Just a very poor week in the organization(5/29–6/4), especially with the bat…JP Crawford has been struggling as of late but deserves leeway based on a year of continued production…Hoby Milner was outstanding in a rain shortened start in Harrisburg…Very inopportune time for Kenny GIles to land on the Not Hot list…What the heck is up with Cameron Rupp? Brutal Week and down to .163 on the year…still injured? Cedeno continues very hot with an average approaching .290…still remember its Ronnie Cedeno. Maikel Franco is back down to .223 on the year with an OBP well under .300.

Hot Hitters(Min 13 AB’s):Ronnie Cedeno (.409, 5R 4RBI); Leandro Castro (.370); Steve Susdorf (.350); Carlos Alonso (.364, 5R 2HR 4RBI); Tyler Henson (.333)

Not Hot Hitters: Cameron Rupp (.050); Chris Serritella (.077); Art Charles (.091); JP Crawford (.111); Wilmer Oberto (.118); Andrew Pullin (.136); Deivi Gruillon (.143); Anthony Phillips (.150); Angelo Mora (.150); Maikel Franco (.167); (Dis)Honorable mention: Stassi, Hiciano Continue reading Hot or Not →

A tough 2-5 week for Lehigh Valley who concluded a long road trip in Durham and came home on Tuesday to begin a 8 game homestand against Louisville and Indianapolis. The ‘Pigs now sit in 4th place of the Northern Division of the International League, 3.5 games behind division leading Syracuse.

‘Pigs Prospects:Kenny Giles has been unscored upon in 8 of his 10 outings for Lehigh Valley, earning 2 wins, 5 saves and a hold over that time period. In his 10 games for the ‘Pigs, Giles is 2-0 with a 2.13ERA; 1.11WHIP and .171 opp average.

Maikel Franco has been very quiet, hitting just .200 over the last 10 games with 0HR and 4RBI and missing some time with an upper respiratory issue. On the year, Franco now sits at .228/.297/.356 with 4HR and 22RBI.  Absent a solid 3-4 weeks, 2014 has been a struggle for Franco.  Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Lehigh Valley

Leandro Castro, 25, Signed as a free agent in 2007; .249/317/.367 in 169 AB’s; 4/7 SB; 8%bb/17%k rates; .216 vs. RHP; .263 vs. LHP; .277 with RISP; Hit .255 in May; 48 games in the OF with 6 errors (.946); 4 OF assists; Castro has greatly improved his walk and strikeout rate, which were an area of huge concern in years past. That said, he has been mediocre thus far, and his fielding is always an adventure.

Tyson Gillies, 25, Acquired from Seattle in 2009; .224/.280/.315 in 143 AB’s; 2HR 10RBI; 3/5SB; 4%bb/26%k rates; .147 vs. LHP; .248 vs. RHP; .219 with RISP; .242 in May.  36 games in the OF with 1 error (.991); 2 OF assists; Just flat out lousy.  A little less lousy in May.

Steve Susdorf, 28, Phils 19th round pick in 2008 draft; .281/.343/.338 in 160 AB’s; 0HR 14RBI; 3/5SB; 9%bb/17% k rates; .257 vs. LHP; .288 vs. RHP; .286 with RISP; .322/.392/.402 in May.  20 games in the OF without an error; 1 OF assist; After a very slow start, Susdorf is now hitting in the manner he is capable which is high average with little power.  He gives you a professional AB every time. Continue reading Around the System–OF →

This should spur some discussion.  All this is assuming continued production and health.

1.  Jesse Biddle to Lehigh Valley–Its time.  His control has been better and he is pushing 40 starts in AA, with an ERA under 3.20 and the opposition hitting under .230 against him.

2.  Cameron Perkins to Lehigh Valley–The IronPigs OF at this stage has several AAAA players that will never make a contribution in the majors beyond possibly that of a 5th OF. WHile I don’t see Perkins as a Major League regular, I do think he has the potential to be a 4th OF with 300+ AB’s a year for a big league club.  Challenge him.

3.  Peter Lavin to Reading–It is not likely that Peter Lavin will ever make the major leagues but having him play three years at High A makes no sense.  He is producing, so reward him.  He will do a competent job in Reading.

4.  Cody Forsythe to Clearwater– Forsythe is a 23 year old college draftee who is has been pitching very well for Lakewood. 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 8 saves; .216 opp avg…Again, challenge him.  A new class of draftees will be here shortly which will replenish the rosters at the lower levels…

Move I wouldnt make yet–JP Crawford.  Crawford has done everything asked and then some.  I am of the opinion that losing is an attitude and I would be a little leery about putting him into the current environment in Clearwater.  If I were king, I would let him play in Lakewood until the beginning of August and then consider giving him a taste of Reading, or in the alternative CLearwater for the final three weeks or so of the season.

As a baseball purist, I admittedly dont look as deep into the metrics as perhaps I should. I must admit however that the concept of “Game Score” for starting pitchers has struck my fancy in measuring the quality of performance on a particular night for a particular pitcher.  If you look at the average Game Score of a particular starter, you get a very good idea of what their body of work looks like over the course of a season.  In essence, game score combines durability, control and overall effectiveness to come up with a number to put on a particular outing.

Bill James developed Game Score and the math goes like this:  Start with 50.  Add one point for each out recorded (so three points for each IP); add two points for  each full IP after the fourth; add one point for each strikeout; subtract two points for each hit allowed; subtract four points for each ER allowed; subtract two points for each unearned run allowed; subtract one point for each walk. In essence, Game Score takes the concept of a quality start and expands on it, factoring in control and hittability. The highest Game Score in history went to Kerry Wood who achieved a Game Score of 105 on 5/6/98. He struck out 20, allowing just one hit and didn’t walk a batter.

Game Score allows you to assess a degree of quality on a particular start and extrapolate from there.   Now, looking at Phillies minor leaguers….At the AAA level, the highest Game Score achieved this year was Greg Smith, back on April 17th, who achieved a Game Score of 78.  The lowest Game Score was “achieved” by Brad Lincoln who received a 17 for a miserable start just a few days ago on 5/28/14.  In a system which would categorize a “quality start” at a 50, IronPigs average Game Scores are as follows (Min 4 starts): Pettibone 52, Smith 52, Enright 50; Buchanan 49, O’Sullivan 47n and Lincoln 41. Continue reading Game Score →

The attention this week should go to the relief pitchers who put on quite a show during the time period of May 22-28.  Tyler Knigge is making people notice once again, while Kenny Giles simply keeps doing what he does.  Colton Murray, who spent a bit of time at High A before promotion, has had an outstanding start for Reading…Samuel Hiciano is taking the attention away from the other, higher ranked prospects in the Lakewood OF simply by performance…Cameron Rupp has been really struggling since his return from the oblique injury, while Brian Pointer remains consistently on the Not Hot list….I intend not to waste another word discussing Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez.

Hot Hitters: (MIN 13 AB’s): KC Serna (.400, 7R HR 4RBI, AB); Samuel Hiciano (.370, 2HR 4RBI); Deivi Gruillon (.357); Everett Williams (.357, 4RBI); Cameron Perkins (.345, 3R, HR, 6RBI); Ronny Cedeno (.341, 5RBI); JP Crawford (.333, 3R, 3RBI, SB); Tyler Henson (.333)

Not Hot Hitters:Malquin Canelo (.000, 0-13); Brian Pointer (.071); Andrew Knapp (.118); Cameron Rupp (.136); Addison Maruszak (.143); Nick Ferdinand (.143);  Roman Quinn (.150); Carlos Alonson (.154) Chris Serritella (.167); CHris Swauger (.176);Albert Cartwright (.179) Continue reading Hot or Not →

Another week with a winning record for Lehigh Valley who went 4-3 on the week, including a sweep of a doubleheader in Norfolk on Tuesday.  The ‘Pigs are now 28-24 and tied for second place in the Northern Division of the International League, just 0.5 games behind division leading Syracuse.  Lehigh Valley left for a nine game, 8 day road trip after last Sundays game that takes them to Norfolk and Durham. The ‘Pigs, at 17-10, have the second best record in the IL in May.

‘Pigs Prospects:Cameron Rupp has really struggled with the bat since returning from his oblique injury and is hitting just .161 since his return(31 AB’s).  He continues to play quite well defensively with a caught stealing rate at over 30%.

Tyson Gillies after starting very slowly, has improved slightly and now sits at .226/.288/.302 in 124 AB’s with Lehigh Valley this year.  His strikeout rate is still a high 26% and Gillies has stolen just 3/5 bases this year.  He does appear to be playing smarter over the last couple of weeks, trying to use his speed to bunt for a base hit which is occasionally very nice to see.  Over his last 10 games Gillies is right at the Mendoza line, hitting .200.

