Playoff Recap – 9/7/2018

Box Score Recap

Two Phillies’ affiliates remain active in their respective playoffs.  Lehigh Valley pulled off an exciting extra-inning win to force a game four.  And, Spencer Howard clinched Lakewood’s semifinal series with an impressive no-hitter.

Lehigh Valley (84-56) extended their post season with a 13 inning, 3-2 victory over Scranton.  Nick Rickles had the game winning base hit.

Drew Anderson started and pitched 5.2 innings and gave up 2 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks. He struck out three.  He gave up a solo HR in the fifth inning that produced the first run of the game.  He was relieved with two out and two on by Tom Windle who faced one batter and recorded the third out.  Unfortunately, the one batter he faced doubled and after a run scored, the trailing runner was gunned down at the plate by Danny Ortiz to Dean Anna to Rickles.

The IronPigs tied the game in the bottom of the sixth.  Zach Green led off with a walk.  Two outs later, Collin Cowgill came through with a two-run HR.

The bullpens took over and there was one scary moment when the RailRiders loaded the bases with one out in the 12th.  But not much else happened until Rickles game winner in the 13th.

After Windle, Edgar Garcia and Tyler Gilbert pitched scoreless innings.  Pedro Beato pitched two scoreless.  Tyler Viza pitched 1.1 innings and put two runners on in the eleventh but escaped.  He was pulled with one out in the with runners on first and second. Jeff Singer walked the only batter he faced and was quick-hooked.  Ranfi Casimiro got out of the inning without further damage, and retired Scranton in order in the 13th.

Casimiro earned the win when Danny Ortiz led off the botttom of the inning with a double. Joey Meneses (who started in RF) was intentionally walked and Ryan Goins sacrificed the runner to third base.  Then, Nickles provided his heroics.

The “extra runner” BS that baseball incorporated this season for extra inning games was not employed in this game.  I assume it isn’t being used in the post season.

Scranton outhit the IronPigs 15-7, but Lehigh “out-walked” them 8-4.

Joey Meneses also had an out field assist (second base).

The IronPigs will send Ranger Suarez to the hill in game four.  Tom Eshelman goes in game five if necessary.

  • #8 Ranger Suarez (2-0, 2.74) –
  • #9 Enyel De Los Santos (10-5, 2.63) –
  • #10 Cole Irvin (14-4, 2.57) –
  • #20 Drew Anderson (9-4, 3.87) – 5-2 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
  • #27 Tom Eshelman (2-13, 5.84) –

Lakewood (87-51) punched their ticket to the SAL title game with a 1-0 victory over the Kannapolis Intimidators.  BlueClaws ace, Spencer Howard, pitched a nine-inning, complete game, no hitter.

Howard dominated Kannapolis.  He threw just 103 pitches (73 strikes, 70.9%) while walking one batter, hitting another, and striking out nine.  Two other base runners reached on fielding errors behind him.  The Claws turned one double play.  Reports during the game indicated that Howard’s fastball was in the upper 90s and touched 100 mph.

Lakewood scored the game’s only run in the sixth inning.  Jose Antequera reached on the first of his two singles with one out.  He moved up on a ground out to the right side.  He scored on Simon Muzziotti’s two-out, line drive single to left.

The Claws only managed 5 hits and a walk.  They had another scoring opportunity in the eighth when Madison Stokes reached on a lead off double.  Pinch runner Matt Kroon was sacrificed to third by Dalton Guthrie.  Kroon was thrown out at the plate on Antequera’s line drive single to right.

  • #7 Jhailyn Ortiz (.225) went 0-2 with a BB, 2 K
  • #17 Kyle Young (3-3, 3.10)
  • #18 Spencer Howard (9-8, 3.78) – 9.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, GS 101
  • #29 Nick Maton (.256) went 0-3
  • #30 Simon Muzziotti (.263) went 1-3 with an RBI

Prospects who have finished the 2018 season.

