Kelly Dugan made his first AAA start. Aaron Nola picked up his second major league win. Two of the new pitchers made their organizational debuts.
Lehigh Valley (48-60) came back from an early 4-0 deficit to beat the Norfolk Tides 8-4. Anthony Vasquez was replaced after a 4-run, 48-pitch first inning. Chris Leroux got the win with six, 4-hit innings. Adam Loewen recorded a 5-out save (9) after Seth Rosin was given a quick hook. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 8/1/2015
Jesmuel Valentin made his 2015 debut with the Threshers in the second game of double header against the St. Lucie Mets.
Ben Revere was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for 2 minor league pitchers. RHP Jimmy Cordero split time as a reliever at the Jays Advanced A and AA clubs in Dunedin and New Hampshire. The 6’3, 215 lb., 23-year old has seen his peripherals dip a little with the advancement to the higher level. RHP Albert Tirado has spent all season as a reliever in Dunedin where he is three years younger than the league average. The 6’0, 180 lb., 20-year old is striking out a batter an inning, but needs to lower his 5.1/9 walk rate. Tirado was rated the #76 prospect in the 2014 pre-season rankings.
And, it looks like have decided to go in a different direction than a lot of us wanted. They have recalled RHP David Buchanan, RHP Dalier Hinojosa, and OF Jordan Danks from Lehigh Valley. Danks? Why not Altheer? They both play center field. Geez!
GCL Phillies (21-12) edged the GCL Astros 17-2. This game wasn’t as close as the score would indicate. The Phillies broke open a 2-0 game with a 10-run 5th inning. They unleashed a 17-hit attack and supplemented it with 8 walks and a hit batter. The Astros also chipped in with 2 fielding errors, 3 wild pitches, and a fielder’s choice that failed to produce an out. The Astros best defense was the 4 double plays the Phillies hit into to thwart their own offense. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/31/2015
Be sure to read to the bottom of the report. There’s a link to an interview that should be of interest.
GCL Phillies (20-12) lost to the GCL Tigers 1-0 in 10 innings for their 6th straight loss. They are winless since coach Roly de Armas returned from the Pan Am games. Sam McWilliams rebounded from 2 losses (where he gave up 9 ER in 6.1 innings) with a solid 6.0 innings. He gave up 5 hits, a walk, and struck out four. Two of his early base runners were erased by Edgar Cabral on steal attempts. McWilliams was in and around the strike zone, needing only 66 pitches to complete his six innings. His fastball was 88-91, touching 92 on several pitches. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/30/2015
MLB Tonight confirmed that the Phillies traded Cole Hamels to the Texas Rangers. The details announced were Hamels, Jake Diekman, and cash considerations to the Rangers. The Phillies receive Rangers #4 RHP Jake Thompson (#60 on Top 100), #5 OF Nick Williams (#64 on Top 100), #6 C Jorge Alfaro (#69 on Top 100, #2 Catcher), #17 RHP Jerad Eickhoff, major league LHP Matt Harrison, and minor league RHP Alec Asher. This could seriously upgrade the system, since the Phillies will have 6 prospects in the top 99.
Clearwater (59-45) closed out their series against the Bradenton Marauders with a 6-3 victory to earn a series split. Brandon Leibrandt (7-2, 2.88) gave up 2 runs in 5 innings on 3 hits and 2 walks. He ran some deep counts and threw 82 pitches before being lifted. Leibrandt also picked off a runner at second. Jesen Therrien retired the first 6 batters he faced but gave up an unearned after commiting an error to open the 8th inning. Miguel Nunez pitched a perfect 9th for his second save. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/29/2015
The Phillies completed their first move as they approach the trade deadline. They have traded popular closer Jonathan Papelbon to the Washington Nationals for RHP Nick Pivetta. The Phillies kicked in $4.5M this season to offset part of Papelbon’s salary. Papelbon negotiated a guranteed $11M for the 2016 season, however $3M will be deferred to 2017. Papelbon has been assured that he will be the closer. Here’s a report on Pivetta from the Washington Post on July 24th.
