A look at the time period from April 18-24.  Quick Thoughts…I had the opportunity to watch Jesse Biddle live for the first time on Monday evening, and having seen thousands of baseball games, his performance ranks right near the top.  Keep in mind it is one outing, but a pitcher that has the ability to do what he did, is worth being very excited about….Aaron Altherr has been showing all the tools, and its worth starting to follow him every day…After quick starts, Hewitt and Quinn land on the “Not Hot” list this week….There was a good deal of excitement last year about Tyler Knigge who has struggled out of the gate this year, with another difficult week.

Hot Hitters:Cody Asche (.478); Aaron ALtherr (.444, 6R, 4RBI, 2SB);  Carlos Alonso (.417, 5R 5RBI)Jermaine Mitchell (.417, 4R 3RBI, 2SB); Jim Murphy (.400, 4R, HR, 4RBI); Derrick Mitchell (.400); Art Charles (.391, 5RBI) Cesar Hernandez (.391, 3R, SB);Jon Roof (.375); ALbert Cartwright (.360, 6R);  Honorable Mention:Mojica,  Gillies, Perkins, Numata, Mora Continue reading Hot or Not →

Lehigh Valley began an eight game road trip against Indianapolis with a rain out last evening  and  stand at 7-10, 5.5 games behind division leading Buffalo in the Northern Division of the International League.  The road trip continues with four in Indianapolis, followed by four in Louisville.

‘Pigs League Leaders:Cesar Hernandez is 4th in hits (22); Darin Ruf is tied for 3rd in doubles (6); Cody Overbeck is tied for 5th in HR (4); Tyler Cloyd is tied for 2nd in losses (3), has the 2nd worst WHIP (1.95); 3rd worst in ERA (7.65), tied for 2nd in HR allowed (3) and is 7th in strikeouts (19); Adam Morgan is 4th in ERA (1.42) and is 8th in WHIP (0.84); Jake Diekman is tied for 2nd in games (8).

‘Pigs Prospects: Cody Asche has hit in 6 consecutive games, hitting .417 (10-24) over that time period.  After a slow start, Asche seems to be making the adjustment to AAA pitching. Asche is now at .279/.353/.393 with 1HR and 7 RBI on the year. Additionally, he works very hard, as one of the first one the field each and every day. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

There has been a lot of talk lately about bringing up Adam Morgan, however he requires a spot on the 40 man roster.  This isn’t a deal breaker but it does provide an excuse to reevaluate the 40 man roster as there has been some definite shifts early in the system.  Currently the roster stands at 41 players due to Carlos Ruiz’s suspension.

The Locks (22):

Erik Kratz, Carlos Ruiz, Kevin Frandsen, Freddy Galvis, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Michael Young, Domonic Brown, Ben Revere, Darin Ruf, Mike Adams, Phillipe Aumont, Antonio Bastardo, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick, John Lannan, Cliff Lee, Ethan Martin, Jonathan Pettibone, Jonathan Papelbon

Likely Locks (9):

Sebastian Valle, Zach Collier, Cesar Hernandez, and Tyson Gillies – Four prospects who have either have value or have the tools/ceiling to have a major league future.  None will be difference makers but have too much value to throw to the side. Continue reading The 40 Man Roster Numbers Game →

Bucs starting tonight. Truly the finest cross-state rivalry in town except hockey and maybe football if they played more. But def. better than basketball.

Instant Reaction: For the start on Monday this was the best decision.  Morgan was out of the picture for this start and while Martin has the stuff the command is still needing a lot.  Pettibone brings more to the table than Cloyd and will likely have the opportunity to stick around if he can pitch well.  If he cannot stick they will have the opportunity to mess with the rotation enough to bring up Adam Morgan.

This probably signals the end of Cloyd with the Phillies, because he has now been passed by the next wave of pitchers.  With the hot starts by Savery and Robles, Cloyd likely is now towards the top of the list on players most likely to be removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Adam Morgan and eventually Cody Asche and Tommy Joseph. Continue reading Jonathan Pettibone Called Up To Make Big-League Debut on Monday →