Clearwater (0-2) blew a middle inning lead and lost to the Dunedin Blue Jays, 7-3.
Damon Jones came out firing. He struck out 8 batters in 3.0 innings. His FB sat 92-94 and touched 95 twice in the first inning. His slider was deceptive and he used his CB to keep hitters off balance. Problem was he “Aumontian” with his control. He threw 74 pitches, just 37 for strikes (50%). The Jays stacked their line up with right-handed bats, and took pitches. Jones pitched from behind a lot, only 5 of 13 first pitch strikes. He missed a lot with his FB. Usually up and away. I mean up and away in that the catcher had to come out of his crouch to catch the pitches.
Still, through his 3.0 innings, Jones gave up just one unearned run on an errant throw on a double steal, zero hits, 4 walks, and struck out eight. The only ball put into play was a lead off 3-1 in the third inning. His line – 3.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K.
Jones’ only clean inning was the 16-pitch first inning where he struck out he side. He struck out one batter looking with a 93 mph FB. He book-ended that with swinging strike outs at his CB and SL.
Jones threw 36 pitches in the second inning. He walked 3 and struck out three. He ran 5 full counts (8 on the night). He followed that with a 22-pitch third inning, recording another walk and 2 more strike outs.
Of his 37 strikes, Jones induced 15 swings and misses (40.5%), got 10 called strikes, 11 foul balls, and just the one ball in play on the ground out to first.
Luis Carrasco was next and breezed through his first two innings. After a lead off single in the sixth, he lost the strike zone and walked two batters to load the bases with nobody out. He went deep in the count to the next batter before getting a strike out. A ground ball to third almost got him out of the inning, but the Threshers couldn’t turn the 5-4-3 DP quick enough to get the speedy batter. A double to left center put the Jays ahead for good and ended Carrasco’s night.
Carrasco threw some heat. His FB sat 92-95 and touched 96 mph. He was missing closer than Jones, but a miss is a miss. His line – 2.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 4 K.
Connor Brogdon pitched 2.1 innings. He gave up 2 hits and a walk while striking out four. His FB was solidly in the mid 90s, a lot of 95s and 96s.
Zach Warren gave up 3 runs in the ninth on 2 hits and 3 walks. He struck out three. He opened the inning with a walk that scored on a triple. A single brought in the second run with one out. Warren’s live arm cost him an additional run. He wild pitched the runner to second, and a strike out wild pitch put runners on the corners with still just one out. Two walks forced in the third run.
The Threshers collected just 5 hits and drew just one walk. Matt Vierling provided the only offense in the first four innings with a two-out single in the first and a one-out, solo HR in the fourth.
Their bats came alive briefly in the fifth Ben Aklinski doubled and Nick Maton walked before Simon Muzziotti’s two-out, 2-run double. They held the lead briefly. Then went quietly. Their only base runner the rest of the way was Colby Fitch who singled with two out in the sixth. The final ten Threshers were retired in order – 4 strike outs, 3 pop ups, 2 ground outs and a fly out.
Matt Vierling had 2 of the Threshers 5 hits and also stole a base. Muzziotti, Fitch, and Aklinski had the other hits. Cabral went 0-4 with 4 K. Jose Gomez went 0-3 with 3 K.
Edgar Cabral threw out 1 of 3 base stealers.
- #5 Spencer Howard (0-1, 6.23) –
- #12 Simon Muzziotti – went 1-4 with a double, 2 RBI
- #17 Kyle Young
- #18 Nick Maton – went 0-2 with a run scored, BB
- #19 Rodolfo Duran
- #20 Daniel Brito – went 0-4 with 3 K
Lehigh Valley (0-1) postponed
- #6 Enyel De Los Santos
- #7 JoJo Romero
- #10 Ranger Suarez
- #16 Cole Irvin (0-0, 3.60)
- #28 Edgar Garcia (0-1, 9.00)
Reading (2-0) rallied to beat Portland, 6-5, in 10 innings. Home runs by former first round picks, Mickey Moniak and Cornelius Randolph, on the road in 39 degree weather at the start of the game.
Adonis Medina held the Sea Dogs to 3 runs on 6 hits in 5.0 innings. He walked none and struck out four. His defense committed 2 errors behind him in the fourth that allowed 2 unearned runs to score. Medina threw 60 strikes among his 85 pitches (70.6%).
