The Reading Phillies had a nice week, going 4-3 to up their record to an unimpressive 33-49, which is good for last place in the Eastern League Southern Division. There were a few notable performers throughout the week including Durbin, Bisenius, Outman, and of course, Slayden. First, lets get caught up on what took place during the week in the game recaps.

Game Recaps

6/25 – Reading Phillies vs. Harrisburg Senators

The Phils got the week started right, posting a nice 5-3 win over the Senators behind several strong pitching performances. The unheralded Kip Bouknight went 6+ strong innings, allowing only 3 earned runs on 4 hits. He also struck out 2 while walking 3. It was an unusually strong performance for the 29 year old Bouknight, who lowered his season era to 6.19. Following Bouknight was Outman, who had yet another terrible performance as a reliever. It was the same old story for Outman, who came on in the 7th inning to relieve Bouknight. Outman did not allow a hit or an earned run, but walked two before recording his only out of the game. The most outstanding performance was turned in by Bisenius (WP). Bisenius went 2.1 shutout innings, allowing only one hit while striking out two. He lowered his season era to 2.6. The offense was consistent, as every regular gathered at least one hit. Donald went 2-4 with a double, while Marson went 1-2 with 2 walks. First baseman Eylward collected a game high 3 RBI.

6/26 – Reading Phillies vs. Harrisburg Senators

The Phils got beat by the Senators in the final game of a four-game series, losing 6-2. It was a fairly dismal game by all accounts. Both Castro (LP) and Walls got smacked around. Castro gave up 4 earned runs on 6 hits in 5.2 innings. Walls gave up 2 hits and 2 walks, leading to 2 runs, 1 earned, in 1.1 innings of work. The offense was just as dormant. The leading hitters were Harman, who went 2-4, and Slayden, who collected 3 hits in 3 at-bats with 1 double. It was a miserable game to end a miserable series, where the Phillies only managed to win one game.

6/27 – Reading Phillies at Akron Aeros

Speaking of miserable, the Phillies lost the opener to the Aeros by a score of 16-6. Carrasco (LP) had an awful outing. Maybe all the talk about a promotion had his focus elsewhere, or maybe he just had a truly terrible game. Whatever the reason, it was not pretty. He lasted only 3 innings, in which he gave up 7 hits, 3 walks, and 8 runs. The outing inflated his season era .55 points to 4.18. The offense was also a bit flat. The lone bright spot was Slayden, who went 1-4 with a double and 3 RBI. Marson sat this game out.

6/28 – Reading Phillies at Akron Aeros

Fresh off of a spanking in the opener, the Phillies rebounded nicely to win 7-2 over the Aeros behind a very strong performance by JD Durbin (WP). Durbin had a rough week last week, pitching poorly in two consecutive starts, however, he pitched well tonight when the Phillies needed a strong starting pitching performance the most. Durbin went 7 strong innings, giving up 7 hits and 2 runs, only one of which was earned. He also struck out 3. Outman and Overholt followed with 1 scoreless inning apiece. Outman’s outing was especially nice as he did not allow a hit or a walk, while striking out 1. It was a hit parade for the Phillies offense, as the team smacked 15 hits during the course of the game. Spidale, Eylward, and Blalock all had three hits. But, the gold star goes to Slayden, who hit the Phillies first home run of the week while going 2-5 with 1 HR, 1 RBI, and 2 R.

6/29 – Reading Phillies at Akron Aeros

The Phillies tried for the series win against the first place Akron Aeros but feel just short, losing 7-6. Once again, it was a bad starting pitching performance that doomed the Phillies. This time it was Brummett (LP), who really got hit hard in his third appearance for the Reading Phillies. Brummett got tagged for 8 hits and 6 earned runs in 5.1 innings of work. He also walked 4 while striking out 2. His era with the Phillies rose to 5.85. Brummett has pitched poorly since his brilliant debut with the Phillies. He has given up 3, 4, and 6 earned runs successively in his three starts. Definitely trending the wrong way. Bisenius had another nice relief outing, albeit he was a bit wild. He gave up 3 walks, 0 hits, and 0 runs in 1.2 innings of work. He also registered one strikeout. Marson was back in the lineup and collected 1 hit in 4 opportunities. The two offensive standouts were Sellers and, guess who, Slayden. Sellers went 2-4 with 1 home run and 4 RBI, while Slayden also went 2-4 with 1 double and 1 RBI.

6/30 – Reading Phillies vs. New Britain Rock Cats

The offense broke out in this game to the tune of 16 hits and 13 runs, leading the Phils to an impressive 13-8 victory. Even though the Phillies won, the starting pitching was still trying to sabotage the game from the beginning. Everybody can welcome back the real Kip Bouknight, as he allowed an amazing 8 earned runs on 10 hits in, get this, 1 inning of work. Bouknight, apparently did not ride into this game on the wave of momentum from his previous outing, in which he went an unusual 6+ innings, giving up only 3 earned. Bouknight was the only negative, however, as three other pitchers combined to pitch 8 innings of shutout ball. The best of the bunch was Outman (WP), who had one of his best appearances as a reliever. He pitched 3.1 innings, only giving up 1 hit while also collecting 1 strikeout. The offense was on fire. Every regular had at least one hit, with 6 regulars having multi-hit games. Slayden, Sellers, and Eylward all had 1 home run. But, the best of the bunch was again Slayden, who went 2-5 with 1 home run, 3 RBI, and 2 runs scored. What a week it has been for Slayden.

