Recap: Lakewood went 3-3 on the week and still sit atop the SAL North with a 15-8 record, two games ahead of Delmarva. Overall, they are 57-36. Notable performances this week were Jiwan James‘ eclipsing the franchise record hit streak by hitting in his 24th straight game and a 9 strikeout performance by Trevor May.
Hitters: Somewhat mediocre week for most of the prospects. Obviously, James’ hitting streak was the highlight.
- Jeremy Barnes: 4-17, 2B, 3 RBI
- Leandro Castro: 5-18, 2B, 2 RBI, SB
- Anthony Hewitt: 3-21, 2B, 2 RBI, 7 K / 0 BB
- Jiwan James: 12-26, 2 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 1 K, SB / 2 CS
- Alan Schoenberger: 6-15, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, SB
- Jonathan Singleton: 5-20, 2 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 6 K / 6 BB
- Sebastian Valle: 6-23, 2B
- Jonathan Villar: 6-15, 3B, 2 CS
Notes: Barnes started games this week at 2B, 3B, and SS…James’ team record hitting streak ended at 24 games. He went 34-94 (.362) during the streak…Singleton now qualifies on the SAL leaderboards (2nd in AVG, SLG, OBP, OPS, already into the Top 10 in RBI)…Singleton’s HR on Friday ended a 10-game homerless drought for the ‘Claws…Valle has 8 errors and 7 passed balls, but has thrown out 33% of attempted base stealers.
Pitchers: Wondering whether innings are now being managed, as there were lots of five inning starts this week. Seems like you can take some good out of every start, but no performances stood out.
- Brody Colvin: 5 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 K / 0 BB
- Ebelin Lugo: 2 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 K/ BB, BS
- Trevor May: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 9 K / 3 BB
- Jonathan Pettibone: 10.2 IP, 14 H, 5 ER, 5 K / 4 BB
- Colby Shreve: 5 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 6 K / BB
- Luke Wertz: 3 IP, 4 H, ER, 0 K / 0 BB
- Josh Zeid: 5 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 K / 2 BB
Notes: Nick Hernandez started his rehab with two outings (3 IP) for the GCL Phillies…’Claws signed two pitchers from the independent leagues this week: Mike McGuire (24-yr old Drexel Hill / Univ. of DE alum, 6’7″, 240 lbs., 43rd round pick by Indians in ’08) and Joe Esposito (25-yr old righty, averaged 10.8 K / 9, 2.73 K / BB, and less than a hit per inning pitched for his career)…Josh Zeid in four starts–17.1 IP, 11 H, 5 ER, 17 K / 5 BB.
Phuture Phillies 
so, Ive been looking at some people’s stats and one thins that really stood out to me isthat Jiwan james is not good at any aspect of offense. he’s slugging under .400, walking like 5% of the time, striking out to much, getting caught stealing way to much, and even with the hitting streak his numbers aren’t good. he’s a bad hitter in low A ball. i hope that he proves me wrong, but i don’t really see him as much of a prospect yet, unless its on the freddy galvis no hit all glove level.
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The guy just had a 24 game hitting streak…he is batting .277 now….he had 24 sbs…he has been caught too much but he can work on that..he is an above average fielder..can’t call him a bad hitter in low A…Anthony Hewitt is a bad hitter in low A…I think James is turning the corner and he is still young.
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jpd – that is a ridiculous conclusion
first. this is his first season of full season ball. and during this season every statistic has improved from month to month. his june and july stats are phenomenal.
second. i don’t know if you have ever played baseball, but it is really, really hard to get a hit, let alone get a hit 10 games in a row. how about 24! it shows amazing concentration and consistency. extremely impressive for a young kid
finally. he has amazing raw tools. players like him take time to develop. the fact that he is doing so well so quickly is amazing. you don’t look at full year stats for a raw prospect of his athletic caliber. you look for a demonstration of tools and consistency and improvement. all of which he has shown in spades. i am not saying he belongs in the dom brown level of prospect, but he is certainly a very impressive prospect that every team would love to have. he is a lottery ticket.
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Converted pitcher with less than 600 career ABs and his last 200 were better than the first four hundred. His average, OBP, and SLG have all gotten better each month this year. .800+ OPS over the last two months. He has tools and he’s obviously learning as he goes. Guess it depends on the definition of “prospect”, but I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
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I listened to BA’s latest podcast this afternoon. The crew had high praise for Jonathan Villar, calling his defensive tools among the best in the minor leagues.
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Nice to see McGuire signed. Nice guy with a good arm. Hopefully he can make a difference.
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jpd, I can understand you coming to that conclusion if you just look at his total numbers in a vacuum. If you consider that he is a HS draft pick that had less than 200 pro ab’s coming into his first full season of baseball as a non pitcher. Check his monthly splits. He has improved in every category. His K’s have decreased, his BB’s have increased. He has batted well over. 300 for two months. At this pace, he will be among the league’s leading hitters by the end of the season. In a pitchers league.
How does all of that add up to a bad baseball player?
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McGuire’s a great guy, if he can stay healthy and improve his command he could be more than an org filler.
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Note : Joseph Esposito is not a Left Handed Pitcher, he is a Left Handed Batter and Right Handed Pitcher, if you go by what is on MiLB.com and look at column headers.
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Thanks marfis–corrected that above. Guess that’s what happens when it’s a slow week and I find random crap to throw in the notes and don’t double-check sources.
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I just don’t like getting on the bandwagon of guys with little minor league experience. If he continues to improve, sure, he could be good someday. I just wanna wait a little more than 200 PAs until i decide i like him.
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