The ‘Pigs continue their six game home stand after dropping both games of their doubleheader last night against Rochester.  Lehigh Valley opens a four game weekend series against Indianapolis tonight before heading to Durham for three early next week.    At 20-34, Lehigh Valley is in 5th place of the Northern Division of the International League , 10 games behind division leading Rochester. The ‘Pigs have lost three straight and are an abysmal 2-8 over their last 10 games.

News and Notes: INF Cord Phelps has a modest 7 game hitting streak and has hit in 14 of his last 17 games (19-52, .365)

–Brian Bogusevic has hit safely in 41 of his 45 starts this season.  Very impressive.

–Lehigh Valley continues to lead the league in walks allowed (216), having allowed 10% more than the next closest team. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Certainly an area where the Phillies will be looking to add talent and depth in the upcoming draft.  Nothing to be over whelmed about but Lino and Knapp have been solid this year, with Gruillon learning and progressing.

Lehigh Valley

John Hester, 32, Signed as a free agent in 2015; .269/.296/.385 in 26 AB’s between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 0HR 0RBI.  10 games caught with any errors or passed balls; Has thrown out 2/10 (20%) of base stealers; STarted the season on the DL after knee surgery and has played very sparingly since.

Logan Moore, 24, Phils 9th round pick in 2011; .187/.282/.240 in 75AB’s between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 0HR 8RBI; 12%BB/22%K rates; Hitting .194 in 36 AB’s with Lehigh Valley; 24 games caught with 4 errors (.975); 4 passed balls; Has thrown out 14/23 (61%) base stealers.  No bat, excellent arm.

Tommy Joseph, 23, Acquired from San Francisco in 2012; .123/.135/.178 in 73 AB’s before being placed on the DL with a concussion.  Hasnt played in three weeks and no timeline for his return.

Blake Forsythe, 25, Acquired from Oakland in 2015;  Hitting .250 in 12 AB’s between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 4 games caught without an error; 1 passed ball; Has thrown out 2/3 base stealers; Depth guy.

Reading

Gabriel Lino, 22, Acquired from Baltimore in 2012; .255/.325/.331 in 102AB’s for Reading; 3HR 12RBI; 8%BB/23%K rates; .261 vs. LH, .253 vs. RH, .240 with RISP; .245 in May;  30 games caught with 2 errors (.991); 2 passed balls; Has thrown out 15/30 base stealers (50%); Lino has played well this year.  Looking for perhaps a bit more with the stick but very solid behind the plate. Continue reading Around the System–Catcher →

After a six game winning streak, the ‘Pigs have quickly found themselves back mired in a three game losing streak and are facing a doubleheader tonight on the road against Gwinnett before moving on to Charlotte for a weekend series.  On the year the ‘Pigs are 18-29 and have finally climbed out of last place in the Northern Division of the International League, now sitting in 5th, 8 games behind division leading Rochester.

News and Notes: Lehigh Valley set a franchise record in allowing 12 walks in their game against Charlotte last Saturday evening.

–Lehigh Valley continue to lead the league in walks allowed by a landslide, having allowed over 12% more walks than the next closest team.

–The ‘Pigs continue to draw well, averaging almost 8,400 fans per game in the early months with a team playing very poorly. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Lehigh Valley has finally begin playing somewhat consistent baseball after their awful start, having won 5 of their last 7 games on this road trip, including three straight and now sit at 15-26,  still in last place of the Northern Division of the International League, 8.5 games behind division leading Rochester.  The ‘Pigs return home for four games with Charlotte starting tomorrow and then hit the road once again for a four game set against Gwinnett next week.

News and Notes: SP David Buchanan suffered a significant ankle injury on Sunday and will miss the next 6-8 weeks after being carted off the field in his third start for Lehigh Valley, after being sent down from Philadelphia.  Anthony Vasquez will be taking Buchanan’s place in the rotation.

–Phillippe Aumont has made three consecutive “quality starts” for the first time in his career.  His next start comes Saturday. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

A look at the performance of the systems outfielders through the first 5 weeks of the season.  Some disappointment, but significant areas to be excited about.  Two moves I would make before the end of the month: Aaron Altherr to Lehigh Valley and Carlos Tocci to Clearwater.

Lehigh Valley

Brian Bogusevic, 31, SIgned as a free agent in 2015; .333/.401/.439 in 132 AB’s; 2HR 13RBI; 4SB; 10%BB/14%K rates; .270 vs LHP; .358 vs. RHP; .367 in May. 29 games in the OF without an error; 3 OF assists; Bogusevic has been the best OF in Lehigh Valley this year, by a wide margin.

Jordan Danks, 28, SIgned as a free agent in 2015; .279/.331/.333 in 111AB’s; 1HR 15RBI; 1SB; 8%BB/20%K rates; .313 vs. LHP, .266 vs. RHP; .314 in last 10 games; 29 games in the OF without an error; 1 assist; Solid numbers thus far.

Cody Asche, 24, Phils 4th round pick in 2011; .269/.346/.269 in 26AB’s; 0HR 2RBI; 5 games in the OF with 1 error; Too early for comment.

