A look at the time period from April 18-24.  Quick Thoughts…I had the opportunity to watch Jesse Biddle live for the first time on Monday evening, and having seen thousands of baseball games, his performance ranks right near the top.  Keep in mind it is one outing, but a pitcher that has the ability to do what he did, is worth being very excited about….Aaron Altherr has been showing all the tools, and its worth starting to follow him every day…After quick starts, Hewitt and Quinn land on the “Not Hot” list this week….There was a good deal of excitement last year about Tyler Knigge who has struggled out of the gate this year, with another difficult week.

Hot Hitters:Cody Asche (.478); Aaron ALtherr (.444, 6R, 4RBI, 2SB);  Carlos Alonso (.417, 5R 5RBI)Jermaine Mitchell (.417, 4R 3RBI, 2SB); Jim Murphy (.400, 4R, HR, 4RBI); Derrick Mitchell (.400); Art Charles (.391, 5RBI) Cesar Hernandez (.391, 3R, SB);Jon Roof (.375); ALbert Cartwright (.360, 6R);  Honorable Mention:Mojica,  Gillies, Perkins, Numata, Mora Continue reading Hot or Not →

Lehigh Valley began an eight game road trip against Indianapolis with a rain out last evening  and  stand at 7-10, 5.5 games behind division leading Buffalo in the Northern Division of the International League.  The road trip continues with four in Indianapolis, followed by four in Louisville.

‘Pigs League Leaders:Cesar Hernandez is 4th in hits (22); Darin Ruf is tied for 3rd in doubles (6); Cody Overbeck is tied for 5th in HR (4); Tyler Cloyd is tied for 2nd in losses (3), has the 2nd worst WHIP (1.95); 3rd worst in ERA (7.65), tied for 2nd in HR allowed (3) and is 7th in strikeouts (19); Adam Morgan is 4th in ERA (1.42) and is 8th in WHIP (0.84); Jake Diekman is tied for 2nd in games (8).

‘Pigs Prospects: Cody Asche has hit in 6 consecutive games, hitting .417 (10-24) over that time period.  After a slow start, Asche seems to be making the adjustment to AAA pitching. Asche is now at .279/.353/.393 with 1HR and 7 RBI on the year. Additionally, he works very hard, as one of the first one the field each and every day. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

There has been a lot of talk lately about bringing up Adam Morgan, however he requires a spot on the 40 man roster.  This isn’t a deal breaker but it does provide an excuse to reevaluate the 40 man roster as there has been some definite shifts early in the system.  Currently the roster stands at 41 players due to Carlos Ruiz’s suspension.

The Locks (22):

Erik Kratz, Carlos Ruiz, Kevin Frandsen, Freddy Galvis, Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Michael Young, Domonic Brown, Ben Revere, Darin Ruf, Mike Adams, Phillipe Aumont, Antonio Bastardo, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Kyle Kendrick, John Lannan, Cliff Lee, Ethan Martin, Jonathan Pettibone, Jonathan Papelbon

Likely Locks (9):

Sebastian Valle, Zach Collier, Cesar Hernandez, and Tyson Gillies – Four prospects who have either have value or have the tools/ceiling to have a major league future.  None will be difference makers but have too much value to throw to the side. Continue reading The 40 Man Roster Numbers Game →

Bucs starting tonight. Truly the finest cross-state rivalry in town except hockey and maybe football if they played more. But def. better than basketball.

Instant Reaction: For the start on Monday this was the best decision.  Morgan was out of the picture for this start and while Martin has the stuff the command is still needing a lot.  Pettibone brings more to the table than Cloyd and will likely have the opportunity to stick around if he can pitch well.  If he cannot stick they will have the opportunity to mess with the rotation enough to bring up Adam Morgan.

This probably signals the end of Cloyd with the Phillies, because he has now been passed by the next wave of pitchers.  With the hot starts by Savery and Robles, Cloyd likely is now towards the top of the list on players most likely to be removed from the 40-man roster to make room for Adam Morgan and eventually Cody Asche and Tommy Joseph. Continue reading Jonathan Pettibone Called Up To Make Big-League Debut on Monday →

A look back at the time period of 4/11/13 through 4/17/13). A few quick points: First, Who the heck is Jose Mojica.  Second, Anthony Hewitt appears on the hot list again to keep his hot start going. Third, Adam Morgan was simply dominant in his start this week.  Morgan is pitching again today. Does he get the call if Lannan is out for an extended period? Fourth, great to see Nick Hernandez back on the Hot List after a long rehab from a significant injury. Finally, Maikel Franco is really worth watching.

