Lehigh Valley Weekly Report

Other Stuff

Lehigh Valley completed their 8 game road trip with a 9-5 loss against Louisville yesterday, and after a long bus ride back to Allentown, have an off day today followed by an 8 game home stand that begins Thursday against Indianapolis.  Since the last report, Lehigh Valley went 3-5 and now stand at 10-15 on the year, 7 games behind division leading Buffalo.

‘Pigs League Leaders: Cesar Hernandez is 5th in AB’s (95), 8th in SB’s (7), 9th in OBP (.417); 3rd in avg. (.375), leads the league in triples (3), and leads the league in hits (36); Darin Ruf is 3rd in doubles (9); Cody Overbeck is 6th in HR(5).

Pitching: Justin DeFratus is 5th in wins(3), Tyler Cloyd is 5th in losses (5), 8th in HR allowed (4), has the 8th worst ERA (6.67), and 3rd worst WHIP (1.78); Ethan Martin has the 3rd worst ERA(7.66), 2nd worst WHIP (1.79) and leads the league in walks allowed (20); Adam Morgan is 7th in IP (30.2); Jake Diekman is 9th in walks allowed (14)

‘Pigs Prospects–Darin Ruf is now officially on fire, after slumping last week. In the series against Louisville, Ruf smacked 3 doubles and 3 HR’s while going 8-16 in the series.  After dropping to just over .200, Ruf is at .267/.319/.512 on the year with 4HR and 15RBI. Ruf is striking out in around 26% of his AB’s, but is showing a good deal of recent improvement. Some strange splits, as Ruf is at .091 vs. LH and .154 with RISP. His defense in LF has been surprisingly adequate.

lJustin DeFratus had a rough outing against Louisville yesterday giving up 2 runs in his two innings of work, but other than that, has been very consistent thus far.  DeFratus in his 9 outings has gone 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings of work, walking 4 and striking out 11. The opposition is hitting .288 against DeFratus, but just .158 with RISP.  It wouldn’t surprise me to see DeFratus in Philadelphia if Phillipe Aumont does not become more consistent quickly.

Cesar Hernandez extended his hitting streak to 12 games yesterday going 1-4 with 2RS. During the streak, Hernandez has hit .413 and is at .375/.417/500 with 1HR and 8RBI to go along with 7 SB’s on the year.  Among the league leaders in several hitting categories, Hernandez has been excellent.

Tyler Cloyd finally had a solid start during his outing against Indianapolis on Saturday, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits over seven innings.  Over his 5 starts, CLoyd is now 0-3 with a 6.67 ERA. Two of his starts have been “quality starts”.  CLoyd to be effective is dependant upon pinpoint control.  He has struggled this year, giving up 4 walks per nine innings pitched.  Also problematic is the fact that hitters are at .351 with runners in scoring position against him.

Leandro Castro has hit in 7 of the last 9 games, after going 3 for his previous 30. The free swinging Castro is at .273/.291/.429 thru 77 AB’s, with 2HR and  6RBI to go along with 5SB’s this year.  Catsro is struggling with RISP at just 1.54.

Joe Savery has overtaken Jake Diekman as the #1 left handed call up if needed by the Phils.  Savery has been outstanding this year, yielding just 1ER in his 7 appearances, spanning 9.2 innings. In those 9.2IP, Savery has struck out 14 and opponents are hitting .121 against him. Cant ask for much more than that.

Next Week: Joseph, Asche, Gillies, Stutes, Morgan, Martin, Diekman

News and Notes: Delmon Young completed his rehab with Lehigh Valley and went 5-17 (.294) with an RBI.

–In their 9 home games, Lehigh Valley has averaged 8,081 fans per game, leading the league in attendance by well over 15%.

–In his two spot starts, Zach Miner has allowed just one run over seven innings.

–Lehigh Valley is really struggling at home with a 2-6 record.

–Lehigh Valley set a franchise record with 5HR last Sunday.

–The starting rotation has gone a combined 2-11 with a 5.37ERA in 25 games. Very problematic for a team that had counted on the rotation as a huge positive.

Probables: Thursday: Rosenberg; Fri: Cloyd; Sat: Miner or Jiminez Sun: Morgan.

Transactions:None

9 thoughts on “Lehigh Valley Weekly Report”

  3. FYI, if its any consolation–Trevor May, in AA, is currently at a WHIP of 1.6 and a 64% BB rate.

    Like

    1. It’s amazing how a player can tank so quickly. Some people chalk it up to “a hole in their game” exploited at a higher level, but I honestly think it has very very little to do with that. I imagine if you moved May down to A+ ball right now, where he previously did quite well, he’d probably flounder.

      Like

    2. That really isn’t that surprising. The thought that some believed that Trevor May was a potential frint line starter was always interesting. May never had command, which front line starters have. The numbers he is putting up aren’t a shock.

      Like

  4. It’s going to be interesting if Cesar Hernandez finishes the year with .850+ OPS. With Utley a FA, decisions will have to be made

    Like

    1. If Utley is willing to be reasonable on contract demands, he’ll be back. The Phillies organization is hurting for many things at the major and minor league levels, but $$$ is the very least of them. They have the money to spend and if they part ways with Utley, it is highly unlikely that they can find a wise use for the saved $$$ over the winter. Utley is still a guy who can win games and sell tickets. Nobody is going to buy a season ticket to see Cesar Hernandez at 2B in Philly. He can look forward to a second season at AAA and then a utility role, before he replaces Utley. More likely a trade.

      Like

  5. Actual home record is 2-8 over nine fulfilled home dates: one double-header

    Admit I completely underestimated Cesar Hernandez. He’d been really good.

    Saturday starter will be Tom Cochran just up from Reading.

    Friend on the way down; he’s looked poor. Diek hasn’t been real sharp lately, either. De Fratus, Savery, Jimenez much better. Miner hung out to dry once or twice early on before he was stretched much–better lately in the starter/long guy role.

    Like

Comments are closed.