Four games, five outcomes in games last night. Lehigh Valley trounced Rochester behind Bailey Falter’s fine, one-hit innings. Reading fell behind big early and stayed behind. Jersey Shore fell behind big and rallied back but couldn’t stay close. And, Clearwater completed a suspended game from May 1st, needing just one inning to win, and lost a game they gifted to the opposition by committing 4 errors and allowing 3 unearned runs.
Clearwater (19-13) split with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, winning and losing 5-4.
The Threshers and Mussels completed the eleventh inning of a game suspended on May 1st. The Mussels’ pitcher balked twice to bring home the phantom Threshers’ runner from second. In an ironic twist of baseball fate, Rodolfo Sanchez pitched the eleventh and retired the Mussels in order. He had pitched the ninth and tenth innings back on May 1st. He stranded the phantom runner then, too.
In the scheduled game (nine innings by rule), the Threshers committed four errors and allowed three unearned runs en route to a loss.
Oswald Medina (4.68) pitched five innings and gave up 3 runs (2 ER) on 4 hits. He walked none and struck out one. The Threshers gave up no hits after the fifth inning. Cam Wynne (0.51) was stuck with the loss giving up an unearned run on 4 walks in two innings. Alex Garbrick (2.08) was also saddled with an unearned run in two innings on a walk and 3 Ks.
Clearwater scored 2 runs and took the lead in the first inning on a 2-run HR by Jadiel Sanchez (4). They retook the lead in the third on an RBI single by Wilfredo Flores. They scored a run in the ninth on an RBI double by Arturo De Freitas with nobody out and Yhoswar Garcia in as a pinch-runner, but couldn’t tie the game as the bottom of the order went strikeout (.170), strikeout (.152), groundout (.192) with Kendall Simmons on the bench. Curious.
Flores (.322) went 2-4 with a run scored and RBI. The Threshers were 1-7 with RISP. Jamari Baylor stole his 11th base, Lee Hao Yu was caught for the 5th time.
The 4 errors were committed by Brito, Lee, Azuaje, and De Freitas.
Lehigh Valley (20-17) beat the Rochester Red Wings, 11-5.
Bailey Falter (1-0, 0.00) pitched a very solid five, shutout innings. He allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out seven. Corey Oswalt (12.00) pitched one inning and gave up 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk. Kyle Dohy (3.72) pitched a clean inning with 2 Ks. Michael Kelly (5.84) pitched one inning and gave up a run on 2 hits. Tyler Cyr (2.03) pitched a clean inning to close out the game.
The IronPigs scored 5 runs in the first inning on an RBI single by Scott Kingery, 3-run double by Yairo Munoz, and an RBI single by Jorge Bonifacio. They scored four runs in the second on an RBI single by Dustin Peterson and a 3-run double by Nick Maton,. They tacked on a run in the third on a groundout, and a run in the ninth on a solo HR by Jorge Bonifacio (4).
Matt Vierling (.200) went 2-5 with 2 runs scored and a walk. Austin Wynns (.397) went 2-3 with a run scored and 3 walks. Dustin Peterson (.237) went 2-5 with 2 runs scored and RBI. Nick Maton (.218) went 2-4 with a run scored, double, walk, and 3 RBI. Jorge Bonifacio (.221) went 2-4 with a run scored, HR, walk, and 2 RBI. Scott Kingery went 1-4 with a run scored and an RBI in his first action since last summer.
Reading (16-18) lost to the Somerset Patriots, 10-3.
Adam Leverett (1-5, 6.68) pitched three innings and gave up 6 runs on 7 hits, a hit batter, a wild pitch, and a walk. Austin Ross (4.50) pitched two innings and gave up one run on 3 hits and a walk. He struck out three. Julian Garcia (10.45) pitched three innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks.
The Phils scored a run in the sixth on a solo HR (4) by Logan O’Hoppe. They scored 2 runs in the eighth on a 2-run HR (5) by O’Hoppe.
Jhailyn Ortiz (.273) went 2-3 with a run scored and a walk. Logan O’Hoppe (.263) went 2-4 with 2 HR and 3 RBI. Ali Castillo (.250) went 2-3 with a walk.
