Monthly Archives: May 2014

Lehigh Valley Weekly Report

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Lehigh Valley went 4-3 on the week and are now 24-21 on the year and in 4th place of the Northern Division of the International League, just 0.5 game behind division leading Buffalo.  The ‘Pigs are off on Wednesday before spending Memorial Day weekend home against Toledo and then depart for a 9 hame/8 day road trip against Norfolk and Durham. The ‘Pigs have won 7 of their last 10 games and hold the IL’s best record in May (13-7)

‘Pigs League Leaders (min 12 ab’s)Hitting: Maikel Franco is 7th in AB’s (162); Tyler Henson is 8th in runs(25), 5th in strikeouts(47) and 3rd in SB’s(11); Jim Murphy is 7th in RBI’s(25);

Pitching:David Buchanan is 2nd in wins(5) and has the 7th worst WHIP (1.57); Luis Garcia is 5th in saves (6); Barry Enright is 10th in IP (50.1) and tied for 3rd in HR allowed (7)

‘Pigs Prospects: David Buchanan had a very rough outings in his last start on Sunday, going just 1IP and allowing 4 runs on five hits.  With the loss Sunday, he fell short of becoming the first IronPigs player to win five straight.  In his four previous starts (all wins), he threw a combined 22.2 inning, allowing 9 earned runs (3.57ERA). With RISP, the opposition is hitting just .143 against him. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Box Score Recap – 5/19/2014 – The Fall And Rise Of Roman Quinn & Aaron Altherr’s Batting Average

Box Score Recap

Roman Quinn was 0-4 in his return from a ruptured Achilles Tendon. He played all 12 innings and stole a base. I’ll take both facts as good signs. Brian Pointer went deep in that game, and Gabriel Lino was 2-5 plus a walk. 22-year-old Miguel Nunez is back from a trip to XST – he gave up two hits and a walk in two scoreless innings of relief. It will be interesting to see if they keep him in the pen or try to stretch him out again.

Aaron Altherr picked up two hits in the nightcap of Reading’s DH with New Hampshire to pull his average back about the Mendoza line, where it had dipped after an 0-2 in the early game. That’s called resiliency. I guess. Dude probably didn’t even realize. Cameron Perkins was 2-3 with a double and a walk in the second game as well.

Darin Ruf and Maikel Franco went deep in back-to -back at bats in the top of the sixth to draw Lehigh Valley to within a run of Buffalo, but someone pulled the thread and Justin De Fratus came undone in the bottom of the inning, allowing two hits, a walk, a HBP and a wild pitch for three runs.

J.P. Crawford, Wilmer Oberto and Willians Astudillo all put up two hits in a losing effort for Lakewood. Delvi Francisco has allowed just one hit and struck out five over his last four innings. The former position player’s been effective in limited use thus far in 2014.

And finally, Jesus Alastre has yet to be held hitless in his six-game professional career. So that’s nice. Small sample size caveats apply, but Alastre is the best player in the history of the game and should be called up immediately.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 5/19/2014 – The Fall And Rise Of Roman Quinn & Aaron Altherr’s Batting Average →

Around the System–Starting Pitchers

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A first look at at how starting pitchers are faring around the organization.  Next up is a look at relief pitchers.

Lehigh Valley

David Buchanan, 25, Phils 7th round pick in 2010 draft; 9 starts; 5-1 with a 3.98 ERA; 40.2IP 47H 13BB 31K; 3 HR allowed; 1.48 WHIP; 1.08 GO/AO; .301 opp. avg.; 2.9BB/6.9K per nine; .297 vs. LHH, .305 vs. RHH, .217 with RISP; 2-1 with a 5.25 ERA in 3 May starts.  Buchanan started the year very strong but has hit somewhat of a wall as of late.  Too early to pan ic, but a raised eyebrow.

Barry Enright, 28, Signed as a free agent in 2014; 8 starts; 1-2 with a 3.97ERA; 1CG; 45.1IP 45H 13BB 28K; 7HR allowed; 0.84 GO/AO; .256 opp. avg; 1.27WHIP; 2.6BB/5.6K per 9; .207 vs. LHH; .298 vs. RHH; .235 with RISP; 1-0 with a 2.78 ERA in 3 May starts; Enright started slowly but has really come around in May, culminating with a masterful CG in his last start.

Sean O’Sullivan, 26, Signed as a free agent in 2014; 8 starts; 1-3 with a 3.75ERA; 48IP 52H 15BB 21K; 3HR allowed; 0.78 GO/AO; .277 opp. avg; 1.40 WHIP; .330 LHH; .227 vs. RHH; .354 with RISP; O’Sullivan is far from overpowering but has done a decent job “pitching to contact” and has put the ‘Pigs in a place where they can be competitive in games he starts. Continue reading Around the System–Starting Pitchers →

Reading Report: 5/12-5/18

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Last Sunday saw the week for the Fightins end with Severino Gonzalez’s strange game and a 15-0 loss in Trenton. This week was a bit better, with a 4-3 Reading win against Bowie, giving the club a 5-1 week.

It was an interesting week for Hoby Milner, who went seven innings last Monday in New Hampshire, allowing five hits and two runs, to go along with three walks and a couple strikeouts. Continue reading Reading Report: 5/12-5/18 →

Roman Quinn is Back!!!!!

Quinn, Roman, Transactions

Not sure if anything else is needed.  Crawford is ailing in Lakewood, but expected back tonight, when he is ready for Clearwater the Phillies will figure something out.

2014 MLB Draft: Looking at #7

2014 Draft

With the Phillies picking at #7 in the 2014 draft it doesn’t make much sense to put out a big board or first round mock draft as everyone will tune out by pick 15.  Though Brad and I will be doing a mock draft all the way to #50 to include the Phillies second round pick, though that is a bit in the future.  For now lets just focus on what is happening at #7 in the 2014 draft and who could be there and what kind of decisions can be made there.

Off the Board:  There is no scenario I can see where either Brady Aiken or Carlos Rodon are on the board for the Phillies pick.  They may not go 1-2 in the draft, but neither is making it past 4.  The lefties could move quickly and be a the top of major league rotations soon. Continue reading 2014 MLB Draft: Looking at #7 →

General Discussion – Week of 5-19-2014 – Very Realistic Trades Edition

Weekly Discussion

Marlins and Dodgers this week, starting Tuesday. The Phillies should probably trade for Yasiel Puig or Giancarlo Stanton. Or both, right? Howard for Puig because The Dodgers have plenty of money to pay Howard, and Brown for Stanton because, uh, Brown will be cheaper in the next couple years and The Marlins don’t have any money to pay players. They need to save their money to make free agent deals with weak no-trade clauses.

Discuss.

Box Score Recap – 5/18/2014

Box Score Recap

David Buchanan got pulled after one inning, I suspect simply because he threw 45 pitches in the first inning, but I also suspect the walk, five hits and four runs might have done it anyway. Seth Rosin gave up four hits in relief and he was the team’s MVP, as he also struck out four.

Cam Perkins drove in three of the four Reading runs and Nefi Ogando closed out his fourth save, allowing two hits and striking out two in a scoreless ninth. He’s walked just five and struck out 19 in his 19 innings thus far. John McDonald, on the other hand, hasn’t struck out anyone. He’s slipping.

And for Lakewood, Andrew Pullin was 2-5 with a double and a home run, Carlos Tocci was 2-4 with a walk, Mitch Walding was 3-5 with a double, and Deivi Grullon was 2-3 with two doubles. But the big winner of that contest was Ranfi Casimiro. The 6’8″ right hander struck out eight in six innings, while allowing just one run on two hits and three walks. Easily his best start of the year, after he had easily his best start of the year last time out. That starts to look like a trend if he does it one more time. Cross your fingers.

And in case you missed it, Jay Floyd (@phoulballz) reported that J.P. Crawford was hitting in the cage with a bandage on his injured finger under his batting glove, was available if needed, and intends to play Monday.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 5/18/2014 →

Box Score Recap – 5/16/2014

Box Score Recap

Maikel Franco went 3-4 with a BB, as his season OPS inches closer to .700 and his May OPS inches closer to 1.000. He’s getting there. Tyler Henson stole his 11th bag of the year, versus only one CS. He was 13/17 all of last year. He’s having a fine season thus far, currently OPSing .830. The right injury situation, (if such a thing exists), and maybe the 26-year-old Henson winds up making his big league debut in 2014. Also of note in that game: Steve Susdorf drew four walks. If four Ks is a Golden Sombrero, four walks should have a name. Your suggestions are welcome. I’ll go with “Patient Platinum Petasus”. Petasus is Latin. For hat.

Cam Perkins was 1-2 with two more walks, giving him eight in his last five games, doubling his season total and bringing him within 10 of his 2013 total. Sam Hiciano was a home run short of the cycle, while Willians Astudillo was 3-4 with a double and four RBI while catching seven innings of a Mark Leiter Jr. victory. BA highlighted Astudillo as a “helium” prospect for the week on the Hot Sheet. His value remains tied to his ability to catch, and BA says “His defense behind the plate requires improvement through repetition”. He’s only caught in five games thus far in 2014 as he slowly gets back to catching after a knee surgery held him out of 2013 altogether. We’ll see how much they use him throughout this year.

And 19-year-old Joseph Miranda hit for the Big Wheel (4-5 with a double and 2HR), in the VSL, making his season totals after four games look, well, pretty amazing – he’s OPSing 1.717 and has four XBH in those four games. Seems sustainable. Jesus Alastre continues his hot start, going 2-3 with a double and a pair of runs scored, while 16-year-old Luis Mendoza was 3-4 with two doubles and two runs scored.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 5/16/2014 →

A look at the Giles-less Reading bullpen

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Ken Giles struck out 29 of the 57 batters he faced in the Eastern League in 2014. There was no question that his promotion was warranted, and no question that the Lehigh Valley bullpen was prepared for the right-hander’s talented arm to join them.

It did, naturally, leave a bit of a hole in the relief corps in Reading. It’s been a week since Giles’ promotion to the Pigs, and the Reading bullpen has had a few games to sort out what life is like without the hard-throwing Giles. (The pen also lost Kyle Simon, who was promoted to Lehigh Valley along with Giles.) So, what’s left in the bullpen for the Fightins? Will we see other promotions sometime soon? Should we expect to see any of them with the big club this year? Continue reading A look at the Giles-less Reading bullpen →