  • #1 Sixto Sanchez (RHP, Clearwater Threshers) spent most of the 2018 season on the DL.  He was sidelined on June 2018 with an elbow injury.  Up to that point he had posted a 4-3 record with a 2.51 ERA in 8 starts and 46.2 innings.  His 45 strikes gave him a career-best 8.7 SO9.  He also posted a 2.1 BB9 and a 1.071 WHIP.  The good news is that Sanchez was selected by the Phillies to attend the Arizona Fall League.
  • #2 Alec Bohm  (3B, Williamsport Crosscutters) finished the season with a .224 SVG. The Phillies first round pick saw limited action due to a knee injury he suffered when he was struck by a pitched ball on July 9th.  The 22-year old lost valuable development time and wasn’t activated again until August 20th.  He was hitting .192 when he went down.  He finished the season 14-55 (.255).
  • #3 Adonis Medina (10-4, 4.12)
  • #4 Adam Haseley (OF, Reading Phils) batted .316 for the Phils.  He was promoted mid-season after posting a .300 AVG for the Threshers in High-A in 79 games (354 plate appearances).  He hit a combined 11 HR across both teams.
  • #5 JoJo Romero (LHP, Reading Phils) made 18 starts and tossed 106.2 innings before going onto the DL on July 20th.  He posted a 7-6 record and 3.80 ERA.  He struck out 100 batters (8.4 SO9).  Romero ended the season on the DL.
  • #6 Mickey Moniak (.270)
  • #11 Arquimedes Gamboa (.214)
  • #12 Daniel Brito (.250)
  • #13 Francisco Morales (RHP, Williamsport Crosscutters) showed marked regression after a promising 2017 campaign in the GCL.  He made 13 starts and pitched 15 more innings but stumbled to a 4-5 record and 5.27 ERA.  He was young for the league and his SO9 ticked up to 10.9, but his BB9 also ticked up to 5.3.  Morales problem in XST was consistency.  It was still a problem in Low-A.
  • #14 Luis Garcia (SS, GCL Phillies West) finished the season with a league best .369 AVG.  His .433 OBP placed third, his .488 SLG placed 13th, and his .921 OPS placed seventh.  These were not only team leading but also the best of both Phillies GCL entries.  Garcia’s 33 runs scored were fourth in the league following team mate Yerwin Trejo’s 40.  He led the league with 62 hits.  Placed second with 32 RBI.  Trejo’s 23 stolen bases led the league, Garcia had 12.
  • #15 Dylan Cozens (OF, Lehigh Valley IronPigs), at first glance, might have had an indifferent 2018 season.  He posted a  .246/.345/.529/.873 slash with 21 HR, 58 RBI, 46 BB, and 124 K in 348 plate appearances.  He also struggled to a .095 AVG when called up to the parent club during the season.  But, his Lehigh Valley slash is in line with his career norms, which are probably skewed by his time in Reading.  However, he’ll need to approve on his K% which is still around 35%, although his BB% ticked up to 13.2%.
  • #16 Jose Gomez (.224)
  • #19 David Parkinson (3-0, 1.24)
  • #21 Kyle Dohy (LHP, Reading Phils) zipped across 3 levels in his second season.  He posted a 0.80 ERA in 24 games and 16.8 SO9 in 33.2 innings for Lakewood.  He posted a 1.64 ERA and 14.7 SO9 in 11.0 innings for Clearwater.  In 22.2 Double-A innings, Dohy has a 5.56 ERA but still posted an 11.9 SO9.
  • #22 Cornelius Randolph (OF, Reading Phils) hit .241 as a 21-year old at Reading.  He struggled mightily for the first 3 months, hitting .187 on the last day of June.  But, he rebounded during the final two months (July 1st thru September 2nd) with a .314 AVG.  He posted a .352 AVG in July.
  • #23 Connor Seabold (RHP, Reading Phils) was promoted from Clearwater midway thru the season.  He posted a combined 5-8 record with a 4.28 ERA.  He struck out 132 in 130.1 innings (9.1 SO9) and walked 33 (2.3 BB9).
  • #24 Dominic Pipkin (P, GCL Phillies West) finished with a 1-2 record and 3.64 ERA in 10 appearances, 8 starts.  In limited action, he pitched 29.2 innings.  In a SSS, he posted a 1.180 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9, and 5.5 K/9.
  • #25 Kevin Gowdy (RHP, Williamsport Crosscutters) never made it off the DL as he spent the summer rehabbing from TJ surgery.  He has been throwing off a mound and should see action during Instructs.  Hopefully.
  • #26 Jhordany Mezquita (LHP, Williamsport Crosscutters) made 9 starts before being mysteriously shutdown on August 23rd.  He posted a 1-0 record and 3.60 ERA in 35.0 innings, striking out 41.  However,he spent the final days of the season on the GCL Phillies West roster.
  • #28 Colton Eastman (RHP, Williamsport Crosscutters) made 8 starts but was on an innings count and only pitched as many as three innings in his last two starts.  He went 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA, but struck out 23 in 18 innings.

