A look at the Lakewood, WIlliamsport, and GCL outfield.  Plenty to talk…See the details below.

Lakewood (stats thru 7/31)

Miguel Alvarez, 22, Signed as a free agent in 2007; .205/.242/.240 in 146 AB’s between Lakewood and Clearwater; 0HR 8 RBI; 6SB; 4%bb/27% k rates. 37 games in the OF with 4 errors (.957); 4 OF assists. Alvarez really struggled in his 100 plus AB’s in CLearwater, striking out in nearly one-third of his plate appearances, so back to Lakewood he went. Continue reading Around the System–Lower Half, OF →

The ‘Pigs are struggling having gone 4-6 over their last 10 games and have now dropped into third place in the Northern Division of the International League(59-52), 3 games behind division leading Scranton.  It is the time of year to begin watching the wild card standings and Lehigh Valley is 2.5 games behind Pawtucket for the wild card. The ‘Pigs have one more game in Syracuse before they come home for a short two game home stand against Pawtucket. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

The Hunter Pence tenure in Philadelphia has come to an end much quicker than thought by most when he was acquired at this time last year.  Reports suggest the haul back from San Francisco is top prospect Tommy Joseph, a 21 year old catcher along with OF Nate Schierholtz and Single A Pitcher Seth Rosin.

Joseph was the Giants 2nd round pick in 2009 out of Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. Playing for AA Richmond this season, Joseph has hit .260/.313/.391 in 304 AB’s. Joseph walks in 7% of his plate appearances while striking out in 19%. He has hit 8HR and knocked in 38.  A top catching prospect who has thrown out 48% of would be base stealers this season, Joseph has also played 14 games at 1B over the course of the year.

Schierholtz, 28, is a member of the Giants 25 man roster making $1.3M this year as a first time ARB eligible player.  In a platoon role, Schierholtz, who hits left is hitting .257/.327/.429 in 175 AB’s with 5HR and 17 RBI. 

Rosin, 23, a huge RHP born in  North Dakota was the Giants 4th round pick in 2010 out of the University of Minnesota and has spent the season at High A San Jose.  Used mostly as a reliever, Rosin is 2-1 with a 4.31 ERA and 10 saves.  He has thrown 56.1 innings, struck out a very impressive 68, walked just 18, with a WHIP of 1.18.

Pence who was likely to make $15M in his last ARB eligible year next year will join the Giants tomorrow.

The dominoes have begun to fall with the Phils shipping OF Shane Victorino to the Dodgers for Relief Pitcher Josh Lindblom and Staring Pitcher Ethan Martin.

The Phils shed a nice chunk of salary with Victorino’s departure, saving approximately $3M over the balance of the season (Victorino’s salary was $9.5M)

Martin, 23, is a fairly highly touted RHP who was the Dodgers first round pick in 2008, signing for $1.3M.  This year playing in AA for the Dodgers organization, Martin started 20 games going 8-6 with a 3.58 ERA in 118 IP.  Opponents are hitting just .214 against Martin and he sports a 4.6/8,9 BB/K ratio and a 1.27 WHIP.  I would expect Martin would land somewhere in the top ten prospects in the Phils organization.

Lindblom, 25, was the Dodgers 2nd round pick in 2008 and has spent the last two seasons in the LA bullpen. He is 2-2 with a 3.02 ERA in 48 appearances this season. Lindblom’s WHIP stands at 1.25, to go along with a 3.4/8.1 BB/K ratio.  Lindblom is expected to take an immediate spot in the Phillies bullpen, more than likely leading to Joe Savery being sent back down to Lehigh Valley.

Matt Gelb is reporting that Domonic Brown has been scratched from the Lehigh Valley lineup today and will be called up to the Phillies.  This, of course, adds to increased speculation that Shane Victorino will be a Dodger by 4pm today, if not sooner.

Stay tuned for updates…

A look at the outfield for Lehigh Valley, Reading and Clearwater with Lakewood,Williamsport and the GCL Phils to come next week. 

Lehigh Valley
Domonic Brown, 24, Phils 20th round pick in 2006; .286/.335/.437 in 206 AB’s; 5HR 26 RBI; 4/10 SB; 7%bb/19% k rates; .327 vs. LH; .273 vs. RH; .377 with RISP.  53 games in the OF with 7 errors (.933); 1.84 R/F. 4 OF assists. I would like to see Brown in Philly and Victorino elsewhere come next week. Continue reading Around the System–OF, Top Half →

Brody Colvin has gotten the callup from High A Clearwater to AA Reading and is in line to take the rotation spot of recently promoted Jonathan Pettibone.  It has been a bumpy road for Colvin who was removed from the Clearwater rotation for a time, presumably to get his head straight after struggling consistently for two months.  Colvin, a 7th round pick in 2009, has made 18 starts this year and is 4-6 with a 4.48 ERA in 18 starts.  His WHIP as a starter is 1.57 and the opposition is hitting .284 against him. On the brighter side of the equation, Colvin over his last 8 starts is 2-2 with a 3.74 ERA but even during that time period his WHIP is a high 1.51 and the opposition is hitting .301.

Somewhere Adam Morgan, Austin Wright and Jesse Biddle are shaking their heads.

Lehigh Valley

Kevin Frandsen, 30, Re-Signed as a free agent in 2012; /299/.337/.390 in 364 AB’s; 0HR 30 RBI; 2/6SB; 4%bb/7% k rates; .343 vs. LH, .282 vs. RH, .316 with RISP, Hitting .335 since June 1. 75 games at 2B with 7 errors (.980); 4.60 R/F; 10 games at 1B with 1 error (.984); 3 games at SS without an error and 5 games at 3B with 3 errors (.814).WIth all the middle infielders that have spent time in Philly this year, Frandsen has become the forgotten man. I am not sure why as he has been the most consistent hitter Lehigh Valley has had this year.

Andreas Blanco, 28, SIgned as a free agent in 2012; .218/.281/.312 in 285 AB’s; 6HR 19 RBI; 6SB; 8%bb/18% k rates; .207 vs. LH, .223 vs. RH, .209 with RISP; Hitting .179 in July. 79 games at SS with 13 errors (.959); 3.81 R/F;  Blanco has done nothing to stand out and has been merely adequate in the field, in what was thought to be his strong suit. Continue reading Around the System–Middle Infield →

Reading OF Tyson Gillies has been suspended for what is being called a “violation of team rules”. Gilles has had a myriad of injuries over the last few years and faced a significant “off the field” issue when he was arrested for cocaine possesion. Those charges were later dropped.  Shuld be interesting to see how this one plays out….