The ‘Pigs continue their six game home stand after dropping both games of their doubleheader last night against Rochester.  Lehigh Valley opens a four game weekend series against Indianapolis tonight before heading to Durham for three early next week.    At 20-34, Lehigh Valley is in 5th place of the Northern Division of the International League , 10 games behind division leading Rochester. The ‘Pigs have lost three straight and are an abysmal 2-8 over their last 10 games.

News and Notes: INF Cord Phelps has a modest 7 game hitting streak and has hit in 14 of his last 17 games (19-52, .365)

–Brian Bogusevic has hit safely in 41 of his 45 starts this season.  Very impressive.

–Lehigh Valley continues to lead the league in walks allowed (216), having allowed 10% more than the next closest team. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

With trade winds expected to blow much stronger in Phillies land over the next couple months I thought it might be a good idea to take a look at other organizations minor league stats to see what they may indicate in regards to minor league talent.

Here are the Boston Red Sox affiliates, the stats do not include games played beyond May 31st  :

Low Single A : Greenville Drive ( 30-20, 1st place South Atlantic League Southern Division)

Rafael Devers is an 18 year old third baseman from the Dominican Republic who is hitting .341 with a .370 OBP thru 164 at bats, he has 3 home runs and 22 runs batted I with 13 doubles.

Javier Guerra is a 19 year old short stop who is hitting .297 with a .359 OBP thru 138 at bats with 4 home runs and 21 RBI’s

Mauricio Dubon, a 20 year shortstop who has also been playing second base is hitting .295 with an OBP of .339 thru 176 at bats with 4 home runs and 25 RBI’s

Pitching wise 21 year old Jalen Beeks has stood out going 5-1 thru 9 starts

High Single A Salem Red Sox ( 26-24, 2nd place in Carolina League Southern Division)

No numbers jump off the page on this roster, the best belong to converted outfielder Aneury Taverez who was previously a pitcher in the system. He is a 23 year old who was hitting .280 with a .368 OBP thru 132 at bats as a right fielder. He was promoted to Double A where he has played 8 games.

21 year old first baseman Sam Travis has decent numbers hitting .270 with a .340 OBP thru 177 at bats, he has 10 doubles, 2 home runs and 26 RBI’s

Pitching wise 20 year old lefty Daniel McGrath sports a 1.80 ERA thru six starts and 30 innings with 31 k’s, he is presently on the disabled list.
Double A Portland Sea Dogs ( 22-29, last place in Eastern League Eastern Division)

25 year old first baseman Jantzen Witte is hitting .326 with a .393 OBP thru 175 at bats, he has knocked in 35 runs and has 16 doubles with 3 home runs

Oscar Tejeda is a 25 year old third baseman who is hitting .310 with 13 doubles in 155 at bats

Marco Hernandez is a 22 year old Dominican shortstop who is hitting .301 thru 113 at bats with only 3 walks

Pitching wise 24 year old William Cuevas is 6-2 with a 3.02 ERA and 43 k’s in 47 innings

Triple A Pawtucket Paw Sox ( 26-25, 2nd place in International League Northern a Division)

Jackie Bradley Jr ( 25 year old outfielder) is hitting .352 with an OBP of .406 in 122 at bats, he has 2 home runs and 11 RBI’s with 10 doubles

Allen Craig is hitting .328 in triple A since his outright in 61 at bats with a .431 OBP

No other active player on the triple A roster is hitting above .260 and in fact many are at or below the .200 Mendoza line including “prospects” Jemile Weeks and Garin Cecchini

Pitching wise Henry Owens ( 22 year old lefty) sports a 3.15 ERA thru 10 starts and 54 innings with 42 strike outs

24 year old lefty Brian Johnson is 6-3 with a 2.60 ERA in 10 starts with 57 k’s in 55 innings

22 year old Eduardo Rodriquez had a 2.98 ERA in 8 starts before his call up to the show.

