Category Archives: 01. Site Features

Lehigh Valley Game Report

Other Stuff

NYPhilsManiac again coming up big for us:

Iron Pigs vs Rochester Game Report, July 31

Pitching:
Greg Smith started and was very effective.  He had two bad innings: 1st and 6th.  In the first he pitched out of a bases loaded 1 out jam with no runs.  In the 6th, Rochester got 3 hits and a walk, but Smith limited the damage to 1 run.  I am honestly not sure how he was getting them out.  He topped out at 86 mph and was in the 82-84 range most of the time.  He did throw a 70 mph off-speed pitch (seemed like a curve but might’ve been a changeup).  He throws so slow, it makes Cloyd look like Roger Clemens.

Mike McDougall pitched out of a jam in the 8th to get the last 2 outs when he relieved Smith.

Cesar Jiminez slammed the door with a perfect 9th (2 K’s and a slow groundout to 2B).  Jiminez was consistently reaching 87-88.

Around the System, Starting Pitching, Lower Half

Other Stuff

A look at starting pitching in the lower half of the organization. Next up: Relievers.

Lakewood

Nic Hanson, 21, Phils 16th round pick in 2012 draft; 16 games (10 starts); 2-2 with a 2.49ERA; 1SV; 76IP 77H 12BB 60K; 1HR allowed; 1.26 GO/AO; .260 opp. avg., .261 vs. LH, .259 vs. RH, .277 with RISP; 1.16 WHIP; 1.4BB/7.1K k per 9; 1-1 with a 1.09 ERA in his last 5 starts.  Hanson has pitched very, very well since coming off the DL and is certainly on course for a promotion.

Miguel Nunez, 20, Signed as a free agent in 2010; 21 games (17 starts); 8-7 with a 4.50ERA; 104IP 114H 34BB 56K; 4HR allowed; 0.82GO/AO; .282 opp. avg; .311 vs. LH, .262 vs. RH, .269 with RISP; 1.42WHIP; 2.9BB/4.8K per 9; 6 starts in July; 3-1 with a 3.98ERA. Nunez has done respectable job this year…nothing more, nothing less. Continue reading Around the System, Starting Pitching, Lower Half →

Box Score Recap – 8/1/2013

Box Score Recap

Happy Ethan Martin Day, everyone! Raise your hand if your significant other questioned why you would so very much need to watch a game of a team you unequivocally stated two days ago was a lost cause. *raises hand*

Anyone who cares about W-L records in the minors, (or at all, really), take a look at Seth Rosin’s line from last night, and tell me why you care he got the “L”. Rosin’s had a pretty nice year. He limits walks, but doesn’t strike out enough guys – around 6.7/9. His GB rate of 41% (per firstinning.com), is not as strong as you’d like for a guy like that. To me, he’s destined for the bullpen, where he excelled in 2012 for the Giants, albeit as a 23-yr-old in A+. It’s probably worth letting him continue to start and hope he can find more sink and get a ton of groundballs or more life on something and get more Ks. He’s built to last, at 6’6″/25olbs, so he could be a workhorse starter if he can miss more bats or induce more weak contact.

Elsewhere, a nice night from Nic Hanson – 8 strong innings. Sam Hiciano with his second HR in as many days – he was last year’s “guy to watch” in the DSL boxes, and he’s sticking at WIL so far in somewhat limited action. Mitch described him as having had a wrist injury for a while, so now that he’s back, it’s nice to see his power hasn’t been completely sapped. And two doubles from Malquin Canelo – speaking of which, be sure to check out @Longenhagen’s post on the Crosscutters http://crashburnalley.com/2013/08/01/longenhagen-scouts-williamsport-gonzalez-updates-bites-from-reading/

Good info on a bunch of guys, Canelo included, plus Rios, Cozens, Pullin, Green, Knapp, plus  more on MAG and other notes.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 8/1/2013 →

Reading Game Report

Other Stuff

NYPhilsmaniac19 is at it again with his insightful first hand reports:

Reading vs Erie Game Report, July 30

PITCHING:  Not much to report here since no prospects pitched. 

Austin Wright started and got the win despite giving up 10 baserunners and 5 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings.  Few of the hits against him were cheap.  He topped out at 92 on the gun.  I’m not sure if he was hiding his best move, but he barely lobbed the ball to first on pick-off throws.  I figured he was setting them up, but he never showed anything better. 

Hector Neris came on for the next 2 innings and looked excellent.  He only gave up one baserunner on a walk and he K’d 4 (struck out the side in the 6th).  He topped out at 94 which he reached a few times. 

Kyle Simon pitched the 8th allowing 2 runners via a walk and a Murphy error, but he pitched out of it.

Michael Nesseth came on to shut the door and pitched a scoreless inning.  He did allow 2 hits, but one was on a slow roller to 3rd that Franco played non-chalantly and the runner beat the throw.

OFFENSE: Continue reading Reading Game Report →

Austin Wright to the Bullpen and Converting Starters to Relievers

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Today Mike Drago of the Reading Eagle reported that the Phillies will be converting Austin Wright to a full time reliever (Brody Colvin back to the rotation).  The move is one that I thought would come eventually but did not expect right now.  More interesting to the move is what Joe Jordan said which piqued my interest.