Jersey Shore (11-21) lost to the Wilmington Blue Rocks, 12-7.
Matt Russell (0-3, 6.28) started and was relieved after 1.2 innings and 53 pitches, 33 of them in the second inning. He couldn’t overcome an error early in the inning and got whacked for 8 runs (3 ER) on 6 hits, a hit batter, and a walk. It didn’t help that JP Woodward (9.22) gave up a bases-loaded, 3-run double on his first pitch allowing all 3 inherited runners to score. The batter was thrown out at third on a 9-4-2-5 outfield assist by Baron Radcliff. Woodard bore down after that and retired the six batters he faced after that. After the BlueClaws pulled themselves back into the game with a 7-run inning, Andrew Schultz (9.64) and Dominic Pipkin (6.97) each pitched a 2-run inning. Carlo Reyes (6.75) mopped up the final two innings.
The BlueClaws scored seven runs in the third inning on RBI singles by Jared Carr and McCarthy Tatum, a 3-run double by Casey Martin, and a 2-run HR by Baron Radcliff (3).
As bad as their pitching and fielding (2 errors and a run-scoring passed ball) were, the offense was poor too. They got all 6 of their hits in the second inning and none after that. Although, they did draw 7 walks in those innings.
Rosters and Stuff
- organization’s rosters (5/17/2022)
- organization’s injury list (5/17/2022)
- organization’s Rule 5 eligibility (5/17/2022) (includes player info, assignments, …)
Transactions
5/17/2022 – SS Scott Kingery assigned to Lehigh Valley
5/17/2022 – RHP Mike Adams assigned to Reading from Lehigh Valley
5/17/2022 – Reading released LHP Nick Lackney
5/16/2022 – Phillies optioned RHP Francisco Morales to Lehigh Valley
Phuture Phillies 
Is Flores a legit prospect? He’s hitting and he’s hit before too.
Great to see O’Hoppe hitting much better plus Ortiz has really had a great month of May. Up to 273, he could find himself in LHV if he keeps this up.
Ortiz needs a really good season in AA as does O’Hoppe. They don’t need a premature promotion that just sets them back, especially when there is absolutely no room for them as starters in the big league line-up this year and for several years down the line. Ortiz has tremendous physical talent. If he can keep his strikeouts in check, make enough contact and draw walks, he becomes a very intriguing hitter. O’Hoppe is doing what I thought he would end up doing. He is almost certainly Realmuto’s future replacement – at least that’s his current track.
As for Falter . . . told ya so. He’s really something else and, at some point this year and probably next year, we are really going to need him.
O’Hoppe is definitely blocked. Ortiz can play some CF so he could be in the mix, just not this year, and maybe even not next season (depending on his hitting improvement). Ortiz is athletic enough to play the outfield and has enough power to jack one so he could easily be a 4th OF in the future. It’s up to Ortiz if he can be more than that.
Kingery back in action!
Falter with a gem!
OHoppe with two homers!
Jersey Shore ERAs – woof!
No mention of Painter who started for Clearwater and was dominant. 4 IP, 6ks, 0 runs. How did his stuff look Jim?
I believe those 4 ip by Painter were pitched back on May 1st.
Yeah….suspended game resumed.
Ah. Was it a makeup game?
No, they picked up where they left off, top of the 11th.
Ok. thanks.
I’m changing my mind back to my original thought, Schwarber was a bad signing.
Stay calm with Schwarber. He is a notoriously slow starter. He was cold as ice last year to begin with the Nationals, but when he got hot, he literally carried that team for a full month and played well the rest of the year. He’s also holding his own in left field, which was not expected. He’s perfectly average out there according to the metric, which is good.
O’hoppe continues to get my hopes up 🙂 JT of late has been hard to watch…
JT should improve during the season, but catchers, as a group, even the athletic ones, don’t do well at the plate after age 31 or so. And people thought he could switch to first base as his career wound down. Sure, if you want the worst hitting starting first baseman in baseball. Yeah, no way.
Once Harper’s arm is ready to go in the field, JT can get some time off from behind the plate by being a DH which, should help him.
No he won’t. Once Harper can play RF, Castellanos goes back to DH. There is no plan for JT to DH this year.