Hot Hitters: Albert Cartwright (.500, 4R, HR, 2RBI, SB); Jose Mojica (.500, 6r); Josh Fields (.444, 7R 2HR 8RBI, SB);  Maikel Franco (.414, 4R 1HR 6RBI); Carlos Alonso (.364, 5R 1HR 5RBI); Art Charles (.346, 6R 2HR 7RBI); Aaron Altherr (.346, 5R 1HR 4RBI); Cameron Perkins (.346, 4R 1HR 7RBI); Jon Roof (.348); Anthony Hewitt (.333, 4SB); Honorable Mention: Duran Continue reading Hot or Not →

Larry Greene Promoted to Lakewood:

As per his twitter account Larry Greene is heading north to join the Blueclaws.  Greene showed up out of shape to play the OF and was held back to work on his conditioning before being sent to full season ball.  Greene’s 2012 was slightly disappointing because his raw power did not show up in games but he did more than hold his own in Williamsport showing good patience at the plate albeit with a high strikeout rate as well.  If he is going to succeed he is going to have to prove that he does not have a slow bat, and that he can identify his pitches to drive.  Even if his long term destination is first base the Phillies are determined to keep him in the OF as long as possible. Continue reading News, Notes, and Reactions →

Jim, a relocated Philadelphian to the CLearwater area was kind enough to provide some insight as to what is happening at the complex:

“I watched the XST game against the Yankees today (April 15th).  Giles entered the game in the top of the fourth.  He promptly walked the first two batters on 9 pitches.  He seemed to have good velocity, but was delivering high to the hitters.  After the first two hitters, he settled in and retired the next two batters on 6 pitches, both took called third strikes.  He reached a 1-2 count on the fifth hitter, and after a foul ball, surrendered a line drive over the first baseman (Austin Gallagher) down the RF line for a triple and two runs scored. The inning was called after that pitch as Giles had reached 20 pitches.  Giles took the mound again for the fifth inning and retired the first batter on three pitches and a called third strike.  The next batter struck out swinging on a full count.  The the final batter grounded out second to first on a 2-1 pitch. He faced 8 batters in 1.2 innings – 33 pitches/18 strikes, but a very good 24/17 after the first two walks.  He looked good once he got the ball down in the zone. Continue reading Giles, Dugan and other XST Happenings →

Lehigh Valley finishes up their four game series in Pawtucket this evening after going 4-1 this week, which puts the ‘Pigs at 6-5 and in fourth place of the Northern Division of the International League, 2.5 games behind division leading Pawtucket. Lehigh Valley returns home on Thursday evening to open a four game series against Buffalo before they go on a 8 game road trip to Indianapolis and Buffalo.

‘Pigs Leaders: Cesar Hernandez is 3rd in hits (17); Darin Ruf leads the league in doubles (5); Tommy Joseph is 6th in RBI’s (11); Jon Pettibone has the 3rd worst ERA (9.64) and  2nd worst WHIP (2.14);Tyler CLoyd has the 7th worst ERA (7.07), allowed the third most walks (8), has the 7th most strikeouts (15), 7th worst WHIP (1.93) and has allowed the 2nd most HR (3); Jake Diekman has allowed the 4th most walks (8); Adam Morgan has the 3rd best WHIP (0.79). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

A big topic recently with the big league club has been the bullpen.  I am firm believer that the bullpen is a place to get the most value out of players that either have a short shelf life or lack the skills the reach the majors in an expanded role.  One of the most interesting guys is BJ Rosenberg.

How we got here:

Rosenberg was drafted in the 13th round of the 2008 draft as a 5th year senior.  He was a starter to begin his career but ultimately ended up in the bullpen his junior year due to injuries.  In 2009 he made it all the way to Reading and earned him a non-roster invite to Spring Training.  However, 2010 and 2011 were a disaster of injuries and inefficiencies that  saw him move to the rotation for some time.  In 2012 a good year in Lehigh Valley saw him promoted to the big league club for 25 terrible innings (there were some much worst than others).  An injury in big league camp in 2013 derailed his attempt at a bullpen spot to start the season and the Phillies sent him to AAA as a starter. Continue reading Prospect Spotlight: BJ Rosenberg →