All in all not off the wall numbers in the Sox system, they are light at triple A results and best of the system seems to be in class A again with the promotions of high talent players Mookie Betts, Brock Holt, Rusney Castillo and Mookie Betts to the show this season.

Of the players not active on the big league roster most sites now consider Yoan Moncado ( he has just begun play at Greenville with 9 games under his belt) ,Owens, Devers and Manual Margot ( is at Salem but is hitting just .257 in 105 at bats) with Johnson as the fifth as the systems top, not sure there would be enough here for me to pry a guy like Cole Hamels  loose unless they put Swihart or Betts in the deal, the single A guys are very young and would be a big gamble to go that route.

Hello, my name is Steve Potter and I am a new writer on phuturephillies. I am a published author, in a shameless act of self promotion if you are looking for a nice Father’s Day gift check out my book on the 2008 Phillies entitled “2008 Phillies – A Poetic Season”. It is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble 😃.

But the real reason I asked Greg to join this great blog site is to have the chance to talk about the Phillies minor leagues and other systems from a potential trade perspective, I will primarily focus on the Reading team regarding the Phillies but will also post  some articles on minor league systems of other organizations and highlights on players.

For my debut posting I am looking at the minor league system of the Houston Astros from a baseball statistical perspective to review what players may be potential trade chips if the Phillies work out a deal with Houston. I will look at other systems as well, here is the analysis of the Astros I did this week, stats don’t include games played beyond May 31st.

Low Single A team – Quad Cities River Bandits (35-16, 1st place in Midwest League Western Division)
Catcher Jacob Nottingham ( 20 years old) is having an outstanding year hitting .310 with a .387 OBP with 8 home runs and 31 RBI’s thru 39 games played and 148 at bats. He is 6’3″ 200 lbs from Redlands, California.

Outfielder Derek Fisher ( 21 years old). , a 2014 first round draft pick, was hitting .305 with a .386 OBP smacking 6 home runs and driving in 24. He is a product of the University of Virginia and goes 6’1″ 207. Fisher was recently promoted to high A and hit three home runs ( 2 of them grand slams) driving in a record 12 runs in his very first game at that level! He went 4 for 6 in the game which included a 3 run double 😳

Pitcher Daniel Mengden ( 22 years old) is 4-1 with a 1.16 ERA thru 38 innings ( 6 starts) and has struck out 36 batters

High Single A – Lancaster JetHawks (27-23, 2nd in California League Southern Division)

Outfielder Brett Phillips ( 21 years old) is hitting .330 with 8 home runs and 31 RBI’s thru 197 at bats, his OBP is .394.

22 year old first baseman A.J. Reed has 13 home runs and 40 RBI’s thru 185 at bats with a .281 batting average and a .392 OBP

Pitching wise right hander Edison Frias is 6-2 after 8 starts and leads the team in innings pitched with 41 ks in 42 innings

Double A – Corpus Christi Hooks ( 33-16, 1st place in Texas League Southern Division)

Top rated Astros shortstop prospect Carlos Correa ( 20 years old, 6’4″ 210) started the season at double A and tore up the league as he hit .385 (.459 OBP) with 7 home runs and 32 RBI’s along with 15 steals. He was promoted to Triple A Fresno where his stats are more human as he is hitting .240 thru 79 at bats with 3 home runs and 8 RBI’s. He is the real deal and will be an impact player in the show.

Pitching stands out at double A for the Astros in particular 2013 1st round draft pick Mark Appel who is 3-1 thru 9 starts. The 6’5″ 220 pound Stanford product has tossed 40 innings with a relatively high ERA of 5.85 with 29 K’s

Chris Devenski is 6-0 thru 6 starts with an ERA of .59, he began the season pitching out of the pen three games and has 35 K’s in 46 innings. He is a 24 year old.

22 year old closer Jandel Gustave has 5 saves

Triple A Fresno Grizzlies ( 28-22 1st place in Pacific Coast League Pacific North Division)

24 year old outfielder Preston Tucker was hitting .320 with an OBP of .378 with 10 home runs and 32 RBI’s thru 100 at bats before his call up to the Astros

25 year old outfielder LJ Hoes is hitting .320 thru 150 at bats with a .394 OBP,

22 year old outfielder Domingo Santana ( ex Phillies farmhand) is hitting .305 with an OBP of .418 and has smacked 10 home runs while driving in 25. He has struck out a whopping 58 times thru 154 at bats.