Aaron Brown pitched 2.0 innings and gave up one run on 3 hits. He also walked none and struck out three. Brown also threw a high percentage of strikes, 23 of 33 pitches (69.7%).
Kyle Dohy pitched the final 3.0 innings. he allowed one hit and one unearned run (the extra inning guy who starts on second base). He completed an accurate night by Phils’ pitchers by also walking none and struck out five.
The Phils scored first on Mickey Moniak’s solo HR in the first inning. After a two-out double by Darick Hall in the first inning, the Phils went meekly through the seventh inning, collecting just three base runners when Adam Haseley reached on a fielding error in the third, Arguimedes Gamboa walked to lead off the fifth, and Luke Williams walked in the seventh.
The Phils finally pulled to within a run in the eighth on some timely hitting. Josh Stephen led off with a double. He scored on Moniak’s RBI double. Austin Listi walked. Moniak advanced to third on a fly out. Cornelius Randolph walked to load the bases, and a run scored when Williams was hit by a pitched ball.
The Phils tied the game in the ninth when Austin Bossart led off with a walk. Pinch runner, Ali Castillo, advanced to third on Stephen’s single to right field. Moniak walked to load the bases with one out. And Listi lifted a sac fly to left.
Darick Hall began the tenth inning on second base. Randolph drove a HR to right center field to give the Phils a 2-run cushion. Williams followed with a single, took second on a wild pitch, and advanced to third on a fly out. But the Phils couldn’t convert the opportunity.
The Sea Dogs opened their tenth with a single to put runners on the corners. Kyle Dohy struck out the next 2 batters, but a wild pitch palted one run and moved the tying run to second. A ground out to second ended the inning and the game.
Moniak and Stephen each had 2 hits. Six different Phils drew a walk. The Phils committed three errors. Bossart notched a caught stealing.
- #2 Adonis Medina (0-0, 1.80) – 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K,
- #3 Adam Haseley went 0-5
- #9 Mickey Moniak went 2-4 with 2 runs scored, double, HR, 2 RBI, BB
- #13 Arquimedes Gamboa went 0-4 with a BB
- #15 Mauricio Llovera
- #21 David Parkinson
- #22 Kyle Dohy (1-0, 0.00) – 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
- #25 Cornelius Randolph – went 0-4
- #29 Connor Seabold
Lakewood (0-2) lost to Hickory, 7-1, on three hits.
Jack Perkins (2.25) pitched 4.0 innings, gave up 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks, and struck out seven. Oscar Marcelino (0-1, 54.00) gave up 2 runs in 0.1 innings on 1 hit and 2 walks. Robinson Martinez (0.00) stranded an inherited runner in 0.2 innings. Tyler McKay (9.82) pitched 3.2 innings and gave up 4 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks, and 2 hit batsmen. Ethan Evanko got the last out on 3 pitches.
Jonathan Guzman singled, Malvin Matos singled, Rafael Marchan doubled and scored Lakewood’s only run on an error and gave the BlueClaws their only lead in the third inning. Cole Stobbe drew the Claws only walk.
The Crawdads successfully stole 5 bases.
- #1 Alec Bohm – went 0-2
- #4 Luis Garcia – went 0-2 with a sac
- #8 Francisco Morales
- #14 Rafael Marchan – went 1-3 with a run scored
- #23 Dominic Pipkin
- #24 Kevin Gowdy
- #26 Jhordany Mezquita
Unassigned Prospects
- #11 Jhailyn Ortiz
- #27 Starlyn Castillo
- #30 Manuel Silva
Williamsport finished the 2018 season 32-44 (.421) tied for last place in the New York-Penn League Pinckney Division.
- Last season’s #2 prospect, Alec Bohm 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).
- Last season’s #13 prospect, Francisco Morales (4-5, 5.27), was young for the league, yet he managed a 10.9 K/9. However, he also posted a 5.3 BB9.
- Last season’s #25 prospect, Kevin Gowdy, spent the 2018 season on the DL, rehabbing from TJ surgery.
- Last season’s #26 prospect, Jhordany Mezquita (1-0, 3.60), made 9 starts striking out 41 in 35.0 innings.
- Last season’s #28 prospect, Colton Eastman (0-2, 3.00), made 8 starts on an innings count. He struck out 23 in 18 innings.
