Lehigh Valley Opening Day Roster

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With Spring Training approaching its long awaited end, the majority of roster decisions appear to have been made with some, but not many surprises.  The following is an educated (?) guess at how the ‘Pigs will look as the season opens against Scranton, along with each players stats from last year.

Catcher–Lou Marson, Age 22, last season: AA Reading. 322 AB, .314 avg, 5HR 46 RBI, .849 OPS, 3 SB.  .985 fielding %,  36% caught stealing rate.

Catcher–Paul Hoover, Age 32, last season: AAA Albuquerque, 175 AB, .251 avg, 6HR 19RBI, .716 OPS, 1 SB.  .986 fielding %, 33% caught stealing rate.  Also had 40 AB’s with the Florida Marlins, hitting .200.

First Base–Andy Tracy, Age 35, last season: AAA Lehigh Valley, 430 AB, .288 avg, 22 HR 85 RBI, .903 OPS, 5SB, .997 fielding % (only 3 errors all year).  Also had 2 late season AB’s for the Phils.

Second Base–Pablo Ozuna, Age 34, last season:  White Sox/Dodgers, 96 AB’s, .219, 1 HR 3RBI, .617 OPS, 1 SB, .986 fielding % at second base.

Shortstop– Jason Donald, Age 24, last season AA Reading. 362 AB, 14 HR 54 RBI, .888 OPS, 11 SB, .949 Fielding % (18 errors).

Third Base– Terry Tiffee, Age 29, last season AAA Las Vegas, 392 AB, 9 HR 69 RBI, .977 OBP, 1 SB, .918 fielding % at 3B (12 errors)

Backup Infield– JJ Furmaniak, Age 29, last season AAA Sacramento, 424 AB, 15 HR 51 RBI, .823 OPS, 21 SB, .971 fielding % (11 errors in games at 2B, SS, 3B).  Expect him to see a good deal of time.

Outfield— John Mayberry, Jr. Age 25, last season primarily AAA Oklahoma City, 437 AB, 16 HR 58 RBI, .750 OPS, 6 SB, .980 Fielding % (4 errors), 5 OF assists.

Centerfield— Rich Thompson, Age 29, last season AAA Lehigh Valley, 352 AB, 4 HR, 42 RBI, 720 OPS, 25 SB, .988 FP (3 errors), 6 OF assists.

Outfield–Jeremy Slayden, Age 26, last season, AA Reading, 483 AB, 17 HR, 81 RBI, .857 OPS, 2 SB, .980 FP (5 errors), 8 OF assists.

Outfield–Jason Ellison, Age 31, last season, AAA Oklahoma City, 477 AB, 2 HR 45 RBI, .677 OPS, 14 SB, .990 FP (3 errors), 11 OF assists.  Also had 13 AB’s for the Texas Rangers.

DH– Mike Cervenak, Age 32, last season, AAA Lehigh Valley, 456 AB, 10 HR 56 RBI, .788 OPS, 5 SB.  Cervenak can also play first, third, and OF when needed.  Also had 13 AB’s for the Phils last year.

Starting Pitching–

1.  Carlos Carrasco— Age 22, Last season AA Reading/AAA Lehigh Valley.  Combined stats:  9-9, 151.1 IP,   3.69 ERA, 58 BB, 155 K, 1.35 WHIP.

2.  Kyle Kendrick–  Age 24, Last season, Phillies, 11-9, 155.2 IP, 5.49 ERA, 57 BB, 68 K,  1.61 WHIP. 

3.  Andrew Carpenter– Age 23, Last season, pitched for A Clearwater, AA Reading, and AAA Lehigh Valley.  Combined stats:  9-12, 153.o IP, 4.59 ERA, 42 BB, 106K, 1.35 WHIP.  Also pitched in one game for the Phillies.

4.  Rodrigo Lopez–  Age 33.  Hurt almost all of last season.  Spent 2007 with the Colorado Rockies.

5.  Justin Lehr– Age 31.  Last season AAA Louisville.  6-2, 64.1 IP, 2.10 ERA, 11 BB, 41 K, 0.96 WHIP.

Bullpen:

Antonio Bastardo, Age 23, Last Season, A Clearwater, AA Reading.  Combined stats (all starts)4-5, 2.95 ERA, 97.2 IP, 475BB, 109K, 1.24 WHIP. Bastardo is posssibly being considered as a closer.

Joe Bisenius, Age 26, Last Season AA Reading, AAA Lehigh Valley.  Combined stats:3-5, 4.66 ERA, 43 games, 63.2 IP, 42BB, 54K, 1.56 WHIP

 Gary Majewski, Age 29, Last Season AAA Louisville, 2-1, 3 saves, 26.1 IP, 3.76 ERA, 7 BB, 22 K, 1.29 WHIP.  Also pitched in 40 games for the Red, going 1-0 with a 6.53 ERA and a WHIP of 1.90.

 Mike Koplove–  Age 32, Last Season AAA, Las Vegas, 41 games, 2-1, 54.2 IP, 3.46 ERA, 18 BB, 46 K, 1.12 WHIP.

 Dave Borkowski– Age 32, Last Season, AAA Round Rock, 27 games, 2-2, 40.2 IP, 2.43 ERA, 7 BB, 26 BB, 1.16 WHIP.  Also pitched in 26 games with the Astros, going 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA and a WHIP of 1.89.

Cedric Bowers–Age 31, Last Season, AAA Colorado Springs, 35 games, 6-1, 3.74 ERA, 65 IP, 43 BB, 74K, 1.43 WHIP

 John Ennis, Age 29, Last Season, AAA Lehigh Valley, 40 Games, 4-3, 54 IP, 3.67 ERA, 17 BB, 59 K, 1.35 WHIP.

 Jake Woods, Age 27, Last Season, AAA, Tacoma, 6-1, 64 IP, 4.08 ERA, 27 BB, 54 K, 1.42 WHIP.

Notes:  It appears the ‘Pigs will start the seasons with 13 pitchers and 11 hitters, with both Terry Tiffee and Jeremy Slayden spending some extra time in Clearwater in an extended Spring Training due to injuries.  I would not expect either Tiffee or Slayden to miss considerable time.

29 thoughts on “Lehigh Valley Opening Day Roster”

  1. I really hope that Donald sees the majority of his innings at 3B, but from that roster it doesn’t look good. I don’t know what kind of SS Fumaniak is but I hope he sees a lot of time there so Donald can play 3B. Does anyone know what kind of SS he is? It really doesn’t make sense to keep Donald at SS when his best chance to help the ML team is at 3B.

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  2. gkit:

    Couldn’t agree more. Donald has to be our 3rd baseman following Feliz who leaves after this season.

    Having Donald play any other position seems counter-productive.

    Just MAYBE Cairo will go to LV at SS. Or somebody other than Donald.

    ???

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  3. Hard to figure not only do they have to give Donald time at
    3rd but you also have to wonder why they didnt move him
    there last year when they knew Feliz was hurting.
    PS. game winning hit for Donald,who keeps exceeding what
    some people think Pure baseball player everything elso is
    bs

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  4. Thank god we will have some actual talent to check out this year! I agree on Donald, he is clearly blocked and continuing him at 2B or SS is basically admitting he’s trade bait. It’s a shame about Majewski but he’s got time and will be the first to go in case of an injury. I didn’t expect to see Slayden or Bastardo but it will be interesting watching both. I’m most excited about Marson. Hopefully whatever funk he got himself into during spring training is figured out by opening day.

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  5. Donald’s greatest value is when he is playing SS or 2B, so I can definitely understand why they would continue to play him at multiple positions. If you are the Phillies, why would you restrict your options by playing him exclusively at 3B? Now, if the Phillies are sky high on this kid, and are planning for him to be our 3B of the future, then some practice there might not hurt. However, I have never felt that the Phillies loved Donald as much as many of the posters on this site do. We shall see.

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  7. not to be redundent but went to the game last night and donald is a star not just good but a star waiting. he will not be traded we have no one close to his ability in our system. he is our only untouchable in the minors,maybe marson.i think the reason they didnt play at 3rd last year as you all know i begged for was feliz,s glove and contract. have no fear by july he will have forced himself onto the roster and will be here along time unless someone has forgotten the lesson of ryne sandberg.

