This season should be an especially interesting one for the Phillies low-A affiliate, the Lakewood BlueClaws, as the team has a good number of interesting prospects to keep an eye on. They also have one of the youngest teams in the SAL, fielding three 18-year-0lds – 2008 draft picks OFs Anthony Gose and Zach Collier, and C Sebastian Valle, a 2006 international free-agent signing – and featuring a fourth 18-year old, Jason Knapp, as the second pitcher in the BlueClaws rotation.
After a four-game series at home against the Delmarva Shorebirds in which the BlueClaws’ offense seemed to be asleep, they suddenly awakened in Monday’s game – the first of a three-game series at the Lake County Captains. Right now, their record stands at 2-3, good for 6th overall in the SAL Northern division, but only two games back of Delmarva.
Thursday, April 9
Delmarva 2
Lakewood 1
The Lakewood BlueClaws had dropped seven home openers for seven consecutive years, yet, they hoped the arm of Tyler Cloyd, the Phillies 18th round selection in 2008, would prevent the “Opening Day Jinx” from stretching to eight.
Cloyd, who had pitched in five consecutive opening days before at various levels (starting in high school) and not lost a single one, got the starting-day nod and responded well, pitching six innings, striking out four, and walking none while allowing only two runs on six scattered hits. Unfortunately, the ‘Claws came up anemic offensively, only able to muster two hits and one hit.
The BlueClaws lone run of the day was set up by a throwing error by Shorebirds relief pitcher Colin Allen, which allowed OF D’Arby Myers to reach base and score on an Anthony Gose single. Other than Gose, the only BlueClaw to earn a hit was Zach Collier, the youngest player on the team.
Friday, April 10
Delmarva 3
Lakewood 1
Once again, the BlueClaws offense failed to back a strong outing by their starting pitching, this time, an electrifying start by Jason Knapp. Featuring a fastball that at one point in the game reached 97 mph and a breaking ball that settled comfortably in the mid-70’s, Knapp allowed just two runs on three hits and three walks in 5.2 innings while striking out ten batters.
The BlueClaws offense, while not able to muster more than one run, did have a much better game than Thursday’s opener. On the night they totaled 10 hits, though they were a paltry 1-8 with runners in scoring position. For a brief period of time, the ‘Claws did have the game tied when 2B Jesus Villegas Andino drilled a solo homerun in the 5th. However, the next inning, after Knapp was pulled for walking Delmarva’s Ronnie Welty, relief pitcher Justin DeFratus allowed a triple that drove in Welty for the game-winning run.
Notable offensive performances were had by Andino (2-5, HR, RBI), SS Troy Hanzawa (2-4), and 1B Jim Murphy (3-3, BB).
Saturday, April 11
Lakewood 3
Delmarva 2
After receiving yet another strong performance from their pitching, this time the offense came through for the BlueClaws, who seized their first win of the 2009 season in extra innings.
Robert Roth, a 2008 mid-season all-star for Williamsport started the game and continued the excellent starting pitching, allowing one run on three hits and four walks, while striking out five in five innings of work.
Lakewood grabbed its first lead of the season in the fourth inning, when a single off the bat of catcher Travis D’Arnaud scored D’Arby Myers. The very next inning, after walking Shorebirds OF Kyle Hudson, Roth allowed Delmarva to tie the game off a triple by C Brendan Monaghan. Lakewood retook the lead in the seventh on an Anthony Gose double scoring OF Leandro Castro.
Closer B.J. Rosenberg saw his first action of the season in the ninth inning, with the BlueClaws still protecting a one-run lead. Rosenberg was one out away from his first save when Orioles prospect L.J. Hoes stepped to the plate and hammered a game-tying RBI double off the right-field fence. The game would remain tied until the 11th inning, when Myers would pound a 2-out RBI single scoring Leandro Castro for the 3-2 win.
The best offensive performances on the day were had by Myers (3-6, R, RBI) and 2B Harold Garcia (2-3, RBI).
Sunday, April 12
Delmarva 14
Lakewood 5
Jesus Sanchez, who made his first pitching appearance since converting from the catcher position, had a debut he’d rather forget, giving up three runs on a hit and three walks in only .2 innings of work. Sanchez’s (less than an) inning of work seemed to set the stage for the rest of the BlueClaws pitching staff, as all three relievers – Justin DeFratus (4.1 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 3 K), Esmelvin Jimenez (1 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 3K), and Ryan Ariail (3 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K) let up at least three runs each.
Offensively, the ‘Claws did put up five runs on seven hits. The first two runs came in the first inning, when Travis D’Arnaud hit a two-run homerun, his first of the season. Villegas Andino had the best day of any BlueClaw at the plate, going 2-3 with two walks and an RBI.