23 year old first baseman Jon Singleton ( ex Phillies farmhand) has 14 home runs and 47 RBI while sporting a .269 average with a .369 OBP thru his first 182 at bats, he has struck out 41 times

Pitching wise I don’t see any real standouts statistically at this level

Most baseball sites have Correa, Appel and Santana as the top 3 Astros prospects.

Certainly an area where the Phillies will be looking to add talent and depth in the upcoming draft.  Nothing to be over whelmed about but Lino and Knapp have been solid this year, with Gruillon learning and progressing.

Lehigh Valley

John Hester, 32, Signed as a free agent in 2015; .269/.296/.385 in 26 AB’s between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 0HR 0RBI.  10 games caught with any errors or passed balls; Has thrown out 2/10 (20%) of base stealers; STarted the season on the DL after knee surgery and has played very sparingly since.

Logan Moore, 24, Phils 9th round pick in 2011; .187/.282/.240 in 75AB’s between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 0HR 8RBI; 12%BB/22%K rates; Hitting .194 in 36 AB’s with Lehigh Valley; 24 games caught with 4 errors (.975); 4 passed balls; Has thrown out 14/23 (61%) base stealers.  No bat, excellent arm.

Tommy Joseph, 23, Acquired from San Francisco in 2012; .123/.135/.178 in 73 AB’s before being placed on the DL with a concussion.  Hasnt played in three weeks and no timeline for his return.

Blake Forsythe, 25, Acquired from Oakland in 2015;  Hitting .250 in 12 AB’s between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 4 games caught without an error; 1 passed ball; Has thrown out 2/3 base stealers; Depth guy.

Reading

Gabriel Lino, 22, Acquired from Baltimore in 2012; .255/.325/.331 in 102AB’s for Reading; 3HR 12RBI; 8%BB/23%K rates; .261 vs. LH, .253 vs. RH, .240 with RISP; .245 in May;  30 games caught with 2 errors (.991); 2 passed balls; Has thrown out 15/30 base stealers (50%); Lino has played well this year.  Looking for perhaps a bit more with the stick but very solid behind the plate. Continue reading Around the System–Catcher →

After a six game winning streak, the ‘Pigs have quickly found themselves back mired in a three game losing streak and are facing a doubleheader tonight on the road against Gwinnett before moving on to Charlotte for a weekend series.  On the year the ‘Pigs are 18-29 and have finally climbed out of last place in the Northern Division of the International League, now sitting in 5th, 8 games behind division leading Rochester.

News and Notes: Lehigh Valley set a franchise record in allowing 12 walks in their game against Charlotte last Saturday evening.

–Lehigh Valley continue to lead the league in walks allowed by a landslide, having allowed over 12% more walks than the next closest team.

–The ‘Pigs continue to draw well, averaging almost 8,400 fans per game in the early months with a team playing very poorly. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Hello.

I wanted to spend all of my words today talking about the upcoming MLB draft, which starts on June 8th. I’ve written about the draft in all of my previous notes columns, and I’ll write about it again here. After the draft, I’ll start focusing more on our prospects, the breakouts, the disappointments, etc. But for now, my focus is the draft. Check below the fold

Continue reading Sunday notes – 2015 MLB draft preview →

Lehigh Valley has finally begin playing somewhat consistent baseball after their awful start, having won 5 of their last 7 games on this road trip, including three straight and now sit at 15-26,  still in last place of the Northern Division of the International League, 8.5 games behind division leading Rochester.  The ‘Pigs return home for four games with Charlotte starting tomorrow and then hit the road once again for a four game set against Gwinnett next week.

News and Notes: SP David Buchanan suffered a significant ankle injury on Sunday and will miss the next 6-8 weeks after being carted off the field in his third start for Lehigh Valley, after being sent down from Philadelphia.  Anthony Vasquez will be taking Buchanan’s place in the rotation.

–Phillippe Aumont has made three consecutive “quality starts” for the first time in his career.  His next start comes Saturday. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

A look at the performance of the systems outfielders through the first 5 weeks of the season.  Some disappointment, but significant areas to be excited about.  Two moves I would make before the end of the month: Aaron Altherr to Lehigh Valley and Carlos Tocci to Clearwater.

Lehigh Valley

Brian Bogusevic, 31, SIgned as a free agent in 2015; .333/.401/.439 in 132 AB’s; 2HR 13RBI; 4SB; 10%BB/14%K rates; .270 vs LHP; .358 vs. RHP; .367 in May. 29 games in the OF without an error; 3 OF assists; Bogusevic has been the best OF in Lehigh Valley this year, by a wide margin.

Jordan Danks, 28, SIgned as a free agent in 2015; .279/.331/.333 in 111AB’s; 1HR 15RBI; 1SB; 8%BB/20%K rates; .313 vs. LHP, .266 vs. RHP; .314 in last 10 games; 29 games in the OF without an error; 1 assist; Solid numbers thus far.

Cody Asche, 24, Phils 4th round pick in 2011; .269/.346/.269 in 26AB’s; 0HR 2RBI; 5 games in the OF with 1 error; Too early for comment.

Domonic Brown, 27, Phils 20th round pick in 2006; .250/.298/.304 in 112AB’s; 0HR 14RBI; 5SB; 3%bb/14%k rates; .314 vs. LHP; .221 vs. RHP; .279 in last 10 games. 24 games in the OF with 2 errors (.983); 1 OF assist.  Brown in starting to play a bit better, but a .304 SLG%?  Come on.

Reading

Aaron Altherr, 24, Phils 9th round pick in 2009; .279/.356/.500 in 104 AB’s; 4HR 20RBI; 4SB; 11%BB/14%K rates; .325 in last 10 games. 25 games in the OF without an error; 3 OF assists; Altherr has been consistent and significantly improved his BB/K rates, an issue that has plagued him in the past.  I would like to see him in Lehigh Valley come June. Continue reading Around the System–OF →

The “Around the System” series is back as we start with corner infielders.  Once or twice a week we will take a look at the players manning certain positions and rotate those positions throughout the year.

Lehigh Valley

Maikel Franco, 22, Signed as a free agent in 2009; .350/.372/.540 in 137 AB’s; 4HR 23RBI; 4%BB/16%K rates; .372 vs. LHP; .340 vs. RHP; .317 with RISP; .415 in last 10 games.  29 games at 3B with 2 errors (.975); 2.66 R/F.  Cant get much better than this.

Chris McGuinness, 27, Signed as a free agent in 2015; .250/.355/.313 in 80 AB’s; 0HR 7RBI; 14%BB/12%K rates; .273 vs. LHP; .241 vs. RHP; .143 with RISP; .226 in last 10 games. 18 games at 1B with 1 error (.993); 8.44 R/F;  Surprisingly little power thus far but with a high contact rate, things should improve.

Russ Canzler, 29, Re-Signed as a free agent in 2015; .307/.383/.416 in 101 AB’s; 1HR 6RBI; 11%BB/22%K rates; .276 vs. LHP, .319 vs. RHP; .208 with RISP; 15 games at 1B with 2 errors (.984); 3 games at 3B without an error; 2 games in the OF without an error; Canzler continues to be a multi dimensional, AAAA, player who can hit

Reading

Brock Stassi, 25, Phils 33rd round pick in 2011; .319/.390/.473 in 91 AB’s; 3HR 25RBI; 12%BB/12%K rates; .261 vs. LHP; .323 vs. RHP; .378 with RISP. 24 games at 1B without an error; 7.38 R/F.  Stassi has been one of, if not the best clutch hitter in the organization through the first month of the season. Continue reading Around the System–Corner INF →