Another year begins, this time with the youngest team in Lehigh Valley team history and a number of legitimate prospects to track as the year progresses.  The season started off in a bizarre manner with the ‘Pigs entire first weekend series in Syracuse postponed because of unplayable field conditions.  Lehigh Valley was able to accommodate to some extent, moving two of the four games to Coca Cola Park, but played in bizarre conditions without any spectators in the stands as the stadium was not yet ready to receive fans with their actual opening night not set for another week.

An open and down first week plus for Lehigh Valley, taking five games before they won their first home game but ending the first eight games at 3-5, 2.5 games behind division leading Scranton.  Lehigh Valley remains home thru Tuesday with two more games against Rochester, followed by two against Syracuse before leaving on a 9 game/8 day road trip.

‘Pigs Prospects: We will take a look in alternating weeks at the production of a series of Lehigh Valley prospects.  This week:

Andrew Knapp has started the same way his 2015 finished.  Hot. He has been on base consistently in each of his starts and is currently hitting over .350.  His defense has been somewhat problematic as he has thrown out just 1 of the 6 runners attempting to steal on him and committed two throwing errors.

Mark Appel had a very nice start in his initial outing with the IronPigs.  He went 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up just 5 hits, walking two and striking out five.  He will be on the mound again Monday evening.

Adam Morgan started twice, one good and one poor in the seasons first ten days, leaving him with an 0-1 record and a 4.22ERA.  In his 10.2IP, he has allowed 12 hits, walked 3 and struck out an impressive 14.  The opposition is hitting .273 against him.

Next week: Nick Williams, Jake Thompson, Darnell Sweeney, Zach Eflin

News and Notes: Catcher JP Arencibia has thrown out 3 of the five runners trying to steal on him this year.

–INF Ryan Jackson has reached base in 6 of his last 7 games, including three hits last night.

–C Andrew Knapp has reached base in 12 of his last 17 plate appearances.

–Prior to this season, OF Will Venable had not played in the minors in five years.

–The average age of the Lehigh Valley opening day roster (26 years, 9 days) is the youngest in team history.  The roster has seven players that were drafted by the Phillies.

–In their first trip through the rotation, Lehigh Valley starters went 2-1 with a 2.05ERA.

Probables: Sunday: Eflin; Monday: Appel; Tuesday: Buchanan; Wednesday: Thompson

‘Pigs league leaders: Darnell Sweeney is 3rd in triples (2); Ryan Jackson is 4th in OBP (.478); Adam Morgan is 4th in strikeouts (14)

Transactions: Placed on the DL to begin the season were RP Jimmy Cordero, RP Frank Hermann and RP Yoervis Medina. With the suspension to Daniel Stumpf in Philadelphia, RP Elvis Arajuo was called up to Philadelphia on Thursday. Prior to Friday’s game, INF Carlos Alonso broke his jaw after he was struck by a line drive in batters practice.  He was placed on the DL and his roster spot was taken by P Severino Gonzalez who was called up from Reading.

10 days in and there is plenty to be excited about in the Phils minor league system to go along with areas of moderate early areas of concern.  The numbers below are not enough to form an opinion but are enough to have a reaction.

So, with that said, here is a look at how the Phils top prospects have started. The rankings below are based on the Phuture Phillies reader pre season rankings.

1.  JP Crawford, SS, Reading–.342/.419/.500 in 43 plate appearances.  1HR 3RBI, 1SB, 10%BB/10%K rates.  Crawford has been very solid thus far.
2. Nick Williams, OF, Lehigh Valley–.174/.222/.261 in 27 plate appearances; 0HR 4RBI; 1SB; 7%BB/21%K rates.  Multiple games lost to rain out have led to a very small sample size.
3. Jake Thompson, P, Lehigh Valley; 2 starts, 0-2 with a 6.75ERA, 1.63WHIP, 5.6BB/11.2K per 9; One good start and one very poor start thus far for Thompson.
4. Mark Appel, P, Lehigh Valley; Just one start by Appel so far and it was excellent.  He threw 5.2 scoreless striking out five last week vs. Rochester.  Next scheduled to go on Monday.
5. Cornelius Randolph, OF, Lakewood, .121/.237/.182 in 37 plate appearances; 0HR 2RBI; 3SB; 11%BB/27%K rates.  Started extremely slow but has had a good last few games.
6. Roman Quinn, OF, Reading, .229/.308/.314 in 37 plate appearances, 0HR 1RBI; 4SB; 5%BB/22%K rates; Leading the organization in SB right out of the gate
7. Jorge Alfaro, C, Reading; .464/482/.571 in 29 PA; 0HR 5RBI; 3%BB/17%K rates; Alfaro has multiple hit games in his last five consecutive starts and has played very well behind the plate.
8. Franklyn Kilome, P, Lakewood, 2 starts, 0-2 with a 14.85ERA; 3.15WHIP; .433 opp avg; walking over a hitter an inning.  One bad start followed by a horrific start.
9. Andy Knapp, C, Lehigh Valley, Hitting .417 with a HR and 2RBI in 12AB.  Has hit in 3 of his 4 starts for the ‘Pigs thus far.
10. Zach Eflin, SP, Lehigh Valley, Allowed one ER in 6 innings pitched in his first start of the year, picking up the win.  Scheduled to throw on Sunday.

I occasionally receive and respond to survey requests.  My location in Clearwater, my ability to attend a lot of baseball activities from February thru November, and my continued involvement with Phuture Phillies provides me with the opportunity to actually see the players in person whom I write about.

Recently I received a request Continue reading And the Survey Says … (March 2016) →

A quick update on the transactions and announcements that came out of the complex today:

–Vincent Veslasquez has been named the Phils #5 starter, meaning Adam Morgan, who has been very well in Spring Training has been optioned to AAA Lehigh Valley.

–RP Elvis Arajuo and Luis Garcia both of whom spent the large majority of last season with the Phils have been optioned to AAA Lehigh Valley

–Darnell Sweeney was optioned to Lehigh Valley, while C Logan Moore, INF Angelys Nina, RP Bobby LaFromboise, RP Reinier Roibal and P Chris Leroux were all re-assigned to minor league camp

–OF Will Venable was signed to a minor league deal and is expected to compete with Cedric Hunter and David Lough for the final OF position on the roster.

How often during a sporting event, do you hear that?  I was having a beer with a friend last week at the Lagerhaus Brewery in Palm Harbor when our stammtisch discussion swung toward the worst calls in sports. Continue reading Worst Call Ever …? →

The Phillies acquired RHP Charlie Morton from the Pirates for Clearwater RHP David Whitehead per MLBTR, http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2015/12/phillies-acquire-charlie-morton-from-pirates.html.  Morton has avearged between 5-6 IP per game in 69 starts over the past 3 seasons.  The Phillies designated recently claimed right-handed reliever A.J. Achter to make room for Morton.  If he clears waivers, he’ll likely be assigned to LHV.

Limited time tonight to post but I wanted to get something going before Jim expertly fills in the details as he always does.  Kenny Giles was traded this evening to Houston for P Vincent Velasquez, P Brett Oberholtzer, OF Derek Fisher and a player yet to be announced.  Both Velasquez and Oberholtzer spent time with the Astros last year, with Velasquez looking to have a very high upside and likely to join the Phils rotation.  Fisher , a Pennsylvania native split time between A and High A and put up impressive numbers (22HR 87RBI, 31SB, .275 avg) in just under 500 minor league at bats last year.  He was the Astros Supplemental First Round Pick (37th) in the 2014 draft.

With little need for a lights out closer with likely multiple rebuilding years to come, this is a trade that makes sense for the Phils for a host of reasons.

Please excuse the clumsy paraphrasing of a Jimmy Buffet lyric in the title.  This is NOT a prospect article.  It is the promised review of a new restaurant.  It is specifically targeted toward readers who travel to Clearwater for Phillies’ Spring Training and Grapefruit League games and those who live in the Clearwater area. Continue reading Cheese Steak in Paradise →

It was reported today that the Phillies claimed CF Peter Bourjos off waivers from the Saint Louis Cardinals.  Subsequently, the Phillies tried to slip RHP Nefi Ogando through waivers only to have him claimed by the Miami Marlins.

I recall that Bourjos would have been a popular acquisition among readers of this site had the Phillies acquired him a  few years ago, before they traded for Ben Revere.  He put up solid numbers in the 2011 season but saw limited at bats over the next 4 seasons.

Ogando came to the Phillies from the Boston Red Sox in August of 2013 in exchange for INF John McDonald.  He possessed a mid-90s fastball but had control problems.  He flashed a reasonable BB/9 in 2014 in the AFL and DWL, but reverted to form last season.

Steve Adams of MLBTR provides a more extensive write up of the transactions.

The Phillies 40-man roster remains at 38.