Lehigh Valley was shut out by Indianapolis, 4-0. Phillippe Aumont lasted 3.0 innings and gave up 3 runs in the first inning. The damage could have been less or even avoided but for a wild pitch with runners on first and second and nobody out. He allowed 6 hits and walked two on 76 pitches. The offense only managed 6 hits. Maikel Franco played first and went 1 for 4. Dom Brown and Tommy Joseph went hitless.
Reading was shut out by Reading, 3-0. Zach Eflin pitched 8.0 innings and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits, 1 walk, and 5 strike outs. Lee Ridenhour pitched a perfect ninth. The Phils only managed 4 hits. Brock Stassi had one and Gustavo Pierre had two. Roman Quinn picked up an outfield assist, gunning down a runner trying to stretch a double into a triple.
Clearwater was shut out for 8 innings by Dunedin before losing 4-2. David Whitehead allowed 3 runs (2 ER) in 6.0 innings. He gave up 6 hits, 0 walks, and struck out seven. Edubray Ramos gave up a gift run with 2 wild pitches in the seventh. Drew Stankiewicz, Andrew Knapp, and Willians Astudillo had 2 hits each. Knapp collected his third triple of the season. The Threshers finally broke through in the ninth with 4 hits and a walk, and left the bases loaded.
Lakewood beat Savannah, 2-1. Ranfi Casimiro allowed 2 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strike outs in 5.0 innings. He left with a 1-0 lead. Alexis Rivero blew the save but got the win when Austin Davis and Matt Hockenberry closed out the eighth and ninth with perfect innings. Hock got his fifth save. Carlos Tocci and Rhys Hoskins collected 2 hits each. Hoskins picked up their lone RBI with a single in the first inning. Tocci scored the winnng run after a leadoff double in the eighth, moving over on a ground out, and scoring on a wild pitch.
Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.
Extra Innings –
- Thursday, Aaron Brown was removed from the posted line up at the stadium prior to the game. Chase Harris was inserted in his position and the line up was shuffled. Today, Aaron Brown was listed as being added to the 7-day DL, retroactive to Wednesday, April 29th.
- Today Carlos Duran was assigned to the Threshers from the GCL Phillies to take Brown’s spot on the roster.
Phuture Phillies 
stocky carlos tocci keeps on a ‘hittin and is up to .476 with 47 doubles already, nicely done
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How much longer will Aumont keep precariously balancing on the tightrope line until he either falls or miraculously makes it to the other side? His next few starts should determine once and for all whether he is either promoted to the big club or released.
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I wouldn’t put it pass Ruben, but I can see,before the end of May….Aumont and Billingsley will both be in the Phillies rotation. Especially if Buchanan does not come around in his next two starts.
We will have to see what happens from there.
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I’d say he is in a free-fall as opposed to balancing. Giving him a shot as a starter is nothing more than a final act of desperation to try and get some value out of him. Big arm, but no control, let alone command.
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Not to say aumont will have any success going forward, but joe savery had two final acts of desperation. First as a hitter, then as a reliever. Nothing great happened, but it was entertaining. Maybe we can look forward to that this year.
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Yeah, but there is a difference between Savery and Aumont. Savery was a first round pick with borderline stuff and the organization was just trying to salvage a blown pick. Aumont has great stuff – he may never become good, but the pitches are there, and what’s the downside of keeping him in AAA to see if he can pull it together? Well, until he’s keeping a good prospect from taking a turn in the rotation, there’s no downside. None. So, this is all worth a try. I’m really happy he didn’t implode after the bad first inning.
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The System last night was a combined 30-131 (.229) 4R 7XB 0HR 30K’s. The silver lining is the two lower affiliates 20-71 (.281) with the 4R,4XB and only 7K’s. So I spared you the ugliness of the top 2 affiliates.
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Not exactly an offensive juggernaut last night. Except for Hoskins…
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Knapp seems to have regained his early season swing and Willians A. just hits wherever he plays, at whatever position.
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According to the box Eflin had a quality pitched game, though he surrendered three runs but his WHIP was very good for the game and his strike-to-ball ration was also very good..
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Dominant start by Eflin last night. He’s also the youngest of the Reading starters. I was happy when they managed Eflin for Rollins but am absolutely ecstatic now.
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To me, Eflin could ultimately be the lynchpin to the team improving quickly. If he is really good and Nola is as good as we believe he is, they can start to turn this thing around in a hurry. Any gun readings on Eflin last night? Previously he was sitting in the low to mid 90s – that’s what I want to see and hear.
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At his rate, if they all continue trending like they are now doing, besides Tocci and Hoskins, I can see Temple Owl Matt Hockenberry being promoted to CLW next month.
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LV
Franco: Though Franco’s overall slash shows marked improvement over last season, his BB and K rates are somewhat concerning. After a 14.6% K rate in 556 PAs last season at LV, and a K rate of less than 15% every season since 2012, his K rate in 97 PAs in 2015 has now swelled to 21.6%. What has always made Franco an interesting study is that his suppressed BB rates were always equaled by impressively low K rates. This has not been the case so far in 2015 as his BB rate has decreased slightly to 5.2% while the aforementioned K rate represents a 50% increase over 2014. That’s a significant increase. Hopefully May will be the start of a different trend
Reading
Quinn: I have to say that I was more impressed with Quinn’s AFL showing than his first month of AA. In Quinn’s first three professional seasons his BB rate was remarkably consistent, never lower than 9.1% and never higher than 9.4%. His BB rate then spiked to 14.8% in the AFL last season which was probably the first time I felt that we may have an above-average regular in Quinn. This season, notwithstanding his overall slash line, his K rate is at 24.1% and his walk rate has plummeted to 5.7%. I’d like to see a lot more of the player who showed up in the fall league last year.
Altherr: Breakout candidate. Something has changed with Altherr’s approach. This isn’t something that developed on its own through natural progression. Something significant is different here. Consider, he’s never had a full-season of professional ball with a K rate less than 21.7%; so far in 2015 it stands at 17.5%. Nothing a small sample sized adjustment could not normalize. But here’s the kicker. His BB rate is currently 17.5%, more than double his BB rate of any prior (full) season. If he can maintain a 13%+ walk rate and keep his K rate under 20%, you’re probably looking at the starting CF’er in Philly for years to come.
Talking hitters above, but Zach Eflin – wow. I think his abilities may have been overlooked in the hitter friendly California League last season. He simply looks dominant right now. Perhaps a few starts in LV after the all-star break but certainly no Philly for Eflin (aside from Sept call-up)
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i saw alterr and quinn play three games in richmond this past week. alterr was very patient at the plate, had good at bats and generally hit the ball well. quinn was less patient but still productive. he got himself out several times chasing bad pitches. his further development will require that he learn to be more selective. i like both players a lot. their defensive skills and base running are impressive. i think both could be in the phillies outfield in the not too distant future.
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Really hoping Altherr keeps it up. His defense is already that of a MLB CF, and I would love for him to be a genuine, future starter. Nola, Eflin and Biddle may all be in the rotation by the end of the year.
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