So you know that for a fact!
Okay.
I will lay some money down, JT will DH at least once this season.
You win! It only took a day for your prediction to come true
This is why you can’t give long contracts to catchers into their 30s. Giving JT a 6 or 7 year (as I heard some people on this board suggest) would not have ended well. I only wanted a 4 year deal, but I get that the Phillies had to go 5. I was hoping for 4 good years, 1 bad year but 3 good years, 2 bad years might be where we are headed to.
I was in support of the 5 year deal but had many of the same thoughts. I kept telling people that catchers just don’t do well past their early 30s – almost always. And I also said that Realmuto does not hit nearly enough to become a first baseman or DH – his value is as a catcher. I do expect him to bounce back this year and next – after that, who knows but it’s hard to fight the historical regression trends of catchers – it’s a brutal curve.
Hey, Catch. Depending on how Harper’s arm reacts to treatment, he may become our future first baseman much sooner than I thought.
No, no no, please, no Jim. The nice thing about Realmuto is that he’s such a good defensive catcher. He doesn’t need to contribute a whole lot at the bat to be even an above average catcher and, as I said, I think his hitting will recover to a great degree. But put him at first and you’re almost guaranteeing that he will fail. He may play a game here or there at first, but I don’t expect I’ll see, or want to see, him as the starting first baseman.
Jim meant Harper could be our next 1B, I think, not JT.
lol…we have a team of first basemen
D Dan, you can hate (or like) any player you choose. You just can’t bring up non-baseball stuff on a baseball site. And, certainly not in the Recap section.
This goes for all of you and all players, baseball only. No persona attacks on them.
If that’s a problem, I have a solution. You won’t like it.
The icing on the cake on Bailey Falter is what Jim reported (maybe a season or two ago?). The Brewers liked him a lot, and kept asking for him in trade talks. The Brewers are maybe the best organization in MLB at identifying under the radar arms. Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Devin Williams, and Aaron Ashby were all day two draft picks. And they stole Josh Hader from the Astros (who stole Josh Hader from the Orioles).
Yeah, Brewers scouts were sniffing around the Threshers at today’s doubleheader.
Who do you think they were there to see?
O’Hoppe with another homer today. Hao Yu Lee looking like a top 5 prospect and maybe top 100 in all of baseball. He just turned 19 and is tearing up low A ball. I literally do not remember the last time we had a prospect that young who played so well at full season A ball – maybe J.P. Crawford, but he never had Lee’s power.
There is the distinct possibility that if he continues to progress, he could become the best player from the island of Taiwan to play in the majors someday….maybe wearing the Phillie red.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bio/Taiwan_born.shtml
Top 100 is a stretch right now. I think if he gets to JS and goes crazy there too, you might see him in the top 100 before the 2023 season if analysts feel that he could start AA at age 20.
When do MiLB promotions start to happen? For the Phillies there seems to be a log jam at AAA which may keep a few position players and pitchers at Reading and Jersey Shore..
4A guys will never block prospects. LHV is loaded with 4A non prospect types. Unfortunately Reading only has Muzzioti, Ortiz and O’Hoppe as prospects.
I was just about to ask who deserves to be promoted.
O’Hoppe is 22 and blocked by JT. There’s no rush to push him to Lehigh.
Ortiz is 23. He could be promoted, but I don’t think there’s a rush here. Let him improve his numbers at Reading.
Muzziotti is 23. He has missed a lot of playing time. He needs to play everyday and if it’s Reading, he should just stay there.
Noah Skirrow is an interesting case. He’s 23 and his numbers at Reading are decent. No idea what he throws. He could be a candidate to be promoted in another month or so if he keeps it up.
Muzziotti may have pulled something last night…he could be sidelined for a little bit.
Not sure Realmuto is blocking O’Hoppe quite yet. This year in Reading. Next year in Lehigh Valley. 20234 as a rookie understudy. Maybe a second year learning in the Majors. By 2024 and/or 2025, Realmuto might be ready to be replaced.
This is exactly what I meant by being blocked. You’re slowing his progression through the system. If JT wasn’t there, you might promote O’Hoppe to Lehigh at midseason, and give him a shot at winning the catcher’s job during ST.