The GCL Phillies East finished the 2018 season 30-24 (.556) in first place in the GCL North Division. They lost a one-game semifinal on the road against the Palm Beach Cardinals.
- Last season’s #24 prospect, Dominic Pipkin (1-2, 3.64), made 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.
- Second baseman Nicolas Torres was selected to the Post Season GCL All Star Team. He slashed .302/340/.396/.736 and committed just 3 errors in 270.1 innings (.977).
- Catcher Juan Aparicio was selected to the Post Season GCL All Star Team. He slashed .339/.378/.518/.896, committed 2 errors in 118.1 innings (.983), and threw out 5 of 20 base stealers (25%).
The GCL Phillies West finished the 2018 season 30-24 (.556) in second place in the GCL Northwest Division.
- Last season’s #14 prospect, Luis Garcia, finished the season with a league best .369 AVG and third best .433 OBP.
- Shortstop Luis Garcia was selected to the Post Season GCL All Star Team. He slashed .369/.433/.488/.921. He committed 5 errors in 353.2 innings (.969).
The DSL Phillies Red finished the 2018 season 31-40 (.437) in fifth place in the DSL South Division.
The DSL Phillies White finished the 2018 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 March 31st.
4/4/2019 – Lehigh Valley placed 3B Gift Ngoepe on the 7-day IL. Left shin contusion
4/4/2019 – Reading placed RHP Connor Seabold on the 7-day IL
4/4/2019 – LHP Garrett Cleavinger assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/4/2019 – 1B Kyle Martin assigned to Reading from Clearwater
4/4/2019 – Clearwater placed RF Danny Mayer on the restricted list
4/4/2019 – Philadelphia sent CF Roman Quinn on a rehab assignment to Clearwater
4/4/2019 – LHP Nick Fanti assigned to Clearwater
4/4/2019 – RHP Tyler Hallead assigned to Clearwater from GCL Phillies East
4/4/2019 – RHP Julian Garcia assigned to Williamsport from Clearwater
4/1/2019 – GCL Phillies West released RHP Antonio Canizales
In case you haven’t heard, the Phillies reinstated my media credentials for Threshers games. A lot of support from you and my friends swayed their decision, I believe. At the very least, I think they decided that Phuture Phillies is not just a blog run by a guy in his garage for his own benefit. I’m sure your e-mails were instrumental. I received a call from a very senior person at the Phillies. I’m greatly touched that she would take the time to call me personally. I’m embarrassed by the social media whirlwind I seem to have been a part of, but appreciate all your support. I understand my wife was a first time commenter yesterday. I’ll have to find it and check it for language. See if it meets PP standards. Haha.
Back to baseball. Infielder Bradley Haslam is in XST. The young man is here on leave from the Air Force. He was signed as a non-drafted free agent on May 4, 2018. After graduation from the Air Force Academy in 2017, he was required to serve a two-year commitment. His commitment is up in a couple months. I expect to see him back at the Complex this summer. I spoke to him briefly and thanked him for his service.
Phuture Phillies 
Jim, I stayed out of the fray yesterday because I try to look at things in a bigger context. Social Media has gone crazy stupid. The old adage, “Give ’em an inch and they’ll take a mile.” has taken on a life of it’s own. I love this blog because you stay above the idiocy. We often see people posting on here who are part of the crazy stupid group. You are part of a small and quickly fading group of bloggers who do the right thing for all the right reasons. You are one of us, a fan. You don’t get paid to write something for some organization or corporation. You do it because you are a baseball fan. A minor league baseball fan. We love you because we are fans too. We are sympatico man.
Jim, thank you for your daily work. Thank you to the Phillies for turning lemons into lemonade. Glad it all worked out for the best.
Play ball.
Jim, I’m glad things worked out. Back to baseball.
Reading is actually 2-0 now, our only team with a win. Nice to see Moniak come out hitting and I was happy to see that C had the big game winning hit. Our pitching has been fair to start but the cold weather up north causes me to give a pass to the three northern teams. As for hitting, we know we don’t have enough of it in our system and Reading seems to have most of our hitters there. The other teams will struggle to score. Ortiz will be back soon at Cwater but that might not be enough. Lakewood is young and will struggle until they find their footing.
