BA has the full rosters.
No surprise on Drabek, but Flande is a bit of a surprise. He wasn’t really on the radar entering this year, but has been great in the FSL, despite being old for the level. His stuff is fringy, but he apparently has solid control and command, so he could be a back end type.
As reported yesterday on Scott Lauber’s blog, Philled In, Jason Donald has been in Clearwater for about a week rehabbing from knee surgery. Donald should be back in the Lehigh Valley lineup right around the International League all star break.
Andy Martino, the beat writer from the Inquirer mentioned yesterday that he believed the best candidate for the Phillies bullpen may come from within. He specifically mentioned the possibility of Kyle Drabek in a bullpen role in Philly this year. Thoughts?
Several additions to the Lakewood roster today: Of Vladimir DeLos Santos, C Ryan Gugel, RHP Jordan Ellis and RHP Freddie Ballestas.
In Williamsport, 7 shutout innings from 22 year old Siulman Lebron, in the 1-0 Crosscutter victory last night. Lebron (2-0) gave up just two hits over his 7 innings, while walking one and striking out 10.
A transaction of note has catcher Sebastian Valle being sent from Lakewood to Williamsport. In Williamsport he will presumably play every day, rather than sit behind Travis D’Arnaud in Lakewood.
A rough first couple of games for top Phils pick Kelly Dugan. 0-8 with 3 strikeouts in the GCL. On the bright side, 18 year old pitcher Julio Rodriguez threw five shutout innings in the GCL Phils 2-1 win last night. He gave up just 3 hits and struck out 7.
Oh, and Michael Taylor had another three hit game for Reading raising his average to .340. He is making it extremely tough to keep him at AA, and dare I say “untouchable”?
In Reading, Michael Taylor hit his 13th homer of the year, and his third homer in as many nights in the RPHILS loss last night. Taylor was 3-5 on the night, raising his average to .336.
Down in Clearwater, recently promoted Steve Susdorf got off to a good start for the Threshers with a three hit game.
The early struggles of Anthony Hewitt continue in Williamsport. Through five games, Hewitt is hitting .105 with 6 strikeouts in his first 21 plate appearances for the Crosscutters.
Look for Kyle Kendrick to get the start for Lehigh Valley on Thursday, after his rain shortened, o.1 of an inning outing on Monday night.
It’s been quite some time since I did one of these, and for that I apologize. We spend a lot of time on this site talking about the Kyle Drabeks and Michael Taylors, and I don’t know if there’s enough occasion to give the other guys their due. When I started this feature, I vowed to look at some of the more under-the-radar guys in the system, and while Travis D’Arnaud may not necessarily qualify, I feel like he’s slipped from our consciousness with his rough start to the 2009 season. But I want to go ahead and dig into his numbers from this year, and see why it’s far too early to be disappointed.
With some minor league roster juggling sure to occur within the next several days, a second look at who may or may not be promotion worthy. From my vantage point, speaking strictly of the back end of the ‘pen, Zagurski to Lehigh Valley, Schwimer to Reading, Rosenberg and DeFratus to Clearwater.
Lehigh Valley-
Cedric Bowers, Age 31– 2-1 with a 1.57 ERA in 25 appearances. 34.1 IP, 22BB 41K, .162 opponent average. 1 save. .135 opponent average with RISP.
Sergio Escalona, Age 24– 0-1 with a 3.07 ERA in 22 combined Reading/Lehigh Valley appearances. 29.1 IP, 11BB 26K, .227 opponent average. 1.19 WHIP. 12 saves,
Gary Majewski, age 29– 0-3 with a 4.36 ERA in 25 appearances. 33IP, 10BB 22K, .285 opponent average, .279 opponent average with RISP. 1.42 WHIP. 3 saves.
Jason Anderson–Age 30, 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA in 26 appearances. 40.1 IP, 9BB 23K, .230 opponent average, .105 opponent average with RISP. 1.07 WHIP. 5 saves. Continue reading Around the System–Back of the Bullpen (Part Two)
6/19/09– From Durham up to Norfolk for Lehigh Valley, who won their sixth straight game, 8-6 over Norfolk. The ‘Pigs didnt need much more than Andy Tracy, who was 3-4 with 2 homers (12), 4 runs scored, a stolen base and 5 RBI’s. The first bomb came in the first, and Tracy followed that up with another in the 3rd to give the ‘Pigs a 4-0 lead at the time. Gustavo Chacin (2-0) started and went six fairly effective innings giving up 3 runs on 5 hits. He walked one and struck out two, leaving the game with a 5-3 lead after six. Lehigh Valley tacked on two insurance runs in the 8th, and held on for the victory with Sergio Escalona picking up his 2nd save while with Lehigh Valley. In addition to Tracy, JJ Furmaniak (3-4, 2b, rbi) and Jason Ellison (3-5, r) had big games for Lehigh Valley, while Lou Marson went 2-5 with an RBI in his return to the ‘Pig lineup. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekend Update
Kyle Drabek (3-0)threw eight shutout innings, giving up just four hits in the 4-0 Reading victory Friday night. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out five, lowering his AA ERA to 2.08.
On another topic, see below the fold for some comments by Steve Shrenk, Reading Pitching Coach on the recent performance of a few Reading pitchers: (Source: Reading Phillies.com Interview with Anthony Opperman)
A very good week for Lehigh Valley, as they went 6-1, but remain in 5th place of the Northern Division of the International League, 10.5 games out of first with a record of 30-36, as we approach the seasons half way mark. Batting leaders include Rich Thompson who is 8th in triples (3) and 8th in stolen bases (14); Andy Tracy tied for 5th in homers (10), 5th in walks (32) and 8th in RBI’s (42); along with Mike Cervenak who is 5th in average (.321). On the pitching ledger, Andrew Carpenter is 6th in Wins (6), 5th in innings (74.1) and 6th in homers allowed (10); Kyle Kendrick is 8th in IP (73.0); Carlos Carrasco is 9th in IP (72.2) and 4th in strikeouts (72).
With tonight’s 8-3 victory over the Hagerstown Suns, the Lakewood BlueClaws are your SAL Northern Division First-Half Champions!
This gives them an automatic berth in the playoffs and home-field advantage for at least the first round.
Congratulations to the Lakewood BlueClaws players and staff!
With the groin injury to Raul Ibanez, the Phillies once again have recalled RF John Mayberry from Lehigh Valley. Mayberry, 25, figures to play at least against lefties, and maybe a bit more with Ibanez out of the lineup for at least the next 15 days and probably longer. In his brief stint with the Phils, Mayberry hit .222 with a homer and 3 RBI’s in 9 at bats. He has struggled since being sent back down to Lehigh, hitting just .121 over his last 10 games, with 10 strikeouts in 33 at bats. These next several weeks will be critical weeks for Mayberry, solidifying his status as the teams fourth OF next year, or opening the door for consideration of other candidates.
The trickle down effect on the Phils system could be interesting as well. Is it time to call up Michael Taylor? Or, would the Phillies prefer he continue playing in the winning atmosphere established in Reading this year? Continue reading John Mayberry Recalled
Phuture Phillies 