Well, it appears that it has finally happened. The Phillies have been linked to Hunter Pence for the better part of the last 2 months, with Charlie Manuel openly campaigning for a righthanded batter. In the last few days, talks intensified, rumors began to fly wildly, and the deal has finally concluded. According to reports, the Phillies are parting ways with 1B prospect Jon Singleton, RHP Jarred Cosart, and 2 PTBNL, neither thought to be major prospects. As I start writing this, hopefully we get names and I can update it. I’m going to try and tackle this trade from both sides, just as I did the Roy Oswalt and Cliff Lee deals the last two years. There are 2 sides to every trade, and its normally never as simple as “Team A won and Team B lost”. There are tons of variables here, so lets address them one by one. If you want to simply react and say “this sucks” or “this is great”, feel free to use the instant reaction post here. I’d hope that if you come here, you’re interested in what I have to say, so I’ll give it a go.

Continue reading The Phillies acquire Hunter Pence →

A look at the time period from 7/23–7/29. Sebastian Valle and Darin Ruf continue red-hot, while Freddy Galvis notches another week on the hot list.  Austin Hyatt is showing he is worthy or AAA callup while Jared Cosart gets back on track after a rough week.  Also, Trevor May continuing to put up huge strikeout numbers.

Hot Hitters:(Min 10 AB’s):Steve Susdorf (.545); Maikel Franco (.474, 5 RBI); Sebastian Valle (.463, 6R 2HR 8 RBI); Kyrell Hudson (.444); Tim Kennelly (.429); Delwyn Young (.423, 4R 2HR 6 RBI); Darin Ruf (.417, 6R 3HR 7 RBI); Mike Spidale (.400); Carlos Valenzuela (.400); Freddy Galvis (.391, HR 3 RBI, 2SB) Honorable Mention: Cesar Hernandez, Travis Mattair, Troy Hanzawa Continue reading Hot or Not →

Lakewood

David Buchanan, 22, 20 starts, 11-5 with a 3.38 ERA; 125IP 115H 32BB 86K; 1.17 WHIP; 1.13 GO/AO; .246 opp. avg., .240 vs. LH, .250 vs. RH, .262 with RISP; 3-0 with a 3.09 ERA in 5 July starts.  Buchanan has had a very good season and may end the season in Clearwater depending on the movement around the system.

Garrett Claypool, 22, 22 games (18 starts); 3-7 with a 3.70 ERA; 109.1IP 89H 41BB 123K; 0.55 GO/AO; .224 opp. avg; 1.19 WHIP; .214 vs. LH, .231 vs. RH, .232 with RISP; 0-4 with a 5.16 ERA in 5 July starts. Claypool has been very good this year, averaging 10.1K/9 but is slowing down as the innings add up. Continue reading Around the System–Starting Pitchers, Lower Half →

A solid week for Lehigh Valley, a week that included a four game winning streak that allowed the ‘Pigs to extend their lead over second place Pawtucket to three games.  Lehigh Valley now stands at 61-43 with 38 games remaining in the season. Pawtucket remains in town to close out their four game series against Lehigh Valley on Friday, before Lehigh Valley hosts Buffalo for a short two game series over the weekend. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

A look at the Starting Pitchers in the top half of the organization. I have included the number of innings pitched for each pitcher in 2010, as that becomes an issue as we get into the seasons final weeks.  Teams rarely want to extend a pitcher more than 30-40 innings over the previous season.

Lehigh Valley

Brian Bass, 29, 20 starts, 5-8 with a 4.03 ERA; 116IP 121H 43BB 73K; 2.58 GO/AO; .273 opp. avg, 11 HR allowed; .277 vs. LH, .270 vs. RH, .262 with RISP; 3.05 ERA in his 10 starts since June 1.  IP in 2010 (76.1).  Bass started slowly but has been the most consistent ‘Pigs starter over the last two months.  Has been consistently going deep into games.

Scott Mathieson, 27, 22 games (4 starts); 0-1 with a 3.05 ERA; 5 saves; 41.1IP 35H 21BB 52K; 1.30 WHIP; 0.68 GO/AO; .227 opp. avg.; .172 vs. LH, .260 vs. RH, .184 with RISP; 0-1 with a 3.29 ERA in his 4 starts.  2010 IP= 66.0; 2011 IP= 46.1. Mathieson has been put back into the rotation and looked good in his last start, striking out 8 in 4.1 IP.  He needs to get hitters out earlier in the count, adjusting his mindset against striking out every single hitter. Continue reading Around the System–SP, Top Half →