–After a rainout yesterday, Lehigh Valley plays a doubleheader today in Louisville that starts at 5:05. This is followed by a 11 hour bus ride back to Allentown and a 7:05 game on Tuesday at Coca Cola Park.  Domonic Brown has had one AB since May 2nd as he continues to battle his sore hamstring.

—Kelly Dugan was activated by Lakewood after spending time on the DL with a nasty sprained ankle.

—Julio Rodriguez has now thrown 17 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run after 6 more yesterday in the Reading victory. JC Ramirez earned his 2nd save as he continues to see time in critical spots out of the Reading bullpen.  He has pitched well other than a bumpy outing last Tuesday.

–Since Jiwan James pronounced on Twitter Friday evening that he found the problem in his swing, he has had two multi hit games.

—Maikel Franco went 2-4 with a homer and 3 RBI’s in the Lakewood victory Sunday.

–Our old friend Jason Donald was optioned to Columbus by the Indians yesterday.

I have a soft spot in my heart (and my head) for guys who put up really solid offensive numbers in AA. Travis Chapman, Eric Valent, Jeff Stone, Matt Rizzotti, Steve Susdorf, and, this year, at least so far …. Darin Ruf.

Continue reading A few comments on Darin Ruf →

–Domonic Brown was out of the Lehigh Valley lineup yet again, continuing to recover from his hamstring issues.

—David Buchanan, who started the season very strong for Reading has been struggling lately and had a nasty line last night: 5.1IP 10H 7ER 3BB 0K.

—Darin Ruf has another multi hit game last night and is approaching 50 hits on the young season. His average stands at (.387).

—Cody Asche had three more hits last night for Clearwater, raising his average to .364.

—Stephen Malcolm made his debut at SS for Lakewood last night and went 1-4, with a run scored and stolen base.

Gotta go gear up for Mothers Day.

Couple of quick notes as we get the weekend started:

First, there has been an excellent response to the call for help and it appears that boxscores will be back early next week, and Philly Jamaal has graciously agreed to keep rosters and transactions up to date.  There have been a few volunteers for feature writing which I am sifting through but I wanted to offer up the opportunity one more time before I put the plan in place…Please email me at phuturephillies1@yahoo.com if you have any interest in contributing to the site. I appreciate all the offers and the kind words of support in getting us back on track here.

Now onto baseball: Continue reading Saturday Update →

A look at the middle infield with the good news coming in Reading.  Up next are the Outfielders, which should come out next Thursday.

Lehigh Valley

Kevin Frandsen, 29, Re-signed as a free agent in 2012; .238/.292/.286 in 105 AB’s; 0HR 2RBI; 1 SB; .256 vs. LH, .227 vs. RH, .227 with RISP; 4%bb/7%k rates; 20 games at 2B with 2 errors (.978); 3 games at 3B with 1 error; 3 games at 1B without an error, 2 games at SS without an error. Frandsen has struggled this year, not looking nearly as good as he did last year thus far.

Mike Fontenot, 31, Signed as a free agent in 2012; .319/.373/.447 in 47 AB’s; 0HR and 6 RBI; 0SB; .333 vs. LHP, .308 vs. RHP, .364 with RISP.  7 games at 2B without an error; 5 games at 3B without an error; 1 game at SS without an error. Fontenot has played well since his late APril signing but with less than 50 AB’s, still way too early to tell if he can help the big club. Continue reading Around the System–Middle Infield →

SS Tyler Greene, a high draft pick that has really struggled in Lakewood during the early going has been transferred back to Extended Spring Training and will likely join Williamsport when their season begins. Greene, just 19, was hitting .147 and was also struggling in the field.  Joining the BlueCLaws will be SS Stephen Malcolm, who was an 8th round pick in 2010 and hit .253 for the GCL Phils last year before missing 2011 after being sent home due to disciplinary issues.

I really hate to use a Black Eyed Peas lyric to jump-start this transition and maybe I do in the hope that James will come back soon….but:

As James mentioned I have agreed to run the show.  I wont complicate things other than to simply say a couple of things.  First, the level of respect and decorum that has been demanded since the site’s inception should continue and a departure from that will not be tolerated.  Ok, now with that out of the way…

Secondly, the new email address for the site is phuturephillies1@yahoo.com.  I can be contacted directly there.

The transition will be a bit rocky for the next few weeks.  I will try to post as much as possible but I am going to need help from all of you.  If any of you would like to contribute to the site, I am listening so please email me directly.  First step will be to put someone in charge of daily boxscores. I would also like affiliate reporting and continued features on players, along with work on the draft (working on James with this).

So, hang in there through the transition.  While I feel like I have a good knowledge of the baseball side of things, if anyone can help with the site set up on the IT end, I would love to hear from you.

In closing….Darin Ruf!

The Phillies have optioned LHP Joe Savery to AAA Lehigh Valley. Savery, who was used sparingly was 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA in his 8 innings of work.  Rumors are circulating about the call up associated with Savery’s departure, along with the possibility of two additional roster moves. According to the Twitter account of Michael Schwimer, LHP Jake Diekman, LHP Raul Valdes and 3B Hector Luna are all headed to Philadelpia for their game Friday against the Padres. Continue reading Help on the Way? →

There are some ongoing discussions that will hopefully allow the site to continue on as the number one forum to discuss the Phillies Minor League System.  Give us a few days to work out some details, but the hope is, come the weekend there will be some positive news to share.

Comments to get it going:

–With how poor the Phils bullpen has been, it is time to take a shot on Jake Diekman. He clearly has the “stuff”. It is simply a matter of whether he is ready. Sometimes ready needs to be pushed along by circumstance.

–Credit where it is due to Anthony Hewitt who had an outstanding week, raising his average on the year to the .270 neighborhood.  Aberration or new pattern? I will take the former.

–Drew Naylor 5 runs in 5 innings of work which would have qualified for Not Hot status, however, coming off Tommy John surgery, he gets a pass as this was his first start in over a year.  Glad to see him back on the mound. Continue reading Hot or Not →