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  8. Who is Tiffee? Why is there so much talk about him. I wonder what scouts and the phillies see in Donald that makes them not want to give him a chance. He has nothing to prove in the minors.

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  10. Just got a look at the hit JD had last night a thing of beauty.
    Except for Utley and Jro who else can take a ball down the opposite line like that. Maybe i can just crazy for believing my
    own eyes. Some time at 3rd is all we are asking here or AAA
    Let how he Plays baseball decide

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  11. This looks like a AAA version of the Phillies to me. Power hitters, pure fundamental hitters, speed in OF and middle IF, good rotation, GREAT bullpen for AAA, nice catching, etc. etc.

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  13. Definitely solid. I was on-hand for the Donald game winner last night. Really glad he was the one who delivered, and hoping that it is a sign of things to come in the future. He’s a September callup but his production has to have forced the management’s hand to the point where if Utley, Feliz, or Rollins goes down, he comes up and takes at least some of the starts at their positions. Ready for real baseball.

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  15. What a difference a year makes.

    At least five of these names should make the Phillies at some point this season, one or two may even play a big role:

    Donald, Marson
    Majewski, Koplove or Bastardo
    Mayberry, Jr. or Ellison
    Carrasco or Kendrick

    Meanwhile, Lehigh Valley could become a cash cow at Coca Cola park as they leap into contention. Good looking squad.

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  17. Lakewoods roster is up. Some very interesting tidbits.

    Gose and Collier are in the outfield.
    Knapp is on the staff.
    Valle and D’Arnaud are the catchers.
    Schwimer is missing so I guess he’s in CLW.
    Freddy Galvis is in CLW as well.
    No Anthony Hewitt.
    Mattair is in round 2 of the SAL.

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  22. Lakewood has a very promising lineup. Young with lots of potential. Pitching looks a little thin based on what little I know of the names. Should be a very entertaining minor league season for all 4 levels

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  24. The IronPigs should be competitive. Carrasco always pitches well for Huppert. Hopefully Nichols can work miracles with Kendrick and Carpenter in the rotation. Marson threw poorly to second in spring training games I saw and hopefully Mayberry will have a monster year. Donald at SS is always worth the price of admission hitting and getting his uni dirty.

    Savery is the best lefthanded bat on the Reading roster at least until Dom Brown gets there hopefully by mid season. Stutes and Taylor were impressive in the spring training games I saw. Other than that it could be another long season in Baseballtown .

    About time Drabek shows something at Clearwater for all his reported hard work. Naylor was ineffective in the WBC and the spring games I saw him pitch. Sampson was not much better in his outing in ST I saw. Dom Brown will have to provide all the offense unless Overbeck has a monster start. Wonder if Mitchell can catch a fly ball in left better than he could throw a ball at second? Galvis will be making plays at short but can he hit lefthanded other than slapping at the ball and trying to drag bunt all the time?

    Ah Lakewood. Lots of players who will eventually one day go from the “shore to the show” to get excited about. Gose, Collier, Castro, Harold Garcia, D’Arnaud, Valle, Mattair all impressed me this spring. Just not fair to have all that future MLB talent on one team. And Knapp and Roth dominated on the mound in spring training games I saw.

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  26. Donald *should* get most of his innings at SS for three reasons, first, it maximizes his value if we do end up trading him, which you never can rule out (remember, the Red Sox knew Hanley Ramirez was great, but they traded him for value and they didn’t have a SS blocking him). Secondly, SS is his best position; the one where he feels most comfortable, according to his own assessment of his abilities. Thirdly, what if Rollins gets badly hurt? Do you want to watch Eric Bruntlett in CBP for the rest of the year? Strange things happen in life and in baseball.

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  29. rickey Branch I don’t know how old you are but there was one player in particular comes to mind who slapped the ball and bunted to batting titles. He played for the pirates and there hitting coach a man named walker taught him to slap the ball to the left side and run, matty alou of the alou brothers.

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