First off, despite what was on MiLB.com for a while last night, Aaron Nola did not pitch. That site had it wrong. It was Miguel Nunez, and he pitched really well, allowing just one hit and three walks with eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings. He had a fine July, with a WHIP under 1.00 and six inning stints each time out. Roman Quinn was 2-5 and Chris Serritella was a triple short of the cycle. Cody Forsythe worked a five out save in that contest.

Maikel Franco hit the game-winning home run (9) for Lehigh Valley. He’s finishing the month strong. Hopefully August is another July, or even another May, and not another April or June. Five Iron Pigs had multi-hit games, led by Cesar Hernandez and Tyler Henson, who were both 204 with a double and a walk. I left the Rochester pitching line in there so you could see Trevor May’s work. Well done for the former Phils #1 prospect. He’s bound to be a September call-up this year after what looks like a really solid year on paper – 4HR, 33BB and 89K in 89.1 IP. All make for fine rates. Reading managed just one hit against Portland pitching, as Adam Loewen pitched fairly well – he did walk five guys in six scoreless innings, which is not ideal, though he also struck out seven. And Colt Murray let down two of his mates when he allowed both Seth Rosin and Austin Wright’s runners to score in the eighth.

Zach Green had two hits and a walk for Lakewood, as they were shut down by former Phils farm hand Luis Gonzalez. Gonzalez spent three years in the Phils system from 2010-2012, and spent last year in the DSL for the Orioles. He’s 22 years old, but he’s been very good for Delmarva – 0HR, 58K, 19BB in 61.1IP. Curious why he was let go, and I wonder if it was personal, as he wound up in the DSL for a year after what was not a bad year in WIL in 2012. Denton Keys went six scoreless, allowing two hits and one walk while striking out five – good start for him. He’s been inconsistent, but no major red flags so far for him. Austin Davis’ first pro start went pretty well, though he’s not stretched out – he may still wind up staying in the pen going forward.

I’m going to open another trade deadline thread today since yesterday’s is near 100 comments already. Try to keep that stuff in the general discussion, if you can.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/30/2014 →

Luis Garcia, back from the DL, and struck out two in a clean inning of work. Kelly Dugan and Aaron Altherr each had singles in both games of Reading’s DH – Edgar Duran had four doubles, all told. And nice work from Ryan O’Sullivan to give his bullpen a break for six innings. He’s been about as effective as a starter as I’d imagined – he seems to be managing his way around the fact that his stuff plays down in longer stints – his strikeout rate has dipped severely from his time in the pen, and his walk rate has gone up.

Roman Quinn was 4-5 with two steals. The Threshers stole six off of Stuart Turner and his battery mates. Not a good day for him. Cody Forsythe stranded two runners, despite allowing a hit, and struck out the side for his second FSL save. He’s been really good this year – 50:8 k:bb in 47.1IP across two levels. Wouldn’t mind seeing him get four weeks in Reading right now. For Lakewood, Tocci, Pullin, Knapp and Cozens put up two hits a piece – one of Tocci’s was a double, one of Cozens’ was a three-run homer (14). Tocci is OPSing .820 for the month, and Cozens .931. Yoel Mecias is limiting runs, but he’s not yet striking out a ton of batters – just 21 over 32 innings this year. He’s got plenty of time to turn that around, however.

Thinking they ought to get Brandon Liebrandt to Lakewood, already. Another gem from him the the NYPL – in six scoreless innings, he allowed one hit, two walks and struck out six. He’s allowed just six hits and struck out 18 in 18 innings at this level. Dominant. GCL pounded out 13 hits against the Pirates squad, while Nic Hanson threw five perfect innings in his rehab appearance.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/29/2014 →

Maikel Franco with his eighth home run and second in three days. He was 4-4 and has been absolutely crushing it in July, with an OPS of .972 for the month, which includes 14 XBH in ~90PAs. Solid. Reading managed just two hits, and Severino Gonzalez lasted just three innings against Portland. Seve only threw 52 pitches, but he did allow two more homers. Not solid. Roman Quinn’s streak of walks and steals comes to an end, but he has hit in six straight. For LKW, Andy Knapp had three hits and Dylan Cozens and Mitch Walding had two a piece – Walding’s OPSing a Maikel Franco-esque .975 in July. His Ks remain a little high, though he’s been better this month at around 23%, but his walks are near double digits for the year. A month in A+ might be a good idea for his progress, as he appears to be over SAL pitching, finally.

And hopefully Tyler Viza’s getting something out of his time in Lakewood, because you know he’s not getting much confidence from his game day results. He’s 3-14, which has to kind of suck. It’s meaningless in judging his performance, and there’s plenty not to like in his stats, but it was a really aggressive placement for a HS draftee who didn’t even see WIL last summer. He’s at least kept his control, as evidenced by a really strong 1.88 BB/9 for a 4.6% BB Rate. Seems he’s been a little bit unlucky as well, as FIP has him at 4.10 for the year, which is not bad at all for one of the ten or so youngest regular starters in the league, and nearly a run better than his ERA. His placement in 2015 will be interesting.

I’ve spent too much time on this already, so I’ll leave the short season leagues to you all to discuss, but I will say this much: ¡Viva Encarnación!

Is it “vivo”, “viva”, “vive”, or one of those with an accent, maybe? Anyone? Viva seems to flow off the tongue, but I don’t think it’s right.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/28/2014 →