Phillippe Aumont receives kudos for having a solid week this week after a very poor week last week.  Over his last 3 games, Aumont has thrown 5.1 shutout innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks and striking out 5.  On the year, Aumont is now 1-1 with a 4.30ERA and 1.65 WHIP.  Opponents are hitting just .211 against him, but that is counter balanced by the fact that he has walked an average of a hitter an inning.  In 9 May appearances spanning 13.1 innings, Aumont has walked 11. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Lehigh Valley

Phillippe Aumont, 25, Acquired from Seattle in 2010; 14 games; 0-1 with a 5.60ERA; 17.2IP 15H 19BB 18K; 0.76GO/AO; .246 opp. avg; 1.92WHIP; 9.7BB/9.2K per nine; .200 vs. LHH; .278 vs. RHH; .400 with RISP.  Ten walks per nine innings and getting lit up with RISP.  Not much more to say.

Justin DeFratus, 26, Phils 11th round pick in 2007; 14 games, 0-0 with a 4.20ERA; 3 saves; 15IP 17H 3BB 12K; 1.64 GO/AO; .309 opp. avg; 1.33WHIP; 1.8BB/7.2K per nine; .348 vs. LHH, .281 vs. RHH, .316 with RISP.  DeFratus is still trying to figure it out.  He has been extremely hittable this year and far less overpowering than in years past.

Kenny Giles, 23;Phils 7th round pick in 2011;  18 games between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 2-0 with a 1.29ERA; 8 saves; 21IP 11H 10BB 31K; 0.71GO/AO; .155 opp. avg; 1.00WHIP; 4.3BB/13.3K per nine;  These are simply overwhelmingly good stats.  The only brief moment of pause is a slightly elevated walk rate, but Giles has been dominant. Continue reading Around the System–Relief Pitchers →

A look back at the time period of May 15-21…Looks like our #1 Not Hot Starter, David Buchanan, may be on his way to Philly to replace Cliff Lee in the rotation…I have to admit, Andrew Knapp is starting to worry me…With Willians Astudillo starting to catch more regularly, the fact that he continues to scald the ball becomes more intriguing…The transition to AAA for Kenny Giles seems to have been a smooth one from his early numbers…Just when some thought Justin DeFratus was fixed, he ends up taking a step backwards….The Reading bullpen was outstanding this week (Knigge, Murray, O’Sullivan, Ogando)

Hot Hitters: Min 12 AB’s: Willians Astudillo (.476, 8RBI); Albert Cartwright (.400, 9R, HR 2RBI, SB); Art Charles (.400, 5R); Anthony Phillips (.385); Samuel Hiciano (.375); Andrew Pullin (.364, 5R 1HR 5RBI); Wilmer Oberto (.350, 4R 3RBI); Ronny Cedeno (.333); Jiandido Tromp (.333, 4R 4RBI); Honorable Mention: Susdorf

Not Hot Hitters: Chris Serritella (.067);  Nick Ferdinand (.067); Andrew Knapp (.148); Gabrial Lino (.167); Aaron Altherr (.167); Carlos Alonso (.167); Tyler Henson (.174); Malquin Canelo (.188); Mitch Walding (.190) Continue reading Hot or Not →

Lehigh Valley went 4-3 on the week and are now 24-21 on the year and in 4th place of the Northern Division of the International League, just 0.5 game behind division leading Buffalo.  The ‘Pigs are off on Wednesday before spending Memorial Day weekend home against Toledo and then depart for a 9 hame/8 day road trip against Norfolk and Durham. The ‘Pigs have won 7 of their last 10 games and hold the IL’s best record in May (13-7)

‘Pigs League Leaders (min 12 ab’s)Hitting: Maikel Franco is 7th in AB’s (162); Tyler Henson is 8th in runs(25), 5th in strikeouts(47) and 3rd in SB’s(11); Jim Murphy is 7th in RBI’s(25);

Pitching:David Buchanan is 2nd in wins(5) and has the 7th worst WHIP (1.57); Luis Garcia is 5th in saves (6); Barry Enright is 10th in IP (50.1) and tied for 3rd in HR allowed (7)

‘Pigs Prospects: David Buchanan had a very rough outings in his last start on Sunday, going just 1IP and allowing 4 runs on five hits.  With the loss Sunday, he fell short of becoming the first IronPigs player to win five straight.  In his four previous starts (all wins), he threw a combined 22.2 inning, allowing 9 earned runs (3.57ERA). With RISP, the opposition is hitting just .143 against him. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →