Williamsport
The Crosscutters started the week out strong by going 5-1, but they dropped all three games over the weekend to end up at 5-4. They now sit at 20-17 overall, good for 4th place in the Pinckney division and 5.5 GB of first place Jamestown.
Game Recaps –
7/19 – Williamsport defeated Mahoning Valley 3-0 to give Tyler Cloyd his second win for the Crosscutters. He pitched five strong innings, allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out five. Brian Rosenberg picked up the save, striking out three over his two innings of work. Travis D’Arnaud and Steven Susdorf provided the offense by making their only hits count. D’Arnaud had a solo HR while Susdorf added a two-run shot. D’Arby Myers doubled in his four at-bats.
7/20 – Mahoning Valley defeated Williamsport 6-1. Justin De Fratus had his first poor start, going six innings, surrendering four runs on eight hits and one walk, with only one strikeout. Schwimer allowed one run in his two innings and struck out three. In what has become a daily occurrence, D’Arnaud picked up two hits in his four at-bats. Susdorf doubled, walked and scored a run in his four plate appearances.
7/21 – Williamsport defeated Mahoning Valley 2-0. Michael Stutes had another impressive outing, allowing only three hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out six in what should be his final appearance in the NYPL. He was promoted to Lakewood and will swap spots with Jacob Diekman, who was sent to Williamsport. D’Arnaud added two more hits, including his 3rd HR of the season. Susdorf collected another double and walk in his four plate appearances. Troy Hanzawa had two hits that included a double, as well as a run in his four at-bats.
7/23 – A night after being rained out Williamsport defeated Hudson Valley 6-4 in a game shortened due to rain. Freddy Ballestas picked up the win, going five innings, allowing seven hits, four runs (only two earned), while walking one and striking out four. Cody Overbeck had two hits in his three at-bats. Susdorf had a productive 0-fer, drawing two walks, knocking in a run and also scoring a run. Bryan Frew added an RBI double, drew a walk and scored two runs.
7/24 – Willamsport swept a doubleheader, defeating Hudson Valley 4-3 and 2-0. In the first game Rob Roth moved to 7-0 despite a rough outing. In his five innings he allowed three runs on six hits and three walks while only striking out one. Cody Overbeck connected for his 6th HR of the season while Hanzawa added his 2nd. Myers had two hits while D’Arnaud took the collar. In the second game, Mike Cisco got the start and went 3.2 solid innings, allowing no runs on two hits and a walk, while striking out six. Sean Grieve picked up the win in relief, with Schwimer getting the save. Susdorf had a double in four at-bats, while both Hanzawa and Jeremy Hamilton were two for two with a walk.
7/25 – Auburn defeated Williamsport 8-1. Cloyd pitched 5.1 innings, allowing five hits and only one run, while walking three and striking out four. The duo of Charles Vartanian and Yen-Feng Lin allowed seven runs (three earned) in their 2.2 IP to make this one a laugher. D’Arnaud was two for three with an RBI and a walk. Susdorf, Hamilton and Hanzawa all went one for four.
7/26 – Auburn defeated Williamsport 7-6 in a rain-shortened game. Diekman got rocked in his first start after being sent down from Lakewood. He allowed seven runs on eight hits and four walks in five innings, striking out three along the way. Hopefully he can take this demotion as a positive and work his way back. D’Arnaud had another two hits, including a double, producing two RBI and scoring a run. Susdorf also had two hits, one of them a double, and scored a run. Brandon Haislet had a double and scored two runs.
7/27 – Auburn defeated Williamsport 5-2. De Fratus had his second shaky start of the week. In five innings he allowed three runs on six hits and five walks while striking out three. Jordan Ellis allowed two runs in his two innings of work on three hits and two walks. He also struck out two batters. On a day with little offense D’Arby Myers was two for four with a double. Hamilton and Hanzawa went hitless, but picked up an RBI each.
GCL
The Gulf Coast Phillies went 2-4 since our last update. On the season they are 17-13, which is still good for first place in the GCL North. The Blue Jays and Braves both sit 1 GB.
Game Recaps –
7/19 – Braves defeated the Phillies 3-1. Yohan Flande went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out four in taking the loss. Hewitt went one for three with a triple and a run scored. Sebastian Valle was one for four and Zach Coller went hitless in four at-bats.
7/21 – Braves defeated the Phillies 6-5. Reginal Simon gave up four runs on seven hits in his four innings. He walked three and struck out four. Spencer Arroyo tallied four strikeouts in two innings of relief. Harold Garcia was two for four with a double, walk and run scored. Hewitt had two singles, knocked in a run and also scored a run. Valle was one for five with an RBI and run scored. Collier took the collar again.
7/22 – Tigers defeated the Phillies 5-2. Kyle Slate was impressive in his start. He was perfect in his four innings (with the exception of a hit batter) while picking up seven strikeouts. Julio Rodriguez was roughed up in his debut. He took the loss after allowing two runs on two hits and two walks in his 1.2 innings of work. Chad Poe didn’t fare much better in his debut, giving up three runs on two hits and a walk, also in 1.2 innings. Garcia was one for five, but his only hit was a HR. Collier went three for four while Hewitt was hitless in two at-bats.
7/25 – Blue Jays defeated the Phillies 2-1. Jason Knapp had an erratic outing. He only allowed two runs in five innings, but he did so on four hits and five walks. He also struck out three to give him a 20:10 K/BB ratio on the season. Collier was three for three while Hewitt and Valle both went one for three. Hewitt added his first stolen base of the season as well.
7/26 – Phillies defeated the Indians 10-5 and 11-6. Offense was the story of the day in this doubleheader sweep. Hewitt went three for five, with his first professional HR, a double, two RBI and three runs scored. Garcia was three for four with a double and two runs scored. Leandro Castro was four for four with a double, RBI and two runs scored. Flande was the good luck winner, as he allowed five runs on six hits and a walk in his five innings. On the plus side, he also struck out six. In the second game, Hewitt was one for two with a double, walk, RBI and run scored. Garcia was two for three with a walk and two runs scored. Valle had a double and an RBI in three at-bats. Yonderman Rodriguez added two hits, two RBI and a run scored. Simon got the win after striking out four in five innings of work, allowing two runs (1 ER) on six hits in five innings. Julio Rodriguez found his second appearance to be rougher than the first, allowing four runs on three hits and a walk in only 0.2 IP. Chad Poe struck out two and allowed two hits in his 0.2 IP.
Phuture Phillies 
Jeremy Hamilton is really intriguing to me – not a high batting average, but almost 50% of his hits are for extra bases. Plus, he is drawing a ton of walks. I’m guessing he’s struggling a bit to adjust to a wooden bat in a strong pitching league. I’d like to see the Phils get aggressive and move him to Clearwater next year – he could be a Mark Grace-type of player.
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these teams seem to me to be the strongest they have been in years. loaded with prospects that are also performing well. imaging that. hewitt and collier off to good starts. knapp shows good stuff and a very high k rate. D’Arnaud, Stutes, Susdorff, Hamilton, Roth, De Fratus, Schwimmer, Valle all off to good starts. fun to see and dream.
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Thanks for the writeup, codyrhoades!
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PP Fan –
I agree with you wholeheartedly – a lot of this year’s draft picks seem to be performing very well, and as a whole the teams are playing pretty well (and you can throw Lakewood into the mix also)
– Jeff
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Good to see Hewitt getting some extra base hits. His average has gone way up and strike outs way down. Has anyone gotten to see how his defense at 3B looks yet?
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****I’m guessing [Hamilton] struggling a bit to adjust to a wooden bat in a strong pitching league****
When I saw him play he had what I like to describe as a “Metal bat swing”. If he can adjust to wooden bats the rest of the package is there on the defensive side…he was very smooth in the field and had a very soft glove for a 1B…very athletic looking too.
D’Arnaud looked like a star in the making though.
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Are the pitchers good propects or just run of the mill?
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great report. these teams are some that i look for first when i look up the scores. Just an FYI that Stutes had a solid first outing in Lakewood.
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I would like to think this years draft is going to be great. But watching D’Arby Myers struggle after a good gcl is why I have to wait. A Lot of the pitchers at gcl are older too. Hope I am wrong.
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Yea Rocky I’m with you. I’m encouraged by thier performances but I’m really trying not to get excited about these guys until they are in lakewood or clearwater. I don’t want to be a wet blanket or anything though.
Hopefully they keep it up. Seems like D’Arnaud is a stud.
And does anyone have any guesses as to when to expect to see Hewitt getting some game experience at 3B?
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Jeff O: I feel the same way about Hamilton; he’s certainly an intriguing talent. Not sure if they’ll be able to double jump him to Clearwater, since Rizzotti and Durant are likely to move up there next year, but it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. Oh, and NEPhilliesFan: thanks for the firsthand observations, as always they’re invaluable to seeing the bigger picture. Let’s hope Hamilton makes the necessary adjustments to make it as a major leaguer.
We talked in one of the other threads about how the NYPL favors pitchers, but it’s impressive nonetheless what the Williamsport staff has accomplished so far. Worley and Stutes have already graduated to Lakewood (where they’ve both been successful thus far), Roth and de Fratus have anchored the rotation from the beginning, the relievers (Schwimer, Rosenberg, Cisco) have been great, and even guys like Cloyd and Ellis are pitching well.
Oh, and because it’s a pitcher’s league, it just makes it that much more impressive what d’Arnaud, Susdorf, and even Hanzawa have done with the bat thus far.
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Hanzawa is on fire lately. What kind of college career did he have. Any information like a scouting report on him. I know he is a college player, in a league with high school players and low level college prospect. but wonder if he is a guote organization filler,[I hate that term for some reason].
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Thanks Cody for the write-up. Williamsport and the GCL are the first games I look at in the morning. It seems like the GCL has more rainouts than games played. It’s hard for everyday players to get into a rhythm. Hewitt has surprised me a little. I didn’t think he would hit the ground running. Seeing that 1st game with 4Ks, was unnerving but he’s settled in nicely. I don’t think he’s made an error yet. We’ll see how that goes.
Can someone explain why the GCL Phillies never play on Sunday? I understand the DSL and VSL. The rest of the GCL plays on Sunday.
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Schwimer is an interesting guy, he’s striking guys out at such a high rate. From what I read he throws a 91-93 mph topping out a little higher, with a hard 84-86 late breaking slider and a good change as well. If he can command his pitches he could move up the system very quickly.
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what’s the book on stutes? that guy has really impressed. anyone have a report on him?
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This is from pgcrosschecker.
“SCOUTING REPORT (3/1): The No. 3 starter on OSU’s 2006 national championship team, Stutes ascended to the No. 1 role for much of 2007 as the Beavers repeated as improbable College World Series champions. He topped the Beavers with 12 wins and 129 strikeouts, but was bumped from the front of the rotation during the stretch run by freshman sensation Jorge Reyes, who earned CWS outstanding player honors. Though Stutes was selected in the eighth round of the 2007 draft, he unexpectedly turned down an offer from the Cardinals and returned for his senior year. His chances of improving his draft position are considered slim as he is a short, unimposing righthander, though he has a quick arm, a good three-pitch mix that includes a 91-92 mph fastball with sink and run, and is a good competitor with a proven track record. The biggest knock on Stutes has been the inconsistency of his curveball, though it has good downward bite when he stays on top of it. He walked 60 in 133 innings last spring and has a history of walking nearly a batter every two innings.—ALLAN SIMPSON
UPDATE (5/15): Stutes’ gamble to return for his senior year, hoping to improve his draft position, did not pay off. He went just 4-7, 5.32 with 42 walks and 81 strikeouts in 88 innings. He rarely dominated a game, like he had in OSU’s run to consecutive national titles, and suffered from inconsistent command. A fastball/curveball pitcher a year ago, he added a slider and changeup to his repertoire this year, and he tended to work more off his breaking ball than his fastball, which was his dominant pitch a year ago. His fastball was customarily in the 89-92 mph range. Scouts see little upside in Stutes, believing what they saw this year is what he’ll be down the road.—AS”
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anybody have some info on brian rosenberg…closer at WPT from louisville. hes old for the league at 22, but his numbers are somewhere between fantastic and dominant.
17 IP: 13 H, 1 HR, 29:8 K:BB, 2.14 GO/AO ratio. decent left/right splits to boot.
hes also 6’2, so a decent sized righthander for once
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I read this kid has a chance according to crosscheckers to move up fast. I think he was a starter who was converted in college and his career took off.
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Rosenberg sits 93-95 with his fastball, can get it up to 97, throws a low-mid 80’s Slider as his out pitch, and mixes in a change.
He closed for Louisville, and Schwimer closed for Virginia, the two of them are just blowing people away in short season A ball.
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sounds promising…im surprised with his numbers that he hasnt been bumped to lakewood at this point.
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I share the enthusiasm for Rosenberg and Schwimer. I know they’re a little old for Williamsport, but the numbers are phenomenal and the potential is there for them to move quickly through the system — which is good, considering that a lot of the Phils’ minor league relievers have disappointed as this year was worn on (Bisenius, Overholt, Walls, etc.).
And a quick GCL note: Kyle Slate put together a second consecutive impressive start today (5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K). I’d be interested to hear a scouting report on the kid — he’s big (6’5″, 200 lbs.) and has solid K numbers this year (13:1 K:BB ratio in 10.1 IP this year), so he’s an interesting name to watch going forward.
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Any word on Anthony Gose? He hasn’t played in a while, Is he hurt or did the Phils convince him to pitch?
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The APP had an article on Stutes after his first start at lakewood- said he was running it up there 92-93 mph, and that in his first start with them he had a better feel for his curveball then he had at Williamsport.
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as far as troy hanzawa goes i know he hit .370 at SD state last year which is excellent but i dont know what the competition is like for that conference anyways if you want stats on players in the phils system that played college ball, go to baseballcube.com and you can find stats for many players
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Escalona pitched in Reading last night and did a great job. 1 1/3 innings 2Ks, 0 runs. He double jumped from Lakewood. Was that because of geography? Couldn’t get someone from Clearwater in time? I guess they needed a southpaw. If they were going to take someone, I thought righty Zack Sterner would go first.
Susdorf was 4-4 with a HR and 3 RBIs last night. He now has 16 RBIs in 16 games. I like this guy more and more. I know… don’t get too excited yet.
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Old for SS? Rosenburg and Schwimer were just drafted in June. Any evidence of Phillies draftees going anywhere but Rookie or SS?
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“Old for SS? Rosenburg and Schwimer were just drafted in June. Any evidence of Phillies draftees going anywhere but Rookie or SS?”
Occasionally – Vance Worley’s a good example, one start (I think) in Williamsport and then jumps to Lakewood
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That’s right.
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Ah, Stutes and Cisco as well. I am corrected – and standing.
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best outing to date for Jason Knapp today. 5 IP 0R 0BB 6K’s. Also Fike debuted with 2 scoreless innings.
Hewitt was 1-5 with a double but the other 4 were K’s
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so did May 1 scoreless inning.
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