 RBI’s.

6/21 – Reading Phillies vs. Akron Aeros

The Phillies again lost to the Aeros, with pitching again being the problem. The final score was a 9-7 loss for the Phils in a shortened 7 inning game. Starting pitcher Fabio Castro only lasted 3.2 innings, giving up 6 earned runs on 7 hits and 1 walk, while also striking out 1 batter. Bisenius (LP) followed Castro with a poor outing of his own, allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits in 2.1 innings. At the very least, the offense showed up to play. Left fielder Spidale paced the offense, going 2-2 with a triple, home run, and 5 RBI’s. Third baseman Sellers had his third consecutive good game, going 2-4 with 1 RBI. It was a bad game for the big time prospects as Donald, Harman, and Marson went a combined 0-9 with 4 k’s.

6/21 – Reading Phillies vs. Akron Aeros

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worst, the Phillies got pounded by the Aeros in the second game of a double header. The Phillies lost 11-4 behind a lousy effort by the 30 year old Travis Minix (LP). Minix only lasted 3 innings, allowing 7 earned runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. The offense was also flat, only getting 4 hits on the night. Donald had the only game of note, going 2-3 with a home run and 3 RBI’s. It was Donald’s 7^th HR of the year.

6/22 – Reading Phillies vs. Akron Aeros

The Phillies salvaged one game against the Aeros behind a nice effort by Carrasco (WP). Carrasco lasted 6 innings, giving up 1 earned run on 6 hits and 3 walks, while also striking out 4 to lower his season era to 3.64. Walls pitched a rocky, yet scoreless, 7^th inning, before giving way to Patrick Overholt. Overholt allowed 1 earned run in 2 innings of work while striking out 3. Donald once again lead the offense, going 2-4 with a home run. Harman and Spidale also added home runs, to lead the Phils to a 6-2 victory.

6/23 – Reading Phillies vs. Harrisburg Senators

The Phils got back to their losing ways, getting beat by a score of 9-5. JD “Real Deal” Durbin (LP) got banged around to the tune of 4 earned runs in 5 innings of work. He allowed 6 hits and 4 walks. It should be noted, however, that Durbin has a 3.02 era in 7 games for the Reading Phils after being demoted from the ‘Pigs. Outman had a decent showing, allowing one earned run in 2.2 innings of work. As is custom for Outman, he allowed 2 walks but also registered 2 strikeouts. Walls pitched a solid inning, allowing only one walk. The offense had a decent game, spreading around a total of 8 hits. Spidale and Slayden both went 2-4, while Harman lead the team with 3 RBI’s and a home run, his 7^th of the season. Marson showed signs of breaking out of his mini, “Phuture Phillies” induced, slump, by smacking a double for the second consecutive game.

6/24 – Reading Phillies vs. Harrisburg Senators

The Phils lost a close game, 7-6 to the Harrisburg Senators. Brummett started for the Phils, and unlike his magnificent first AA start, he got banged around a little bit against the Senators. He lasted 6 innings, give up 9 hits and 2 walks which led to 4 earned runs. All of the earned runs were scored in a particularly devastating 2nd inning, which included two singles, a triple, and a home run against Brummett. Brummett did strike out 6 in the game. Bisenius followed with a flawless inning of work, before Overholt (LP) came in and promptly gave up 3 earned runs in 2 innings of work. Each starter collected at least one hit, with Donald and Sellers leading the way with a combined 5 RBI. Marson collected 1 RBI with 1 single and 2 k’s in 4 at bats.

Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Hot – Jason Donald – 11/32, 2 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI

Hot – Neil Sellers – 9/25, 3 HR, 9 RBI

Hot – Mike Spidale – 11/20, 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI

Hot – Carlos Carrasco – 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO

Hot – Sam Walls – 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 SV, 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 1 SO

Not – Lou Marson – 5/27, 2 2B, 2 RBI

Not – JD Durbin – 0-1, 7.2 ERA, 10 IP, 12 H, 8 ER, 7 BB, 6 SO

Prospect Watch

Lou Marson had a very difficult week. he batted .185 over 8 games with only two extra-base hits, both doubles. The two other best hitting prospects on the team both had very nice weeks, however. Jason Donald was a standout performer batting .344 while belting his 7th, 8th, and 9th home runs of the year. Donald is now batting .303/.397/.492 for an OPS of .889 on the season. Donald has thrived at every level in the organization, starting out in the NYP League as a 21 year old. His OPS has increased steadily from .709 at A- Batavia in ’06, to .868 at A Lakewood and A+ Clearwater in ’07, and now to .889 at AA Reading. Harman also had a decent week, perhaps foreshadowing a second half surge. He batted .242 with 2 home runs.

Two starting pitchers, Carrasco and Brummett, had excellent outings during the week. Brummett pitched 8.2 innings of no run ball before turning the game over with the bases loaded to Walls, who allowed all three inherited runners to score. Brummett followed up that performance with an OK outing, going six innings and allowing 4 runs to score, all in the second inning. Carrasco had a very good start, keeping his composure on the mound without his best stuff. He pitched six innings and allowed only one run to score, lowering his season era to 3.64. A note on Carrasco, he has now pitched the most innings of any pitcher in the Eastern league with 94 IP. Castro got bombed in his only start of the week to raise his era to 4.91. Is it time to try one last conversion to the ‘pen? Castro performed well in the Reading bullpen in ’07, pitching to a 2.70 era in 16.2 IP. Elsewhere, Bastardo is still out with a shoulder ailment. Finally, Outman continues to be mediocre in the bullpen. He had two relief outings this week, pitching a combined 5 innings and allowing 3 earned runs on 5 hits and an alarming 6 walks. He also had 4 k’s. As a starter, Outman has an era of 3.16 with a .586 BB/IP and a 1.25 K/IP. As a reliever, he has an era of 4.15 with a .627 BB/IP and a .89 k/IP. It appears that the bullpen experiment has failed with Outman. His control out of the ‘pen is a bit worst than what it was as a starter, while his strikeouts have dropped significantly since being moved to the bullpen. Perhaps, him and Castro can switch places?

League Leaders

Carrasco – IP – 1st – 94

Carrasco – SO – 1st – 89

Donald – OPS – 11th – .889

Golson – SB – 4th – 17

Golson – SO – 1st – 77

Marson – AVG – 6th – .329

Marson – OBP – 2nd – .446

Moran – SB – 3rd – 18

Slayden – RBI – 6th – 48

Reading Phillies Transactions

6/11 – Sam Walls sent from Clearwater to Reading.

6/13 – Orlando Guevara placed on the disabled list.

6/13 – Alan Robbins sent from Clearwater to Reading.

6/14 – Alan Robbins sent from Reading to Clearwater.

6/14 – Kevin Nelson acquired by PHI from TOR and sent to Reading.

6/15 – Antonio Bastardo placed on 7-day disabled list with left shoulder inflammation.

6/15 – Jason Kershner placed on 7-day disabled list with back spasms.

6/16 – Tyson Brummett promoted from Class A+ Clearwater.

6/16 – Justin Pope activated from DL.

6/17 – Carlos Leon activated from DL and reassigned to Class A+ Clearwater.

6/17 – Greg Golson placed on 7-day disabled list with sprained left wrist.

6/18 – Jake Blalock promoted from Class A+ Clearwater.

6/22 – Jason Kershner activated from the DL.