The Clearwater Threshers (77-60) finished the season with the best overall record in the Florida State League, 77-60 (.562).  They finished the first half in fourth place with a 32-36 (.471) record, but won the second half with a 45-24 (.652) record.  They qualified for the North Division playoffs and beat first half winner Daytona 7-6 in the first game on Grenny Cumana’s solo HR in the eighth inning.  Unfortunately, they dropped the next two games when they couldn’t protect early leads.  The Threshers strength all season was their starting rotation, and the bullpen came on in the second half.  They were a little offensively challenged due to the promotion of several key performers – Darrick Hall, Austin Listi, Adam Haseley, and Jose Pujols.  In a combined 280 games these four put up some pretty good numbers – in 1064 at bats, 175 runs, 325 hits, 57 doubles, 10 triples, 43 home runs, 176 RBI, 104 BB (8.7%), 262 K (21.9%), and a slash of .305/.377/.499/.876. 

The Reading Fightin’ Phils finished the season in fourth place in the Eastern League Eastern Division with 64-73 (.467) record.

The Williamsport Crosscutters finished the season tied for last place in the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division with a 32-44 (.421) record.

The GCL Phillies East finished in first place in the GCL North Division with a 30-24 record. They lost a one-game semifinal on the road against the Palm Beach Cardinals.

The GCL Phillies West finished in second place in the GCL Northwest Division with a 30-24 (.556) record.

The DSL Phillies Red finished the season 31-40 (.437) in fifth place in the DSL South Division.

The DSL Phillies White finished the season 39-33 (.542) in fourth place in the DSL San Pedro Division.

Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.

The rosters and lists are up to date as of September 7th.

Transactions (newest transactions in bold text)
9/7/18–Philadelphia recalled C Andrew Knapp from Lehigh Valley
9/7/18–Lehigh Valley activated RHP Tom Eshelman
9/5/18–Kansas City claimed RHP Ben Lively off waivers from Philadelphia
9/5/18–Lehigh Valley placed RHP Tom Eshelman on the reserve list
9/5/18–SS Malquin Canelo assigned to Lehigh Valley from Reading
9/5/18–RHP Tyler Viza assigned to Lehigh Valley from Reading
9/5/18–RHP Ismael Cabrera assigned to Lakewood from Reading
9/5/18–RHP Luis Cedeno assigned to Lakewood from Reading
9/5/18–1B Matt Kroon assigned to Lakewood from Williamsport
9/5/18–LHP Kyle Young assigned to Williamsport from Lakewood
9/5/18–RHP Luis Ramirez assigned to Williamsport from Lakewood
9/5/18–RHP Tyler Fallwell assigned to Williamsport from Lakewood
9/4/18–Philadelphia sent 3B Jesmuel Valentin outright to Lehigh Valley
9/4/18–Philadelphia recalled SS J.P. Crawford from Lehigh Valley
9/3/18–Philadelphia activated RHP Jerad Eickhoff from the 60-day DL
9/3/18–Philadelphia designated RHP Ben Lively for assignment.
9/3/18–Ranfi Casimiro assigned to Lehigh Valley from Reading
9/3/18–Lehigh Valley activated 2B Trevor Plouffe from the 7-day DL
9/3/18–Luis Cedeno assigned to Reading from Lakewood
9/3/18–RHP Ismael Cabrera assigned to Reading from Lakewood
9/3/18–Keylan Killgore assigned to Lakewood from Williamsport
9/3/18–Lakewood activated LHP Kyle Young from the 7-day DL

32 thoughts on “Playoff Recap – 9/7/2018”

    1. Positively huge news – TOR potential for Howard. He will definitely now be in my post season too 10 – rotation arms like this are rare.