Domonic Brown, 27, Phils 20th round pick in 2006; .250/.298/.304 in 112AB’s; 0HR 14RBI; 5SB; 3%bb/14%k rates; .314 vs. LHP; .221 vs. RHP; .279 in last 10 games. 24 games in the OF with 2 errors (.983); 1 OF assist.  Brown in starting to play a bit better, but a .304 SLG%?  Come on.

Reading

Aaron Altherr, 24, Phils 9th round pick in 2009; .279/.356/.500 in 104 AB’s; 4HR 20RBI; 4SB; 11%BB/14%K rates; .325 in last 10 games. 25 games in the OF without an error; 3 OF assists; Altherr has been consistent and significantly improved his BB/K rates, an issue that has plagued him in the past.  I would like to see him in Lehigh Valley come June. Continue reading Around the System–OF →

The “Around the System” series is back as we start with corner infielders.  Once or twice a week we will take a look at the players manning certain positions and rotate those positions throughout the year.

Lehigh Valley

Maikel Franco, 22, Signed as a free agent in 2009; .350/.372/.540 in 137 AB’s; 4HR 23RBI; 4%BB/16%K rates; .372 vs. LHP; .340 vs. RHP; .317 with RISP; .415 in last 10 games.  29 games at 3B with 2 errors (.975); 2.66 R/F.  Cant get much better than this.

Chris McGuinness, 27, Signed as a free agent in 2015; .250/.355/.313 in 80 AB’s; 0HR 7RBI; 14%BB/12%K rates; .273 vs. LHP; .241 vs. RHP; .143 with RISP; .226 in last 10 games. 18 games at 1B with 1 error (.993); 8.44 R/F;  Surprisingly little power thus far but with a high contact rate, things should improve.

Russ Canzler, 29, Re-Signed as a free agent in 2015; .307/.383/.416 in 101 AB’s; 1HR 6RBI; 11%BB/22%K rates; .276 vs. LHP, .319 vs. RHP; .208 with RISP; 15 games at 1B with 2 errors (.984); 3 games at 3B without an error; 2 games in the OF without an error; Canzler continues to be a multi dimensional, AAAA, player who can hit

Reading

Brock Stassi, 25, Phils 33rd round pick in 2011; .319/.390/.473 in 91 AB’s; 3HR 25RBI; 12%BB/12%K rates; .261 vs. LHP; .323 vs. RHP; .378 with RISP. 24 games at 1B without an error; 7.38 R/F.  Stassi has been one of, if not the best clutch hitter in the organization through the first month of the season. Continue reading Around the System–Corner INF →

Lehigh Valley have finally begun playing a bit better, having gone 4-4 over their last 8 games, but still sit in last place of the Northern Division of the International League, at a woeful 10-24 already 10 games behind division leading Pawtucket.  The ‘Pigs embark on a 7 game road trip starting Thursday evening in Rochester, continuing against the RedWings over the weekend, before visiting Syracuse early next week.

‘News and Notes: Cody Asche had 5 plate appearances in his first game back at AAA and Columbus couldn’t get him out.  He went 2-2, with 3 walks and a run scored and an uneventful night in LF.

–OF Brian Bogusevic was named International League Batter of the Week on Monday.  While playing a very good CF, Bogusevic has hit safely in 26 of his last 28 games, hitting .357 with 2HR 11RBI, 20RS and 4SB during that time frame.

–Lehigh Valley is 7-8 is games Chase D’Arnaud starts and 3-16 when he doesn’t start.

—Phillippe Aumont earned his first “quality start”  since 2010 with a six inning, 0ER performance last Friday.  He followed that up with an eye opening seven inning, 0ER, 0BB outing yesterday. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

After missing significant time during the last two seasons with injuries, one being a serious concussion, Lehigh Valley catcher Tommy Joseph has landed back on the DL with another concussion.  Joseph, who was acquired in 2012 in the Hunter Pence deal was hitting just .123 in 73 AB’s with Lehigh Valley this season after accruing just 78 AB’s last season with Reading.  I would think there is significant concern about his career at this stage.  Catcher Logan Moore has been called up from Reading to take Joseph’s place on the ‘Pigs roster.

With their 12-1 win on Tuesday, the ‘Pigs snapped a four game losing streak, and continued on a roll Wednesday with a 5-3 victory and now sit at 8-20 and continue in last place of the Northern Division of the International League, 9.5  games behind division leading Pawtucket.  After a much needed off day on Thursday, Lehigh Valley returns home for three games over the weekend against Gwinnett followed by three more at home against Columbus.

News and Notes: With their 19 hits on Tuesday evening against Louisville, the ‘Pigs set a new franchise high for hits in a game.  Lehigh Valley entered Tuesdays game having hit just 5HR all year, but knocked three homers during Tuesday evening.

—Brian Bogusevic continues to swing a hot bat, and has hit in the last 10 consecutive games hitting .425 over that time period (17-40, 10R, 2HR 7RBI).  He has also hit safely in 21 of his last 22 games, hitting .371 over that span (33-89)

—Jason Berken threw well enough to pick up one of the rare wins for Lehigh Valley starters on Tuesday, allowing just a lone run in 5IP. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →