AFter wins the last two evenings, Lehigh Valley has lost 7 of their last 10 games, and have gone 12-19 since May 30th.  The ‘Pigs are 41-44 and in 5th place of the Northern Division of the International League; 10 games behind division leading Syracuse. They are 6 games behind Rochester for a wildcard spot.  Lehigh Valley returns home for a quick two game series against Syracuse before leaving on a long 10 game road trip that will take them into the all star break in mid July.

‘Pigs League Leaders, Hitting:Maikel Franco is 7th in AB’s (302); Tyler Henson is 5th in strikeouts (84) and 5th in SB’s (16).

Leaders, Pitching: Barry Enright is 4th in losses (8); leads the league in HR allowed (16); has the 6th worst WHIP (1.54) has the 7th worst ERA (5.20); is tied for 4th in starts (16); Luis Garcia is 3rd in saves (15); Greg SMith is 9th in IP (94.2)

‘Pigs Prospects: Maikel Franco’s struggles continue and he has been out of the lineup over the last two days.  Franco had 105 June AB’s and hit .162/.196/.238 with 1HR and 11RBI.  Franco’s year has been a roller coaster with April and June being very poor, with a good May sandwiched in the middle.  On the year, .209/.267/.318 with 5HR 31RBI. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

It aint real pretty…

AB’s: Maikel Franco, 302; Dylan Cozens 301; KC Serna 300; Peter Lavin 294; Carlos Tocci 286; Andrew Pullin 284; Carlos Alonso 276; Cameron Perkins 274; JP Crawford 272; Aaron Altherr 269

Hits: Cameron Perkins 85; Peter Lavin 85; Willians Astudillo 84; KC Serna 83; JP Crawford 78; Andrew Pullin 78; Carlos Alonso 77; Steve Susdorf 72; Leandro Castro 69; Tyler Henson 69

2B; Cameron Perkins 21; Willians Astudillo 19;  Peter Lavin 18; KC Serna 18; Art Charles 18; Steve Susdorf 17; JP Crawford 17;  Leandro castro 16; Tyler Henson 16; Maikel Franco 16; Aaron Altherr 16

3B: Peter Lavin 5; Carlos Tocci 4; Leandro Castro 3; Cameron Perkins 3; Aaron Altherr 3; KC Serna 3; Art Charles 3; Brian Pointer 3; Dylan Cozens 3

HR: Jim Murphy 10; Peter Lavin 10; Dylan Cozens 9; Samuel Hiciano 7; Art Charles 7; Carlos Alonso 7; Jake Fox 6; Aaron Altherr 6; Brock Stassi Continue reading Minor League Organizational Leaders →

A busy night with the big news being Jesse Biddle being given what Ruben Amaro is calling a “mental break”, with his placement on Reading’s temporary inactive list. Biddle’s recent troubles have been well documented including his 10ER outing just last Tuesday.  This break can only help, as Biddle has been unable to pitch through the recent issues.

In Allentown, Sean O’Sullivan was told that he will be the Phillies starter in Game Two of their doubleheader Saturday.  The speculation had been Brad Lincoln, however it seems Lincoln may be nursing a minor leg injury. While far from overpowering, O’Sullivan has been slightly better than decent for the ‘Pigs this year, going 3-6 with a 4.31ERA in 15 starts this year for the ‘Pigs.  Opponents hit .278 against him and O’Sullivan is carrying a WHIP of 1.36.  O’Sullivan will not overwhelm and has just as good a chance as any in Lehigh Valley to do a competent job.

In Allentown, Jason Marquis will be on the hill tomorrow evening with Grady Sizemore likely to get his first start in the Phils organization tomorrow as well.

Quite a week looking back at Jun 19-25 with interesting names showing up on both sides of the ledger…Starting pitching was brutal this week with Jesse Biddle leading the way and prominent names like Guellar and Nola not far behind…Start paying alot of attention to Andrew Pullin, who as a 2B should be rising up the prospect rankings…Good to see Brian Pointer getting on track…Brad Lincoln really seems to be the only choice for the start the Phils need on Saturday.  He has been throwing very well as a starter….Larry Greene Jr came off the DL on fire…how long will that last?

Hot Hitters: (Min 12 AB’s): Damek Tomscha (.500, 5R, 3RBI); Brian Pointer (.476);  Andrew Pullin (.444, 4RBI); Andreas Blanco (.450); Matt SHortall (.417); Larry Greene (.400, 5R); Emmanuel Marrero (.368);  Grenny Cumana (.364); Cord Sandberg (.346, 5R HR, 4RBI, 2SB); Honorable Mention: Henson, Susdorf, Lino, Alonso, Fox, Knapp, J. Hernanderz

Not Hot Hitters: Chris Serritella (.000, 0-13); Luis Encarnacion (.063); Derek Campbell (.100);  Rhys Hoskins (.118); Carlos Tocci (.125); Dylan Cozens (.130); Willians Astudillo (.154); Leandro Castro (.167); Art Charles (.167); Maikel Franco (.174) Continue reading Hot or Not →

Mediocrity continues for the ‘Pigs who went 3-4 this week, including a 4-3 loss tonight, and now sit at 38-41 and in 5th place of the Northern Division of the International League, 10.5 games behind division leading Syracuse.   After completing a short two day (3 game) road trip to Syracuse on Wednesday, Lehigh Valley returns home for 4 games (Rochester, Scranton) over the weekend.

‘Pigs league Leaders, Hitting: Maikel Franco is 3rd in AB’s(288); Tyler Henson is 4th in K’s(78) and 5th in SB’s(16)

Pitching: Barry Enright is 3rd in losses (7);2nd in HR allowed (15);  has the 7th worst ERA (5.20); is tied for 2nd in starts(15)and has the 8th worst WHIP (1.50); Luis Garcia is 4th in saves (12); Sean O’Sullivan is 4th in IP (87.2) Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

The Phillies, looking for anything to help their OF depth, are taking a shot that 31 year old Grady Sizemore is their man.  Sizemore spent the majority of his career with the Cleveland Indians, having several excellent seasons during which he put up 20-30 Homers with 30+ stolen bases.  That said, Sizemore hasn’t hit above .248 since 2008, and has spent the last two seasons struggling through a myriad of injuries before a fairly miserable 2014 with Boston.  His line with the Red Sox prior to his release was .216/.288/.325 in 185 AB’s with 2HR 15RBI and 5SB.

Sizemore is a three time all star and two time gold glove winner.  He will report to AAA Lehigh Valley on Thursday.  My guess is Tony Gwynn’s time with the Phillies is limited…

A look at relief pitching at the upper reaches of the system; Over the weekend we will look at relief pitching through the rest of the syste,

Lehigh Valley

Phillippe Aumont, 25, Acquired from Seattle in 2009; 22 games, 2-1 with a 4.02 ERA; 31.1IP 26H 22BB 34K; 1.25 GO/AO; .236 opp. avg; 1.53WHIP; 6.3BB/9.8K per 9; .170 vs. LHH, .286 vs. RHH, .294 with RISP; Pretty much the same old story for Aumont who still struggles to throw the ball over the plate consistently. His cup of coffee with the Phillies was a disaster and he hasn’t pitched in 10 days due to a sore arm.

Shawn Camp, 38, Signed as a free agent in 2014; 12 games, 0-1 with a 4.50ERA; 14IP 20H 5BB 9K; 2.44 GO/AO; .345 opp. avg; 1.79WHIP; 3.2BB/5.7K per 9; Camp has been ineffective since changing his motion to that of a side armer. At 38, his days may be numbered when everyone gets healthy. Continue reading Around the System–Relievers (AAA, AA) →

A look at starting pitching around the system.  Some good, more bad, a few ugly.  Next up, relievers.

Lehigh Valley
Chris Bootcheck, 35, Signed as a free agent in 2014; 6 starts; 2-3 with a 4.09ERA; 33IP 31H 14BB 19K; 4HR allowed; 0.79 GO/AO; .252 opp. avg; 1.36WHIP; 3.8BB/5.1K per nine; .179 vs. LHH; .313 vs. RHH; .111 with RISP. Bootcheck has been pitched fairly well since coming off the DL in late June.  He is a capable innings eater that knows how to pitch.

Barry Enright, 28, Signed as a free agent in 2014; 14 starts; 3-6 with a 4.77ERA; 77.1IP 88H 22BB 45K; 15HR allowed; 0.80 GO/AO; .283 opp avg; 1.42WHIP; 2.6BB/5.2K per 9; .252 vs. LHH; .318 vs. RHH, .288 with RISP.  Enright throws strikes but they are often hit for homers.  Simply has to allow far fewer gopher balls.

Brad Lincoln, 29, Acquired from Toronto in 2013; 14 games (9 starts); 4-3 with a 4.24 ERA; 51IP 50H 21BB 47K; 4 HR allowed; 0.76 GO/AO; .254 opp. avg; 1.39WHIP; 3.7BB/8.3K per nine; .302 vs. LHH, .208 vs. RHH, .270 with RISP; 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA in 4 June starts.  Lincoln just came off three starts where he did not allow an earned run and has been throwing very well as of late.  WIth the lack of depth the Phils currently have, I would put Lincoln as the first call up if there were an injury to a Phillies starter at this stage. Continue reading Around the System–Starting Pitchers →

Rosters out…first game is today.  Still looking for Aaron Nola(expect him on Clearwater’s roster by July 1).  Quite a few pitchers who should eat up the GCL and expect Jake Sweaney in CF, converted from his catching position.

Catchers: Joel Fisher, Gregori Rivero; Jake Sweaney

Infield: William Cuicas; Grenny CUmana; Luis Encarnacion; Olvy Marte, Jesus Posso; Damek Tomscha, Trey WIlliams, Tim Zier

Outfield: Gustavo Martinez; Carlos Duran, Chase Harris, Jose Pujols

Pitchers: Francibel Alejo; Lewis Alezones; Austin Davis; Jacques Du Gruy; Seranthony Dominguez; Jared Fisher; Scott Harris; Matt Hockenberry; Matt Imhof; Denton Keys; Brandon Leibrandt; Franklyn Kilome; Sam McWilliams; ANgel Mejia; Luis Morales; Chris Oliver; Edubray Ramos; Matt Southard; Gregorio Santos