As of 930 last evening, Tyler Cloyd believed he would be the opening day starter for the Reading Phillies.  That changed quickly with a phone call and off he went to Lehigh Valley to make his AAA debut and what a debut it was.  Cloyd pitched six perfect innings, dominating the Scranton Wilkes Barre Yankees, striking out 8.  He threw just 73 pitches in his six innings, however because of early season pitch counts was removed still perfect.

Cloyd impressed last year without overpowering stuff,  with his knowledge of “how to pitch”.  That translated very well to the AAA level tonight and while I expect he is likely headed back to Reading in the short term, it would be surprising if substantial time were not spent in the Lehigh Valley by Cloyd by mid season.

In one of the stranger baseball events in recent memory, Lehigh Valley starter Dave Bush, the planned opening day starter has been suspended for five games for an incident that occurred in Spring Training against the Pirates.  Following a homer, the next pitch Bush threw was high and inside, warranting ejection according to the umpire. ‘Pigs manager Ryne Sandberg mentioned there was some “unfortunate verbiage” between Bush and the  umpire, and Bush was suspended.

Benefitting from the suspension is Tyler Cloyd, who was set to start on Opening Day for the Reading Phils. CLoyd, 24, had an outstanding year last year, first with CLearwater, followed by a lengthy stint in Reading.  Cloyd was a combined 9-4 with a 2.77 ERA in 146 IP last season.  I was a bit surprised about his placement at Reading to start the season, thinking based on his success in Reading and in the Arizona Fall League that a spot in the Lehigh Valley rotation was likely.  Given this opportunity, it should be interesting to see how Cloyd responds.

The final three names have been added to the Lehigh Valley roster after final cuts were made from Phillies camp.  OF Scott Podsednik, INF Hector Luna and P Raul Valdes will all be joining the IronPigs in time for opening night tomorrow.  Congrats to much maligned Joe Savery for earning an opening day roster spot with the Phils.

The Lehigh Valley roster came out today, albeit in an incomplete fashion as the final roster will be dependant on the last couple roster moves the Phils need to make.  This is where we are at currently…

Catcher: Erik Kratz, 31, Kratz, a 2010 IL All Star was a key member of the team last year, hitting .288 with 15 HR and 53 RBI.

Tuffy Gosewisch, 28, had a very good season for Reading last year. His strength continues to be his defense, however, he provided some punch at the plate last year hitting .247 with 13 HR and 66 RBI.

John Suomi, 31, typically moves up and down the minor leagues filling in where the Phils need a spare catcher.  I would expect the same role in 2012. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Roster →

The Lakewood Roster is as follows:

Catcher: John Hill (19th round, 2011); Logan Moore (9th round, 2011)

Infield: Chris Duffy (26th Round, 2010); Kelly Dugan (2nd round, 2009); Maikel Franco (FA, 2010); Gustavo Gonzalez (FA, 2011); Tyler Greene (11th round, 2011); Drew Hillman (18th round, 2011); Carlos Perdomo (FA, 2007)

Outfield: Aaron Altherr (9th round, 2009); Gauntlett Eldemire (6th round, 2010); Kyrell Hudson (3rd round, 2009); Brian Pointer (28th round, 2010)

Pitchers: Gabrial Arias (FA, 2007); Ryan Duke (25th round, 2011); Kenny Giles (7th round 2011); Colin Klevan (33rd round, 2009); Ervis Manzanillo (FA, 2009); Lino Martinez (FA, 2009); Bryan Morgado (4th round, 2010); Colton Murray (13th round, 2011); Mike Nesseth (17th round, 2010); Ryan Sasaki (13th round, 2009); Colby Shreve (6th round, 2008); Ethan STewart (47th round, 2010)

Pitcher Nicholas Hernandez will start the season on the DL and OF Zach Collier is suspended for the first 50 games of the season.

We won’t have Matt Rizzotti to kick around anymore as the 26 year old Designated Hitter was traded this morning to the Minnesota Twins for cash considerations.  Rizzotti, the Phils 6th round pick in the 2007 draft was certainly one of the most discussed players over the last several years here at Phuture Phillies because of his ability to hit and do little else.  The trade will give him the opportunity to do just that in the American League.

The Phils made the surprising decision to have RIzzotti repeat AA after an outstanding year in 2010 at the plate for the RPhils.  Rizzotti again had a very good year in Reading in 2011 hitting .295/.392/511 with 24HR and 84 RBI. However as a liability in the field, it became apparant that the Phils felt there was no room in the organization for him.

Always gracious with his time and a very good guy….Good Luck Matt.

The Phils annouced four additonal roster moves this morning, none especially surprising.  Optioned were RP Michael Schwimer along with RP Phillipe Aumont.  Re-Assigned were pitchers Jeremy Horst and David Purcey.  All should play pivotal roles in Lehigh Valley this year and I would expect major league time this year from at least two of the four above.

The minor league numbers game has resulted in several early releases from Minor League camp. Included among those released this weekend were OF Brian Gump, SS Alan Schoenberger, P Ryan Feireabend and P Jesus Pirela. More news as it rolls in….

The Phillies released LHP Dontrelle Willis this morning after three extrmemly unimpressive Spring outings. Willis, 31, was projected to be the seocnd lefty out of the bullpen for the Phils.  This opens the door wide open for Rich Dubee favorite Jacob Diekman, who has had an impressive Spring thus far. Diekman, struggled initially at Reading during this first part of 2011, but came on very strong towards the end of last season.

Matt Gelb is reporting that Freddy Galvis will make his first start at 2B today.  With the concern about Chase Utley’s health growing, while the Phillies may suggest this to be coincidence, I am not a big believer in coincidence.  Galvis, 22, has played parts of 5 seasons in the minor leagues, spanning 526 games during that time period.  Known for his outstanding glove at SS, Galvis has not played an inning at 2B during a regular season minor league game.

While the Phils interest certainly may be to gain the ability to use Galvis at multiple positions with Jimmy Rollins returning for the next several seasons, this will raise an eyebrow or two. Galvis is off to a good start this Spring, hitting .357 in his 14 AB’s.  Stay tuned.