Monday, April 13
Lakewood 11
Lake County 9
Happy to no longer be playing the current SAL Northern Division leaders in Delmarva, the BlueClaws began a three-game series against the Lake County Captains on Monday. Despite a poor performance from starter Jacob Diekman (2.1 IP, 7 R, 6 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 2 K), the offense carried the team to its second win of the season.
Lakewood’s offense just feasted on Lake County starter T.J. McFarland, collecting nine hits in the three innings McFarland pitched and totalling sixteen hits on the night. After both teams put a two-spot up on the board in the first inning, Diekman fell apart in the third inning, allowing five runs. But Lakewood stormed back in the fourth inning, putting up seven runs of their own, starting with a two-run homerun from Jim Murphy, his first of the year.
There were plenty of offensive performances to write home about, as every BlueClaw in the starting lineup but DH Luis Arzeno had at least one hit. Hector Garcia (3-5, 2 R, RBI), 3B Travis Mattair (3-5, 2 R, 3 RBI), Travis D’Arnaud (3-5, R, RBI), and Zach Collier (2-3, 1 R, 2 2B, 2 BB) all had noteworthy nights.
Prospects of the Week
This is a new segment I’ll be introducing this year – each week, I’ll select five players, made up of any combination of pitchers and position players as the “Prospects of the week”, based on their performances throughout the week.
1. Jason Knapp, SP
A raw pitcher coming out of high school when the Phillies selected him in the second round last year, Knapp found success at the GCL level, sporting a 2.62 ERA in six starts with 38 strikeouts in 31 innings. In his first start this year, after the Phillies challenged him by jumping him up to the SAL as an 18-year-old, he showed why he is rated as the 10th best Phillies prospect by Baseball America, striking out ten in 5.2 innings of work, while only allowing two runs. He also held Delmarva to an average of .167 against him while collecting a GO/AO ratio of 5.
2. Jim Murphy, 1B
Murphy, who was the 17th round selection of the Phillies in last year’s entry draft had mixed results last year, putting up a gaudy .355 average in the GCL before stuggling in Williamsport, where his average fell to .220 and his OPS fell from .927 to .695. This week, however, he has shown promise, hitting .333 with a .968 OPS with a HR and two RBI in the three games he played. However, the issue that has plagued him has been his contact, and in three games, he has already struck out four times.
3. Harold Garcia, 2B
Garcia, a 22-year-old Venezuelan prospect may be a bit too old for low-A baseball, but had a solid week in spite of that fact. Starting in four of the five games this week, he is the current BlueClaws leader (among players with ten or more at-bats) in batting average (.375) and OBP (.444). He also has two runs, three steals and an RBI to his name while not striking out once.
4. Tyler Cloyd, SP
A former college dropout who was playing amateur baseball when the Phillies selected him in the 18th round of the 2008 draft, Cloyd was tabbed as the BlueClaws opening day starter, and responded admirably, allowing only two runs in six innings of work. He struck out four and with six hits and no walks, his WHIP for the game was a mere 1. One problem to note in this first start, however, was that opponents hit for an average of .261 against him.
5. D’Arby Myers, CF
A favorite of many readers here, Myers has had a rough couple of years since setting the GCL ablaze in 2006. This offseason, he worked tirelessly to improve, and so far, it has shown, as he has gotten off to a much better start than last year, when he hit .174 in 64 games at Lakewood. While only maintaining an OPS of .665, he has an average of .308 so far with three runs and an RBI.
Myers was a close call here, because he does have some potential warning signs on him – every hit thus far has been a single, he hasn’t walked yet, and he already has 2 strikeouts in three games.
Runners-Up
– Travis Mattair, 3B – Off to a strong start, with an OBP over .400. He’s one to watch closely this year
– Zach Collier, OF – While he’s only hitting at a clip of .250 so far, he’s collected three doubles en route to a .438 slugging percentage
– Robert Roth, SP – Arguably pitched a better game than Cloyd, holding opponents to a .188 average. However, a WHIP of 1.4 as opposed to Cloyd’s 1.0 made me lean in Cloyd’s direction.
– Jon Velasquez, RP – Has credit for both of the BlueClaws wins in relief, has struck out seven in 5.2 innings and has only allowed one run
League Leaders
– Harold Garcia is 10th in the SAL in Batting Average, and T-9th in OBP
– Harold Garcia and Anthony Gose are tied for the SAL lead in steals with 3
– Travis D’Arnaud is tied for 4th in the SAL with 5 RBI.
– Jason Knapp is 2nd and Jon Velasquez is 7th in the SAL in strikeouts. Knapp has 10, Velasquez has 7.
Phuture Phillies 
Nice job Romano. I like the Phils pushing some of their younger guys. A couple of guys I’m keeping my eye on are Garcia and Castro. I’ve been high on them and want to see them excel. Of course, I hope everyone excels.
I noticed Castro has 2 errors already. Anyone know if it’s just early season jitters or he’s a hack in the field?
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Romano thanks, When I think of minor league ball, this is what I like a team with a lot of young prospect. I really hate a team filled with career minor leaguers, This is going to be fun to watch and your reports are great to read. What kind of stuff does cloyd have,
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PP Can you if you get a minute tell me something about this kid german he is big, lefthanded , does he have good stuff, I see he averages a strikeout or better a inning,
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Big thanks to all of the contributors to this site. Lots of great content!
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German isn’t as big as some might think. Though , the roster is back listing him as 6’8 after he was at 6’1 on a Spring List I seen.
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Yeah, nice writeup. It’s good to see Mattair off to a better start. Collier has been striking out a bit much, but he drew a couple of walks yesterday, and seems to be slugging nicely.
– Jeff
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German is a sidearmed slider lefty with a fastball around 82 mph. Honestly, i thought he’d start to get roughed up by AA ball, but he’s still doing well.
Castro had an error i believe friday night when i was there- he looked bad going back on the ball, but at the time visibility was getting bad with high flies due to weather. Outfielder on the other team had the same problem.
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Nice write-up, love the Prospects of the Week feature.
I’d been a bit worried about Collier after the first 3 games — 2-for-9 with 6 Ks and 0 BBs was a rough way to start the year — but he’s walked 3 times and struck out none over his past two games while flashing some doubles power. Obviously it’s an incredibly small sample size, but that’s the OBP ability and gap power that had us so high on him coming into this year.
Also from the “I know it’s early, but…” department: Mattair’s hitting for average and drawing walks, but I’m a little concerned that only 1 of his 5 hits has been for extra bases. Way too soon to make any judgments, but it would be nice to see him tap into that raw power that we know is there.
Finally, Sanchez’s rough outing brings to light a question: why is he in the rotation ahead of De Fratus? Justin posted a 2.55 FIP and a 74:25 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 83.1 NYPL innings at Age 20 last year, and he’s rewarded with a demotion to the bullpen. I just don’t get it.
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Sounds like Sanchez really got thrown to the Wolves. They must have really liked what they saw from him in ST to push him to Lakewood with virtually no competitive pitching experience.
I love the outfield of this Lakewood team though! Two 18-year-olds and two 19-year-olds are going to be fun to watch. You’d have to figure at least two of them are going to have solid years.
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Nice job. I’m very excited by Knapp. He seems to be the first high school draft pick we’ve had since Hamels or Floyd with electric stuff. I’m very interested in how they will treat Knapp if he continues to pitch well. Hamels pitched sparingly because of injury, mostly in A-Ball, before rocketing through the system from Lakewood to the majors at 22. Floyd spent a year at Lakewood, then a year at Clearwater, then went from Reading to AAA to the majors at age 21. They seem more inclined to follow the Floyd route, but if Knapp is doing very well in Lakewood you think they would be hard pressed to keep him from challenging himself in Clearwater.
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B-mac…. have you heard the name Drabek? i would put him in the group as well despite his injuries.
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Great report, thanks. I’m curious about Cloyd’s stuff, as well.
B-Mac, what is Kyle Drabek’s stuff if not electric?
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My concern with big Jim Murphy is his fielding. In ST game Mattair made a beautiful bare handed pick up and throw on a slow grounder to third. Murphy was unable to scoop the throw looking more like a hockey goalie flashing his glove rather than pushing his glove toward the ball in the dirt as demonstrated by Sal Rende when he came back to the bench. He seemed to pay little attention to Rende.
Wish D’Arby Myers would fill out a little more. My ST D’Arby story was watching him in BP when he came over to the fence and he told a guy he knew standing next to me that the day before he had two hits off of Andy Pettitte in a minor league game over at the Yankees facilty.
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I think that putting Jesus Sanchez in the rotation is a stupid idea. RHP Justin De Fratus was a workhorse last year and is just as young with just as live of an arm. He deserves the starting slot IMO. I hate to be cynical but I still get the lingering feeling that the Phillies are going out of their way to show that the Abreu/Lidle dump wasn’t as completely one-sided as it was.
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Good point on Drabek, but he was injured almost from the start. I was more trying to make a point of the Phillies recent high school pitchers in the majors and the path they took to get there. I will say though, that if we are looking at the foursome of Floyd, Hamels, Drabek, and Knapp, I think Drabek had the least electric stuff coming out of high school (although they all had great stuff).
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Romano, without offending anyone else who provides these helpful weekly reports, this is the most interesting and useful report I’ve seen yet and the formatting is also excellent. Thanks for the information, especially the little tidbit about Knapp’s 97 MPH fastball.
I am starting to think that, in a couple of years, we’ll look back on this Lakewood team and be amazed that all these guys played together in the low minors. It’s quite a collection of talent.
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I can;t understand how a pitcher with 82 mile a hour fastball is even signed, especially a college player. Where is the upside?
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Sorry to ask an uninformed question, but are Cosart and Hewitt at extended spring training? What exactly does that mean and at what point do they join the GCL or Williamsport? Thanks.
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Thanks – I’m glad people enjoyed this write-up
As for Cloyd, the few writeups that I can find speak favorably of his command, but don’t really mention his velocity. As most of you know, he’s an NCAA division II dropout, but the two years he did play for the University of Nebraska-Omaha, he won the North-Central Conference Pitcher of the Year Award. I plan to go to the ballpark for one of his starts, so when that happens, I’ll be able to report better on the kind of stuff he’s got.
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Yes they are, right now on the GCL, team I had the office send me their schedule , and the full roster of all the teams, they play games every day now untill June 9th, except Sundays,
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I’m hopeful that Hewitt might see some time in the NY/PENN league so I can see him in person but I don’t expect it.
James, is it likely that he’ll at least play some short-season ball this year?
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From what I see James is on GCl as of now, also Saunderson and Santana Domingo, on Williamport , Terrance Warren , Fabio Murakami, Steave Susdorf but is on the DL , Tomas De los Santos but the word is he was not at this past spring training, maybe Visa issues, anyway James could see some Penn but I think he will need to get some at bats in the GCL or have a productive EXT Spring to move up , theirs also 7 other outfielders on the GCL roster right now , so they have 9 Outfielders on the list
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Nice write up, thanks. I am very excited about the progress of all of our pitching prospects. Reading, Clearwater, and Lakewood all had great pitching from the young starters that we classify as prospects except for Sampson. I don’t count Diekman as a high prospect any longer after his season last year combined with the amazing draft. Think about it: Carrasco, Savery, Drabek, Knapp, Worley, Stutes, Brumett, Naylor, Cloud, and Roth all pitched well. Very impressive and excting start.
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I read about 12 articles this morning, great articles on the Phils prospects here and abroad.
I am trying to contact you, but your email contact link is not working at the moment. To avoid looking like a comment spam—-When you get a chance go to this page so I may ask you a question about your blog–
http://www.philliesdigest.com/?page_id=18
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I’m trying to remember Robert Roth’s story. Was he the guy who put up real good numbers last year, but had a tough time striking anybody out? If I’m remembering him correctly, it was nice to see him strike some guys out in first 2009 debut
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NEPP: I can’t speak for James, but if I had to guess, I’d say the odds are pretty good that Hewitt starts in the NYPL. Obviously he’s still very raw, but he turns 20 in two weeks, and as a 1st round pick, I’d be surprised if he spends two seasons in the GCL.
Then again, I could be totally off… but that’s my reading of the situation at least.
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I think once Kyle Slate is healthy again he will take over for Sanchez in the Claws rotation. Hes still sidelined with a shoulder injury..hopefully nothing too too serious.
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Rickey Branch wrote:
“Wish D’Arby Myers would fill out a little more. My ST D’Arby story was watching him in BP when he came over to the fence and he told a guy he knew standing next to me that the day before he had two hits off of Andy Pettitte in a minor league game over at the Yankees facilty”
I was a bit further away on the days I got a chance to catch him this spring in Clearwater, but I’m not holding out much hope on his filling out. He’s got a rail thin body type that makes me think he’s going to have trouble putting on good weight, even if he makes a concerted effort to do so. I was really surprised that he hadn’t made much progress in that department from the last time I saw him.
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I spoke with Slate in March at spring training camp and he said it was shoulder tendinitis. He has been sidelined for about 6 weeks now.
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Collier, Mattair and Garcia continue to hit, with a good batting eye.
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Collier , 2 , 2B last night and , tonight 1 2B & 3B
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I got to go to the game on saturday. It was a lot of fun, stuck around for the extra inning too. mattiar looked great on defense, as did hanzawa. mattair made a few great diving stops, and hanzawa went left past second base for a ball or two. There were a lot of steals too. gose had a couple, myers had a couple. Roth pitched very well, but he wasn’t throwing all that hard. I never saw the radar gun go over 88 for him.
