Lehigh Valley has started their seven game road swing with two wins in Norfolk and have won seven of their last nine games and now sit 10 games above .500 at 41-31, just passed the half way point of the season.  They are currently in 3rd place of the Northern Division of the International League, 3 games back of division leading Rochester.  In the wild card race, the ‘Pigs are one game behind Scranton, who are currently leading the wild card race.  The road trip continues with two more In Norfolk before a weekend series in Durham.

News and Notes: Lehigh Valley has not committed multiple errors in any of their last 33 games, clearly a recipe for success.

–Over the last two weeks, the LV bullpen is 5-1 with a 1.29ERA with 4 saves.  During that time period, they have allowed just 7ER in 49IP.

–INF Emmanuel Burriss has hit safely in 8 of the 9 games he has started

–OF Cedric Hunter remains very hot, having hit .348 over the last three weeks, raising his average to .312.

—Edward Mujica remains consistent for Lehigh Valley with a 2.54ERA and 16 saves in his last 26 games.  With the troubles the Phils are having, seeing him in Philly soon would not surprise me. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Report →

Lehigh Valley

Andy Knapp, 24, Phils 2nd round pick in 2013; .267/.335/.431 in 202AB; 7HR 29RBI; 1SB; 9%BB/22%K; .247 vs LHP; .279 vs RHP; .328 in June; 52 games caught with 6 errors (.984); 9 passed balls; 9/30 CS (30%); Knapp has been heating up with the bat and his arm as of late, having a very good June.  The caught stealing rate is now respectable.  His receiving, while improving, remains a concern.

Logan Moore, 25, Phils 9th round pick in 2011; .262/.336/.402 in 107AB between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 3HR 12RBI; 10%BB/24%K; Hitting .316 in June; 34 games caught with 2 errors (.992); 0 passed balls; 13/27 (48%); Moore has seen fairly limited playing time but has produced when playing.  His defense remains major league back up worthy.

Reading

Jorge Alfaro, 23, Acquired from Texas in 2015; .303/.315/.489 in 188AB; 7HR 37RBI; 2%BB/22%K; .250 vs LHP; .318 vs RHP; .238 in June; 43 games caught with 2 errors (.995); 2 passed balls; 17/41 CS (41%); After starting the year scalding hot with the bat, Alfaro has cooled off but still a very impressive body of work with the bat and glove this year thus far.

Joel Fisher, 23, Phils 23rd round pick in 2014; Hitting .235 with 2 HR and 7RBI in 35AB between Lakewood and Reading; 12 games caught with 1 errors (.988); 0 passed balls; 8/16 CS (50%); Fisher has done exactly what has been asked, especially defensively in his limited playing time.

Clearwater

Gabriel Lino, 23, Acquired from Baltimore in 2012; .199/.264/.279 in 136AB; 2HR 6RBI; 7%BB/22%K; .257 vs LHP; .178 vs RHP; .077 in June; 40 games caught with 7 errors (.981); 5 passed balls; 21/54 CS (39%).  Simply a pretty brutal year thus far from Lino whose stock has slipped considerably.

Chace Numata, 23, Phils 14th round pick in 2010; .265/.348/.353 in 102AB; 1HR 5RBI; 11%BB/16%K rates; .227 vs LHP; .275 vs RHP; .333 in June; 30 games caught with 2 errors (.993); 9 passed balls; 9/27 CS (33%); The passed balls are troublesome, however that said, Numata has done a good job.

Lakewood

Deivi Gruillon; 20, Signed as a free agent in 2012; .244/.338/.359 in 131AB; 2HR 18RBI; 12%BB/24%K; .220 vs LHP; .256 vs RHP; .280 in June; 35 games caught with 5 errors (.984); 10 passed balls; 9/30 CS(30%); Gruillon’s defense was supposed to be his strong suit and has been less than adequate this year; After missing a nice chunk of time injured, Gruillon is beginning to come around.

Austin Bossart, 22, Phils 14th round pick in 2015; .263/.336/.343 in 99AB; 1HR 9RBI; 8%BB/12%K; .286 vs LHP; .254 vs RHP; 29 games caught with 3 errors (.990); 1 passed ball; 15/52 CS (29%); Bossart has played much more than expected because of Gruillon’s injury and has played more than compentently.

Williamsport

Gregori Rivero, 20, Signed as a free agent in 2012

Rodolfo Duran, 18, Signed as a free agent in 2014

Lehigh Valley

Emmanuel Burriss, 31, SIgned as a free agent in 2016; Hitting .286 in 21 AAA at bats since being sent down earlier this month from Philadelphia; Has played 5 games at 2B with 1 error; 1 game at 3B and SS without an error.  Burriss is a fringe major leaguer at best but will be a solid addition to the AAA lineup.

JP Crawford, 21,  Phils 1st round pick in 2013; .239/.364/.332 in 226AB between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 3HR 19RBI; 8SB; 16%BB/14%K; For Lehigh Valley: .200/.311/.244 in 90AB; 0HR 6RBI; 3SB; 13%BB/16%K rates; .156 vs LHP; .224 vs RHP; .204 in June; 60 games at SS with 7 errors (.974); Crawford has struggled with the stick since his promotion to AAA, however seems to be coming out of the funk with his current five game hitting streak this week. The walk rate continues outstanding and he has done a very good job in the field.

Reading

KC Serna, 26, Re-signed as a free agent in 2016; .293/.393/.386 in 140AB; 1HR 16RBI; 5SB; 14%BB/13%K; .259 vs LHP; .314 vs RHP; .194 in June; 14 games at SS with 2 errors (.965); 4 games at 2B without an error; 15 games at 3B with 2 errors (.933); 11games in the OF without an error; Struggling of late, Serna has played everywhere and done so competently.

Jesmuel Valentin, 22, Acquired from Dodgers in 2014; .284/.347.422 in 218AB; 4HR 31RBI; 4/5SB; 10%BB/15%K; .286 vs LHP; .284 vs RHP; .309 in June; 53 games at 2B with 6 errors (.976); 4 games at SS with 2 errors.  Valentin has been swinging a hot bat recently and has hit pretty consistently throughout the year.  Solid in the field at 2b.

Clearwater

Malquin Canelo, 21, Signed as a free agent in 2011; .228/.287/.316 in 215AB; 2HR 23RBI; 5/9SB; 8%BB/17%K; .204 vs LHP; .235 vs RHP; .227 in June; 62 games at SS with 15 errors (.943); After a 2015 which placed him on the prospect radar, Canelo has really struggled this year both with the bat and the glove.

Scott Kingery, 22, Phils 2nd round pick in 2015; .263/.338/.407 in 243AB; 3HR 16RBI; 16SB; 8%BB/15%K; ; .359 vs LHP; .229 from RHP; .255 in June; 58 games at 2B with 8 errors (.968); A good year for Kingery thus far but still needs to progress before promotion.

DL: Drew Stankiewicz

Lakewood

Grenny Cumana, 20, Signed as a free agent in 2013; .269/.322/.361 in 108AB; 1HR 10RBI; 8SB; 5%BB/5KK; .276 vs LHP; .266 vs RHP; .355 in June;26 games at SS with 7 errors (.919); 4 games at 2B with 1 error; Cumana has done a good job when he has been in the lineup.  The glovework could use some improvement this year.

Emmanuel Marrero, 23, Phils 7th round pick in 2014; .252/.298/.312 in 234AB; 1HR 18RBI; 5/11SB; 6%BB/19%K; .250 vs LHP; .253 vs RHP; .193 in June; 42 games at SS with 5 errors (.968); 12 games at 3B with 2 errors (.920); 5 games at 2B without an error.  The Phils were probably hoping for production a couple of ticks higher for Marrero who may begin losing playing time to Cumana.

Josh Tobias, 23, Phils 10th round pick in 2015; .286/.363/.423 in 239AB; 5HR 37RBI; 5/8SB; 9%BB/15%K; .339 vs LHP; .266 vs LHP; .259 in June; 58 games at 2B with 11 errors (.956); Tobias remains playing well enough for promotion but is blocked by Kingery.  I would expect both to move up a level over the next 4-6 weeks.