7/1 – Reading Phillies vs. New Britain Rock Cats

The Phillies followed up the beating they laid on the Rock Cats with another thorough victory, winning 7-3. Led by Castro (WP), who was more lucky than good, the Phils won back-to-back games for the first time since June 18-19. Castro lasted 6.2 innings, giving up only 3 earned runs. However, he also allowed 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4. It seemed like he was about to implode in every inning, but alas, never did. More encouraging was Bisenius, who collected his 3rd scoreless appearance of the week, this time in dominating fashion. He pitched 1.1 innings, striking out 4 batters. Every regular had a hit besides Harman, who went 0-5 with 1 strikeout. Our old friend Lou Marson hit a home run, his 3rd of the year. Also hitting homers were Hammond and, yup, Slayden. Slayden’s 11th home run was a fitting way to cap off an unbelievable week for right fielder. Slayden raised his average .17 points on the week to .299.

Who’s Hot, Who’s Not

Hot – Joe Bisenius – 1-0, 0.00 era, 5.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 5 BB, 7 SO

Hot – JD Durbin – 1-0, 1.29 era, 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO

Hot – Josh Outman – 1-0, 0.00 era, 4.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO

Hot – Jerem Slayden – 12/26, .462 avg, 7 R, 4 2B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 1 BB, 5 SO

Not – Tyson Brummett – 0-1, 10.13 era, 5.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 SO

Not – Carlos Carrasco – 0-1, 21.00 era, 3 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 0 SO

Prospect Watch

It was a good week for most of the Phillies more notable prospects. Marson rebounded nicely from a wretched past week, collecting 1 hit in every game except for one. Also noteworthy is that Jason Donald sat out 4 games with a strained hamstring, however, he was back in the lineup for the July 1st game versus the Rock Cats. The biggest news for position player prospects has to be the play of Jeremy Slayden. As stated above, Slayden had a terrific week, batting .426 with 3 HR and 12 RBI. On the season, Slayden is now hitting .299/.380/.507. The question I have is what Slayden projects to be at the major league level. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 2005 draft, and is admittedly old for his level, as he is 27 days away from turning 26 years of age. Similar to Donald who I profiled a bit last week, Slayden has steadily moved up the organizational ladder. He played ’05 at Class A- Batavia, before moving to Class A Lakewood in ’06, Class A+ Clearwater in ’07, and now Class AA Reading. Unlike Donald, who has improved at every new level, Slayden maintains an amazing consistency, albeit at a nice level of production. His OPS’s in his first 4 professional seasons are as follows, starting in ’05: .837, .879, .834, .887. I am not a scout, and I certainly do not know if Slayden will turn out to be an above average major leaguer or a 5th outfielder, however, I feel like the kid who found an extra present the day after Christmas, you know, the present the parents forgot all about. Lets hope it is a nice present. We will continue to find out as Slayden seems poised to make the jump to AAA with several other Reading prospects.

On the pitching side of things, there isn’t too much of note. Tyson Brummett has gone down hill steadily since his brilliant first start for Reading. Hopefully, he rebounds nicely in his next outing this Friday. Meanwhile, Carrasco also had a devastatingly bad performance this week. Perhaps Carrasco got a bit sidetracked with all of the confusion on the Philadelphia Phillies’ staff. If I had my way, I would probably let Happ have a real go at it, not a one and done sort of thing. We will see what happens with that situation soon. Finally, the two best pitching prospects on the week were both promising relievers, albeit one reliever is actually a starter in disguise. Bisenius and Outman both pitched beautifully. Bisenius has really pitched well this year and is steadily working his way back into prospect status. On the year, Bisenius has a 2.35 era in 21 appearances for Reading. His strikeout totals are nice, 25 in 30.2 innings, but command is still an issue as he has also allowed 16 walks. Outman, meanwhile, pitched nicely this week. He showed great command in two appearances, and awful command in one. That is really the last barrier for Outman. I hope Swindle gets the chance to prove himself, so that the Phillies do not feel the need to have another lefty in the bullpen, thus allowing Outman to go back to being a starting pitcher. There sure is a lot of uncertainty with both the big league club and the affiliates. Lots of prospects who could be moving up, down, and all around. Hopefully the Reading Phillies can continue next week with another winning record.

League Leaders

Carrasco – IP – 2nd – 97

Carrasco – SO – 2nd – 89

Donald – OBP – 11th – .386

Donald – OPS – 15th -.869

Golson – SB – 5th – 17

Golson – SO – 3rd – 77

Marson – AVG – 7th – .322

Marson – BB – 1st – 54

Marson – OBP – 2nd – .444

Marson – OPS – 17th – .864

Moran – SB – 3rd – 18

Slayden – 2B – 15th – 21

Slayden – HR – 13th – 11

Slayden – TB – 8th – 141

Slayden – RBI – 2nd – 60

Slayden – OPS – 12th – .887

Slayden – SLG – 9th – .507

Reading Phillies’ Transactions

6/25 – Jason Kershner released.

6/25 – Brett Harker promoted from Class A+ Clearwater.

6/25 – Orland Guevara activated from the DL and reassigned to Class A+ Clearwater.