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Billy Mac and jpd: thanks for the first-hand reports.
That’s more like it from Collier. How’s this for some small sample size fun (22 plate appearances)?
.333/.455/.667 — 83.3% XBH — 1.000 SecA
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Phillies Minor League Baseball was nearly non-existent yesterday. Only Lakewood got a part of a game in. I’m having withdrawal.
Cloyd went 6 yesterday. Gave up 4 H and 3 R. D’Arnaud is starting slowly but that’s fine. I’ll bet he was hoping to open in Clearwater. Mattair now has a .500 OBP. Like others I’d like to see this big kid show some power (only 1 XBH in 19 AB) but he turned 20 in Dec. I like him in the 3 hole. He’ll get some RBI chances and he hasn’t diappointed. This is a good way to challenge him. If you’re not going to move him to Clearwater then put him in the lineup where he has to produce.
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Did anyone else notice that Travis Mattair now has 10 walks in 30 ab’s, he also has 6 hits and only 4 k’s
posted this in another thread but figured this was the right place for it
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Cromp
good new. Mattair and Glavis started so slowly last year not this year
btw Eleven combined Ks last night ok
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I just noticed that with Mattair too – 7 walks in his last two games. Does he develop insane plate discipline, is he being pitched around (doubtful), or is it just fluky? It’s probably a cobination of the first and third thing, but it’s nice to see that kind of patience.
It’s only been a week, but it looks like things might be starting to come together for Mattair. Plus I hear his defense has been top notch as well.
– Jeff
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very interesting line from mattair last night – 0 for 1 with 4 walks. pretty impressive actually.
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Nice to see a player put the team in front of himself Now it is up to management to keep that in mind. For once i would like to see a phil make the show on little thing
ps Marson tonight ?? could he do worse then passball no hit Coste
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It’s gotten surreal at this point: Mattair has two more walks tonight. He’s become the anti-Golson. Could someone throw the kid a strike please?
– Jeff
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mattair might be our break out candidate this year. another great game last night 2-3, a double and 3 walks. that is awesome! i don’t know where this supper eye came from, as last year he had a 3-1 k to walk rate and only 36 walks in ~500 PA. he could eclipse that walk total by mid-May. maybe it is simply a maturation that leads to him slowing down and not pressing so hard. but this is a very impressive start. keep it up Travis!
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Good Report!
Tx
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Jeff O Says:
It’s gotten surreal at this point: Mattair has two more walks tonight. He’s become the anti-Golson. Could someone throw the kid a strike please?
– Jeff
Maybe its the “Twilight Strike Zone” The first month if ’08 was the worse after that some good months. GO Mr T
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Maybe it’s that some players take longer to adjust. They are so use to success there way, That they sometimes in my opinion tune out coaches, until they struggle and then wonder if the coaches way is the way to go. This kid by all account could hit, in every article that I read. And if he wasn’t swinging at strikes last season he was just getting himself out.
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See Gose has stolen two more bases today. 8 for 8 in his 10th game so far. Leads all of minor league baseball.
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Regarding Mattair… it’s not uncommon for players to improve when they repeat a level — see Brad Harman‘s improvement from 2006 to 2007 — but I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a drastic change in peripherals (even taking into account the small sample size).
Through today’s game, Travis has walked 16 times in 49 appearances, a staggering 32.7% BB%. His BB:K ratio is an outstanding 16:6, and he sports a .531 OBP.
The only cause for concern: the lack of power. Small sample size warning again, but he’s posted only a .091 ISO thus far. I fear that his swing isn’t built for power — 59.1% GB this year (not including today’s game), after 54.3% GB last year.
A lack of power will eventually mean that pitchers won’t have to work around him. Hopefully the grounder numbers this year are just a product of small sample size, and Travis will start hitting the ball with some authority. If that happens, in conjunction with the vastly improved plate discipline he’s shown this year, then watch out.
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Anthony Gose with 3 SB’s today!!
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Maybe Gose’s speed on the basepaths is enough reason to keep him as an outfielder. He seems to possibly possess Bourn-like speed (I’m hoping to catch a Lakewood game in a few weeks). Assuming he has a cannon arm and can play good defense, those tools should be enough to get him a slot as a fourth or fifth outfielder in the bigs.
Hey, and the Walking Man drew three more BBs today! Regarding his lack of power, I’ll just say it’s a small sample size – he has been hitting some doubles though. And if his new plate discipline is more than just an anomaly, then a ridiculously high amount of walks probably will compensate for a lack of power (even if it’s at a tradional “power” position)
– Jeff
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Does anyone know the story on Jesus Villegas Andino He seems to get no respect
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