Loving the start by Moniak. That is a really good pitcher that he hit one against. And I really love seeing the walk. Obviously still early but love seeing the power and patience. Keep it up.
Also happy to see Dohy. I think that he is in the Phils bullpen this season. Crazy spin rate on his slider and this report give him a double plus fastball. An exciting prospect! https://2080baseball.com/reports/kyle-dohy/
3 innings is interesting, is it not?
Very interesting.
Dohy was so good last year before he got to Reading. Maybe he was just tired by then. He definitely looks like someone who could end his season in Philly after the terrific 3 inning outing last night.
Anyone know why Bohm was pulled after only two at bats? I really hope he isn’t hurt again.
I’m also loving the start by Moniak. Hope he keeps it up.
I watched both Reading games, Moniak last night his double just missed being a HR by some 3 feet per the play by play guys for Portland. He also crushed a foul ball that would have been a monster of a HR. The wind didn’t seem to be as bad as the night before which was blowing real hard left to right.
I was impressed with the pen both nights especially Russ and Dohy, Russ was working quickly and almost every pitch was a strike. Dohy seemed to mix up his pitches very well so that when he threw the FB around 92, they couldn’t make contact as they didn’t seem to be expecting it. I know the announcers were impressed with him.
I was surprised that Stephen made the team being double jumped, has anyone heard why? did they feel he was ready for a big jump as I don’t recall him sticking out that much in Lakewood.
I saw Lakewood the 1st game, they are having trouble with their stream, I forgot that they had a camera last year and also had trouble. This time it works but there’s no sound and the 2nd camera in the OF kept turning a green tint.
Markham is hurt, he’ll likely take Stephen’s spot when he’s ready.
Threshers’ matt Vierling with a HR down the line….hopefully he can get to Reading this season sometime. And have to like Muzziotti reaching out and hitting the ball where it is pitched….a very good bat approach at the plate. Cannot wait to see Ortiz in the lineup…he should be ready to go soon.
Great to hear Jim. This website is one of the first things I look forward to when I wake up every morning. I am sure I can say that for many, many other people too. Your hard work and passion is amazing and no thanks can count for our appreciation.
Patience!
I only post sometimes but I almost always include the word ‘patience’.
We’ve needed it throughout this rebuild, and certainly this offseason.
And we always need it when following the development of young minor leaguers.
All of the fan base was rewarded this offseason and from the looks of Moniak’s start, patience may bring even more great rewards!
He’s got 2 more hits today (including 3rd 2B and 4th XBH) plus 2 RBI! Admittedly sss but he’s been turning corners since mid year last year. Exactly as was hoped for when he was drafted! He was not a no-doubt stud to dominate from day one. It was considered he had the athleticism, tools, mind and drive to maybe become elite. It would take a lot to achieve but to his credit he’s showing progress! I’m gonna stay patient and enjoy the ride. He may be our starting CF for next ten years yet!
Some Moniak videos.
First his homer
A nice catch in center
A different view of the homer
A double two days ago.
Some Medina videos
Thanks for sharing those videos, v1.
Looking forward to following Mickey’s coming out party this season. The swing looks more compact. Johnny Almaraz has been taking a lot of heat over the past couple of years. I’ve been of the mind that Almaraz has done a good job as amateur scouting director. I’ve suspected the real problem has been the former player development team. I think Josh Bonifay and the Driveline guys are going to really help Mickey and many other hitters in the Phillies system.
As for Adonis Medina, he is my #1 Phillies prospect. He really has the ability to make the ball move. The hope is he can learn how to better command his 3 pitch mix (FB/SL/CH), and work his way to CBP by the end of this year.
v1, looks like you might become a Mickey Mo convert this season.
The most obvious difference is that he has filled out. Last season he looked like a kid. This year he looks like a man. And he has more maturing to come.
And the swing — sweet!
I have always wanted him to succeed. But yes, if he has success, my opinion of his probability of being a good major leaguer will increase over prior seasons when he struggled.
Impressive pitching by the Reading staff in the 3 game series with a jaw dropping 41 K’s in 3 games. But what a debut for Parkinson, 10K’s in 5, the Portland play by play guys were very impressed with the staff’s ability to get so many K’s.
MICKEY MO ON THE RISE. Hes the youngest player in AA I believe.
Not actual youngest (4th youngest in EL). Still your point is very young for the league is true.