A look at starting pitching around the system. Next trip around will include Williamsport and GCL.

Lehigh Valley

Tyler Cloyd, 26, Phils 18th round pick in 2008; 7 starts; 1-4 with a 6.57 ERA; 38.1IP 51H 12BB 35K; 9 HR allowed; 0.83 GO/AO; .315 opp. avg., 1.64 WHIP; 2.8BB/8.2K per nine.  Cloyd returned just yesterday to Lehigh Valley after spending several weeks in the Phils rotation and doing a good job for the Phils. Ironically, he was doing a less than good job for the ‘Pigs when he was called up, but kudos for good work for the big club.

Carlso Zambrano, 32, SIgned as a free agent in 2013; 4 starts; 2-0 with a 1.27 ERA between Clearwater, Reading and Lehigh Valley; 21.1IP 14H 11BB 17K. Zambrano was less than impressive in his last start for Lehigh Valley (5IP 4H 2ER 4BB 5K) and will have to take it up a notch to displace Pettibone from the Phils rotation. Continue reading Around the System–Starting Pitching →

Here it goes…

Pitchers

Drew Anderson, Tyler Buckley, Chris Burgess, Mitch Guellar, Robert Marcello, Shane Martin, Lino Martinez, Manny Martinez, Roman Oviedo, Jon Prosinski, Julio Reyes, Lee Ridenhour, Yacksel Rios, Keivi Rojas, Felix Santos, Josh Warner

Catchers–Corey Bass, Andrew Knapp, Gabriel Lino

Infield–Jairo Cardozo, Zach Green, Angelo Mora, Logan Pierce, Andrew Pullin

OF–Dylan Cozens, Sam Hiciano, Gustavo Martinez, Justin Parr, Jia Tromp

DL–Ervis Manzanillo, Ulysses Joaquin, James Birmingham

A look at the time period of June 6th thru June 12th. As always, a minimum of 12AB’s for hitters to be considered.  Some random thoughts…When Utley gets activated should some thought be given to calling Asche up for a month while sending Howard to the DL and Young over to first?  I would hope Kelly Dugan is in Baseballtown come July…Tyson Gillies has fallen back into the same old thing….With his small frame, Hoby Milner is putting up some big numbers…I am beginning to get concerned about Shane Watson. Not panicked yet, but concerned….Very nice to see Diekman on the Hot list. The Phils desperately need a dependable LOOGY. Diekman isnt there yet, but another 5-10 good outings and maybe he gets the call…Finally, Steven Inch has the distinction of making the Not Hot List as a starter and reliever this week…On the bright side, he is an SAL All Star. Continue reading Hot or Not →

A good week for Lehigh Valley, who went 5-2 on the week and now stand at 33-32, and in 3rd place of the Northern Division of the International League, 4.5 games behind division leading Pawtucket.  The ‘Pigs have an off day Wednesday and then continue their home stand with four games over the weekend against Scranton before they leave for an eight game road trip.

‘Pigs Prospects: Darin Ruf’s homerless streak has now reached 100 plus AB’s, to go along with 25 strikeouts in his last 88 AB’s. He has had a nagging hand injury but that said, Ruf simply isnt producing in the manner necessary to get serious consideration for a call up.  After a three hit night in Game Two last night, Ruf is at .262/.339/.407 on the year with 5 HR and 30 RBI. Since May 1, Ruf is hitting .259 with just 1 HR. Ruf works very hard and has played LF quite capably, but this funk has led to a larger question mark next to his name in regards to big league potential. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

The ranks are thinning due to the myriad of injuries suffered throughout the organization…Here is what we currently are looking at in each level of the system.

Lehigh Valley

John Suomi, 32, Phils re-signed as free agent in 2013; Hitting .268 with 2 HR and 7RBI in 41 AB’s between Reading and Lehigh Valley. 7 games caught without an error; 4 passed balls; 3/9 caught stealing (33%);  Suomi continues to serve in his designated role as a back up catcher wherever he is needed in the upper levels of the minors.

Cameron Rupp, 24, Phils 3rd round pick in 2010; (Reading) .245/.329/.455 in 143 AB’s; 8HR 21RBI; 9%bb/23% k rates, .106 vs. LHP, .266 vs. RHP, .324 with RISP, .271 since May 1.  32 games caught with 4 errors (.985); 2 passed balls; 8/33 caught stealing (24%); Rupp has developed well, and was rewarded with his promotion to Lehigh Valley with the glut of injuries at the catcher position.   Good defensively (receiving and calling the game) and his bat continues to show glimpses of real promise. Continue reading Around the System–Catchers →

Below is an organizational review of leaders in several categories.  I am debating making this a monthly feature…Let me know your thoughts.

Hits: Maikel Franco (67), Cameron Perkins (67), Aaron Altherr (64), Cody Asche (62), James Murphy (60), Cesar Hernandez (57), Chris Serritella (55), Leandro Castro (53), Albert Cartwright (53), Roman Quinn (53)

Runs: Carlos ALonso (40), Aaron Altherr (34), Maikel Franco (33), Albert Cartwright (32), Art Charles (31), Roman Quin (31), James Murphy (30), Jermaine Mitchell (30);Cameron Perkins (30),  Brian Pointer (30)  Continue reading Minor League Leaders →

Short and sweet…Cord Sandberg, the Phils 3rd round pick has told his hometown newspaper that he has agreed to terms with the Phillies for $775K, about 160K over slot.

The Phillies selected Lakewood High School, CA SS JP Crawford as their first round pick in the 2013 draft.  Crawford is a tall left handed hitting shortstop that is expected to remain at SS throughout his career. Crawford is committed to USC and it is expected that the Phils will need to commit very close to the $2.2M max to sign him.  From all reports, Crawford is already ahead of the curve defensively.  Thin and wiry, it may take his body some time to catch up offensively, but he has good speed, very good baseball instincts, a good eye at the plate and has hit for average.  Crawford started as a freshman at SS in high school and has a very good pedigree as his sister plays College softball for Cal State Fullerton and his cousin is Carl Crawford.

Crawford’s scouting grades, per MLB.com are: Hit 3/5; Power 3/5; Run 5/5; Arm 6/6; Field 5/5; Overall 3/5.    Note: First number = current/second number = projection

A look back at the week of May 30-June 5. Random Thoughts….Austin Wright is a totally different pitcher than last year. Is it injury lack of confidence or both? Kelly Dugan had one of the best offensive weeks of the year…do you move him to Reading this year if he continues?Tyson Gillies new swing may be starting to take….Hoby Milner has started turning some heads but can such a small frame survive longterm?Remember the name Mauricio Robles…with Aumont and Diekman so wildly inconsistent, Robles could sneak onto the Phils roster with another injury….The enigma that is Brody Colvin continues.

Hot Hitters: Kelly Dugan (.522, 6R 2HR 6RBI); Tommy Medonca (.500, 5RBI); Steve Susdorf (.471, 4R 5RBI, SB); Troy Hanzawa (.417); Maikel Franco (.400, 5R 1HR 6RBI); Pete Orr (.400); Albert Cartwright (.400, 4R); Cody Overbeck (.375, 4R 2HR 4RBI); Tyler Henson (.381); Tyson Gillies (.370, 5R 2HR 2RBI); Josh Fields (.333); Honorable Mention: Castro, Altherr, Hewitt, Valle Continue reading Hot or Not →

Lehigh Valley had a 4-3 week after a 4-0 win last night against Buffalo and now stand at 28-30 on the year and in third place of the Northern Division of the International League, 7 games behind division leading Pawtucket. Last night, the ‘Pigs began a four game series on the road in Buffalo, before they return home this Saturday to start a four game series against Charlotte.

‘Pigs Leaders: Cesar Hernandez leads the league in triples (6) and is tied for 7th in SB(15); Jermaine Mitchell is 2nd in triples (4); Cody Asche is tied for 3rd in triples (3) and 9th in RBI’s (37); Cody Overbeck is tied for 6th in HR (11); Darin Ruf is 7th in strikeouts (56); Josh Fields is 8th in avg (.331).

Pitchers:Ethan Martin has the 7th worst ERA (5.60), and is  3rd in walks allowed (32); Jake Diekman leads the league in games (26), and is 6th in saves (8); BJ Rosenberg has the 8th worst WHIP (1.58) Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →