The Threshers hosted the Jupiter Hammerheads tonight. Colin Kleven got the start and pitched well. Even though he was roughed up for 3 runs in the 1st inning, he was in command of his pitches. He threw 27 pitches in the first, but 20 were strikes, and 6 of the 7 batters were faced with first pitch strikes. Kleven settled down and pitched 6 more solid, scoreless innings. Continue reading Threshers; May 12, 2014
Category Archives: Game Reports
XST; May 12, 2014
Mitch Gueller pitched 5 tough innings this afternoon. He started off with a solid 1st inning, striking out the first batter and throwing 9 consecutive strikes in 12 pitches. Starting in the 2nd inning, he had difficulty maintaining consistent control of his pitches. He threw 51 strikes among his 90 pitches. He allowed 11 base runners over the next four innings. Some of the pitches that he left up were hit hard by the Yankees. He gave up 4 doubles among the 6 hits he allowed. He did have some nice movement on his slider or chang up. Most of the swing-and-miss he induced seemed to be on that pitch. His line was 5 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 1 K. Continue reading XST; May 12, 2014
Threshers; May 10, 2014
Highlights and lowlights from the Threshers’ game Saturday night.
Dunedin’s #6 prospect (per BA), Daniel Norris, took the mound. The left hander took the mound with a 3-0 record in 6 starts and a 0.63 ERA and 38 Ks in 28.2 innings. He had only given up 2 earned runs this season, both against the Threshers. The Threshers loaded the line up with 8 right-handed batters. The righties went 2 for 16 with a BB. The lone lefty in the line up, Pete Lavin, collected 2 singles in 3 AB. Norris left the game after pitching 4.2 innings and runners on first and second. The reliever allowed an inherited runner to score when Darin Ruf greeted him with an RBI single, his only hit of the night. Continue reading Threshers; May 10, 2014
MAG pitches at XST! May 10, 2014
I arrived at the Carpenter Complex and prepared to watch Cord Sandberg, Trey Williams, Luis Encarnacion on Ashburn Field. Adam Loewen was warming up for the start, so I walked over to see who would start for the GCL squad on Roberts Field. Miguel Gonzalez and Cameron Rupp were to be battery mates, and I was going to watch this game instead.
Gonzalez started off with 2 fast balls for balls. They were low and at 92 and 93 mph. Continue reading MAG pitches at XST! May 10, 2014
XST and Threshers May 9, 2014
Okay, before I start with the notes from the XST game, let me give you the big news. Ethan Martin pitched in the Threshers’ game tonight. He gave up a single and walked 2 batters. He lasted only 2/3 of an inning. He threw 23 pitches, only 8 for strikes. Now for the bad news. He hit 92 only once. (Dunedin’s Florida Exchange Stadium posts the pitch speed.) He was in the 89-91 range for all of his other fastballs. After ground balls to first on 3-1 counts for each of the first two batters, he surrendered a single on a 1-0 pitch. Then he walked the next batter on 4 pitches. After a visit by Milacki to the visibly aggravated Martin, he ran a deep count before walking his last batter to load the bases. I’m not so much concerned about his command, the umpire was erratic all night, prompting catcalls from the fans all night. But the lack of velocity was alarming.
So, let’s finish the Threshers’ report. Darin Ruf started in left field. Continue reading XST and Threshers May 9, 2014
XST and Threshers May 8, 2014
I was all set to watch the Williamsport squad with Denton Keys starting when I went over to see Davis Whitehead warm up for the GCL game. He throws a heavy ball with some movement. He’s 6’4, 240 and reminds me of a thin Joe Blanton. I decided to watch him pitch since I hadn’t seen him since his return from TJ surgery last May. Since I went back and forth between the 2 fields, I don’t have a whole game summary for either game, but rather a few observations of individual players.
David Whitehead. The 34th round pick out of Elon University broke the bat of the first batter he faced but the third baseman air mailed the throw over Luis Encarnacion. The second batter broke his bat on a ball he punched into shallow center. Herlis Rodriguez charged and fired home preventing the runner from scoring. Unfortunately, the cut off man couldn’t handle the throw and the batter was able to take second. The third batter hit a line drive that Olvy Marte missed twice at second. He leaped to glove the ball but couldn’t control it. The ball landed on him as he hit the ground, but again he couldn’t get a handle on it. The runners had to hold. So, after breaking two bats and facing three batter the bases were loaded with no outs instead of a runner on first with two outs. The clean-up hitter lofted a double to left center and the Pirates scored 2 unearned runs. Whitehead’s one inning line was 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K. He deserved a better fate. I left to watch the Williamsport squad and hopefully better defense. Continue reading XST and Threshers May 8, 2014
XST Camp Day; May 7, 2014
Wednesdays are Camp Days for the Phillies in XST. On camp days, the coaches run the players through fundamentals in the morning. Later, an intrasquad game is played with accredited umpires. This morning, I decided to walk over to watch the game. It seemed to me that it would provide some interesting observations as players strove to impress while competing against their peers. Continue reading XST Camp Day; May 7, 2014
XST vs. Yankees; May 6, 2014
Due to scheduling and weather it has been about 10 days since I’ve been able to attend the games at the Carpenter Complex. On April 28th, I was able to report that Ethan Martin was getting the start and that Roman Quinn was in uniform and in the line up . Well, Martin has move on to the Threshers to begin his rehab and Quinn was not in uniform today.
However, Darin Ruf started in left field for the GCL squad and Chace Numata was behind the plate. Continue reading XST vs. Yankees; May 6, 2014
Threshers; April 28, 2014
Clearwater opened a 3 game series with the Brevard County Manatees last night. They took an early 1-0 lead, fell behind 5-1, and rallied to 5-4 before losing 6-5. Jeb Stefan got the start. He threw an impressive 9 pitch, 8 strike first inning. He was on his way to another good inning in the second when, with one out, he struck a batter on a 3-2 pitch. He lost focus long enough to give up a walk and 2 doubles in a 29 pitch, 3 run inning. A lead off home run in the third, 2 walks, and 2 hits led to 2 more runs. Stefan settled down over his next 2 innings, allowing no further damage. Continue reading Threshers; April 28, 2014
Martin and Quinn are back! XST; April 28, 2014
I arrived at the Carpenter Complex expecting to watch Filiberto Sanchez pitch for the Williamsport group. I arrived early and was excited to see Roman Quinn come out of the club house in uniform. He was carrying both a bat and glove. He began stretching out with the GCL group, so I was beginning to change my plans. Then I saw Ethan Martin long tossing in the outfield, getting loose for some innings. That clinched it; I was watching the GCL group today. Continue reading Martin and Quinn are back! XST; April 28, 2014
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