    2. According to Phillies minor league reporter Jay Floyd, Howard hit 100 mph multiple times in the second inning. He was still hitting 96 in the ninth.

  2. I was hoping the extra inning runner on 2nd to start rule would not be used in a playoff game. It doesn’t make sense to use it in a playoff game. I don’t even like it during the regular season because it doesn’t prove who the better team is. Maybe they need a column in the standings that says Extra Inning Losses. That would tell me who the best regular season team is and who is the unluckiest. It doesn’t have to be like hockey where you get a point for the OTL.

    1. Bellman, it doesn’t really matter who the better minor league team is. It’s all about development. I think they would rather get the games over with at this stage since many prospects, especially pitchers, are tiring and are only now building stamina for the longer season higher up.

  5. Howard was my breakout pick this year (like some others on here).
    He was alreadymy #6 on my top 30 that I posted here a week ago.

    Looks like we’re all coming to agreement on his potential! …Remember though folks, if he has a bad game, or he starts slow again next year, he’s still got this potential!

    1. Howard was one of my breakout guys too (or at least I’m pretty sure he was). I also talked up Eshelman, so there’s always that – lol.

  6. Overall I go with….

    1 Sixto
    2 Medina
    3 Haseley
    4 Bohm
    5 Howard
    6 Romero
    7 Irvin
    8 Moniak
    9 Garcia
    10 de los Santos

    1. Irvin had a great year but he doesn’t have top 10 stuff. The Phillies agree or he would be in Philly right now.

      1. Disagree, Murray. The reason he isn’t up by now is because he isn’t required to be protected on the 40man roster until next year.

        1. ….I would also add that once they have decided on the futures of VV/Pivetta/Eflin, he will likely be up at some point next season. I think they see him as a pure LH starting pitcher, whereas DLS may translate more as a #5/swing man/long reliever type.

        2. Reinstating Florimon to lose Lively shows how much this clown show cares about the 40 man roster

      2. Agree. Irvin’s a nice pitcher, but he doesn’t have the “stuff” of Sixto, Medina, et al.

        That doesn’t mean he won’t be successful, of course.

  7. Jim—-Once again Thankyou for the reports that you do. As you know we all think and know it’s time consuming, but if you love the sport as much as you and most of us, you keep us in tune as to what’s going and it is awsome. Thank-you.

    1. I echo these sentiments Jim, consistently way above and beyond what any of us could have ever expected of someone doing what you do.

  8. Also it is great to see some of the top prospects have really improved this year. It’s a long year and we have to remember that. Hope to be back down clearwater next year during spring training

  11. Does anyone have an opinion or info on Jahilyn Ortiz? This kid, evidently, has a ton of talent but seemingly has been a bust this year. I
    realize he’s young and next year will be huge for him. Rooting for him big time

  12. Mitch Walding has been recalled from Lehigh and available for tonight’s game. I always thought he profiled well as a lefty bat with power and a decent glove but his MLB showing this yr hasn’t been encouraging. Wonder if someone saw something in his game since he was last with the big club. Anyone have any thoughts or observations?

    1. Very good fielder. Decent athlete. Beautiful swing. The power is real and so is the inability to hit good breaking pitches. The latter issue will probably deprive of him of a meaningful big league career. Same with Dylan Cozens.

  13. When they put that shift on him he needs to bunt down the 3rd base line. That may help to break the schneid, and that hit may change his luck..

  14. And then there was one, as LHV’s season ends. But Suarez pitched well. His next start could be for the Phils to replace Eflin.

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