Lehigh Valley (47-57) lost to the Scranton RailRiders 5-3. Jesse Biddle gave up 2 runs (1 ER) on 1 hit and 5 walks in 5 innings. He struck out four. Cesar Jimenez blew the save in two-thirds of an inning. Nefi Ogando came in to strand 2 runners and pitch shutout ball the rest of the way. Aaron Altherr (.308) went 2-3 with a walk and RBI. Brian Bogusevic and Chris McGuinness also had multi-hit games. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/28/2015
Lehigh Valley (47-56) beat the Scranton RailRiders 3-1. Anthony Vasquez (7-3, 3.73) went 8 innings and gave up 1 run on 5 hits and 2 walks. Dustin McGowan picked up his 7th save.
Aaron Judge was held to 0-3 with a walk. Gary Sanchez went 1-4 but was thrown out at second trying to stretch his single by Aaron Altherr to end the game. Jordan Danks also picked up an outfield assist. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/27/2015
Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.
Of primary interest at his point in the season is that the Phillies haven’t moved any of their veterans, yet. A deal for Hamels seems imminent, certainly by the end of the week. The Cueto deal shouldn’t negatively affect the Phillies since the Royals were never in the picture and Cueto is one less attractive rental available for Hamels’ suitors. Papelbon’s market seems to be shrinking. But has Francoeur become a possible addition for a team looking for a right-handed bat off the bench?
The Phillies continue to struggle as they leave the All Star break in their wake. They went into the break with a 5-game losing streak. They had completed a 1-6 West Coast trip and 2-8 road trip. They had gone 3-15 since reaching a 26-47 record after taking the first two games in a series against the Yankees on June 23rd. Their 29-62 record at the break gave them a seemingly insurmountable 9.5 game lead over Milwaukee.
The Phillies 8-1 start after the break has not only allowed the streaking Marlins to pull within 5.5 games, but has allowed other teams to creep back into the race. The #1 pick that so many fans were counting on to justify the season they are suffering through is now in doubt.
Clearwater (57-44) lost to the Bradenton Marauders 6-4. David Whitehead left after 6 inings having given up 4 runs on 6 hits. The Threshers had fought back twice to tie the game after 7 innings. But, Harold Guerrero loaded the bases in the eighth with 2 outs when the skies opened up and brought about a 2-hour delay. Miguel Nunez took the mound when play resumed and surrendered a 2-run single to the first batter he faced. The Threshers got two men on base in the ninth, but couldn’t come back again. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/26/2015
The big news Saturday was Cole Hamels’ no hitter in Chicago. The possibility that the game might be his last start for the Phillies, made following the game’s progress mandatory over social media. I was following on Game Day, and the Threshers’ broadcasters were giving periodic updates.
As the no-no became the story, I became less attentive to the game in front of me. Then the weather gods stepped in and the field in Clearwater was covered as a light rain suddenly increased in volume. The field had taken a lot of water over the previous 24 hours, so this was a prudent decision.
With every fan seeking protection from the rain up on the concourse, GM John Timberlake put the MLB feed of the Phillies’ game up on the big screen. So, we all got to see Hamels get the final three outs live during our rain delay.
I don’t think this will increase the return in any trade that may develop over the next week, but I’m sure it alleviated any worries over Hamels’ last two starts (which should not have decreased the return in any trade). Of note should be that Hamels FB averaged 94 MPH. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/25/2015
GCL Phillies (20-8) postponed, rain. Double header v. Yankees1 Saturday at 10:00AM.
Clearwater (56-42) postponed, rain. Double header v. Hammerheads Saturday at 5:00PM.
That’s a lot of baseball. The morning games are at the Carpenter Complex. The evening games are at Bright House Field. Thankfully, they’ll be seven inning games.
Lehigh Valley (45-55) beat the Syracuse Chiefs 3-2 in 11 innings. Seve Gonzalez went 6 innings and allowed 2 runs on 7 hits and a walk. Dalier Hinojosa, Adam Loewen (2.45), and Juan Gutierrez (1.71) held the Chiefs to one hit and struck out 6 over the last 5 innings. They faced a line up that included some familiar names – Darin mastroianni, Jayson Werth, and Tony Gwynn. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/24/2015