Philles are converting Reading’s Austin Wright to the bullpen. He’s 5-5, 6.09 in 16 starts; pitching better lately after DL stint #phillies

Joe Jordan on Austin Wright: “We really feel he’s got a couple pitches that have a chance to play really good out of the bullpen.” #phillies Continue reading Austin Wright to the Bullpen and Converting Starters to Relievers →

Box Score Recap – 7/31/2013

Box Score Recap

Franco, Dugan and Hewitt all hit bombs for Reading. Hewitt, in fact, hit 2. If he hits 20 more in August, we may have something there. Mario Hollands scatterred 9 hits over 6 innings, allowing just one run. Larry Greene hitting out of the two hole, his natural spot, of course 😉 Ricky Bielski continues to hold the GCL at bay – he’s allowed just 9 hits and 3 walks in 14 innings, while striking out 12.

And Zach Green hit his sixth HR of the year. He’s striking out a ton, though. 13 in his last 10 games, (38PAs), and his rate for the year is near 29%. He’s walked a good amount, but his 2012 Ks are what led me to keep him out of my top 30 this off-season, and it seems like they’re continuing as an issue.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/31/2013 →

Hot or Not

Other Stuff

A look back at the time period of 7/25 thru 7/31. Quick thoughts…What is the level of concern with Jesse Biddle who has led the Not Hot list for two weeks with significant control issues?  I expect Nick Hernandez to land on the DL soon…something is not right again…Maikel Franco now has 24HR’s in just over 100 games….Larry Greene and Zach Collier are back slumping again…At the lower levels, Drew Anderson and Shane Martin have gotten us to notice.

Hot Hitters: Art Charles (.448, 8RBI’s); Tyler Henson (.411, 3HR); Alejandro Vilalobos (.391); Jia Tromp (.389, 3SB); Maikel Franco (.385, 5R 3HR 6RBI); Harold Martinez (.381, 6RBI); Herlis Rodriguez (.370, 6R 7RBI); Dylan Cozens (.368, 6R); Derrick Mitchell (.350);Wilmer Oberto (.350); Nick Ferdinand (.350);  Honorable Mention: Numata, Crawford, J. Hernandez, Parr, Dugan, Perkins, Alonso Continue reading Hot or Not →

Box Score Recap – 7/30/2013

Box Score Recap

Colt Murray struck out 3 and walked 1 in the ninth to earn his 10th save of the year for CLR. He could use a few more of those after a pretty brutal stretch here in the last couple weeks. In all, though, he’s pitched better than his 5.58 ERA suggests this year, with an FIP of 3.34. Walks are up over last year’s near-brilliant FSL stint, but Ks are good at 9.9/9IP. He’s guy that reportedly throws pretty hard, and I imagine he’ll be moving up to AA next year with a chance for a 40-man spot after the season.

HMart continues to rake – 3-4 with a double. Logan Moore went 3-3 with a walk, a double and his third HR. Jan Hernandez was 3-5 with a triple and a homer. And Mark Leiter Jr. has 23 Ks in 16 GCL innings. Yes, he’s a college guy striking out high school kids. Still.

And another strong start from Drew Anderson – he gave up two hits and walked two in six scoreless, and struck out the side in order in the sixth. For a guy Mitch Rupert mentioned has had trouble in the later innings, he sure did take out the top of that Brooklyn lineup, (ncluding struggling 2012 1st round pick and high-level Mets prospect Gavin Cecchini), the third time through – all three Ks were swinging.

Enjoy your deadline day!

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/30/2013 →

Lehigh Valley Weekly Report

Other Stuff

Lehigh Valley returned home last night from an eight game road trip with a 5-4  loss to Rochester and now sit at 55-56 on the year, in 4th place of the Northern Division of the International League, 5.5 games behind division leading Rochester and 4 games behind Pawtucket in the wildcard race.

‘Pigs Prospects: Adam Morgan has made two starts for Lehigh Valley since his return from the disabled list and while he has not given up an earned run, he threw close to 140 pitches in less than seven innings of work in those two starts. Bottom line, he was less than sharp which is to be expected after missing two months injured.  On the year, Morgan is 1-5 with a 4.44 ERA in his 10 starts. He has thrown 48.2 innings, given up 55 hits, walked 17 and struck out 34 while opponents are hitting .269 against him. It will be interesting to check in on Morgan in two weeks with another 2-3 starts under his belt. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Box Score Recap – 7/29/2013

Box Score Recap

Harold Martinez with 2 more hits. Same from Cameron Perkins. Dan Child works an inning for CLR after spending time in the GCL thus far. Brian Pointer goes deep – his sixth. He’s been slumping pretty badly, though he has drawn 5 walks in his last 10 games. Man can take his walks. Speaking of…Dylan Cozens hit his 5th HR of the year. He’s also keeping up a good pace for his bases on balls, 11+%, while limiting his Ks to around 22%. It’s a 2:1 ratio there, 34K, 17BB, and with ISO near .200, you’d have to call his first half of this short season a success.

At the lower levels, Deivi Grullon threw out two would-be base-stealers and picked off another, while JPC stole his 7th and 8th bags, added a triple, drove in and scored 2runs. And 19 yr-old mini second sacker Lucas Rojo (listed at 5’6″, 153 lbs), hit his 7th VSL homer. He’s got 19 XBH in around 170 PAs. That’s some pop from a small frame. Another guy to look for in instructs in the fall and the minor league camp in the spring.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/29/2013 →