The ‘Pigs returned home for an eight game homestand that began Tuesday  with four against Norfolk playing a better brand of baseball than when we last spoke.  The ‘Pigs are on a three game winning streak after their win against Norfolk, and now stand at 9-10, and in 5th place of the Northern Division of the International League, 1.5 games behind division leading Rochester.

‘Pigs Leaders–Hitting:Reid Brignac is 6th in runs (13); Cameron Rupp is 6th in HR’s (4); Clete Thomas is 7th in strikeouts (21).

Pitching: Luis Garcia is 6th in saves (2); David Buchanan is 4th in IP (23), and is tied for the league lead in walks issued (13) Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Lehigh Valley has gone 2-4 since last weeks report with their scheduled mired by rain, sleet, postponements, roster changes and doubleheaders.  They are currently 4-7 in the Northern Division of the International league, 3 games behind division leading Buffalo. The ‘Pigs remain in Syracuse for three games in two days Wednesday and Thursday, followed by four games in Scranton.

‘Pigs Prospects–Cameron Rupp had a well documented very quick start, during which he set a Lehigh Valley team record hitting 4 homers in as many games.  His bat settled down after that and he is now hitting .231/.394/.731 after 33 plate appearances before going down with an oblique injury on Sunday.  Rupp continues to be very good defensively and his loss will hurt the IronPigs.  No timetable for how long he will be out but I am sure the Phils will want to be careful with the oblique.

Kyle Simon made a very inauspicious AAA debut lasting just 0.1inning and giving up 4 runs on two hits in addition to three walks.  After a couple mediocre outings, Simon looked very good his last time out going three scoreless innings while striking out 4.  Simon’s overall stats: 4 games, 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA, 1.80WHIP. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Welcome back to another year of the IronPigs report. This report will put out weekly most likely Wednesday mornings throughout the course of the year.  Feel free to leave any suggestions for weekly coverage in the comment area of anything that would be of interest to you.  As time permits, I expect to post a variety of interviews with members of the team as the year progresses.  Lehigh Valley began their season with a four game split in Pawtucket, and then came home for a washout Monday, followed by a 4-2 loss to Buffalo on Tuesday.  The ‘Pigs homestand continues through the weekend with two more against Buffalo followed by four games with Rochester.

‘Pigs Prospects–Without getting into a huge debate on the definition of a “prospect”, I am going to list the following players on the Lehigh Valley current roster as prospects: Cameron Rupp, Maikel Franco, David Buchanan, Michael Nesseth, Jon Pettibone and Kyle Simon.  They are listed as prospects based on expectations for them and their age.  Others will join the list during the course of the year.  For this group of players, there will be bi-weekly statistical updates on their progress.  I will cover several one week and then those that weren’t covered the following week. For the first week:

Maikel Franco: has gotten off to a very rough start, currently hitting .100 (2-20) going without a HR and just one RBI.  He has struck out four times in his 20 AB’s and hit the ball hard just a handful of times.  Franco got his first start of the year at 1B on Tuesday and played well, making a couple of tough plays and looked fairly comfortable. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

The IronPigs have announced their 2014 opening day roster:

Starting Pitchers: Greg Smith, David Buchanan, Jonathan Pettibone, Barry Enright and Sean O’Sullivan.

Relievers: Luis Garcia, Phillippe Aumont, Shawn Camp, Hector Neris, Mike Nesseth and Kyle Simon, Jeremy Horst, Cesar Jimenez.

Catchers: Koyie Hill and Cameron Rupp

Infield: Jim Murphy, Tyler Henson, Maikel Franco, Andres Blanco, Reid Brignac, Troy Hanzawa

Outfield: Leandro Castro, Tyson Gillies, Steve Susdorf, Clete Thomas

DL: INF Brian Bixler, P Chris Bootcheck, OF Dave Sappelt, P Adam Morgan

Lehigh Valley opens their season in Pawtucket on Thursday in what will be a four game series.

Here’s the link. He says all the right things, and really he’s assembling an impressive CV as he looks to move up to the next level. He’ll get the call sometime soon, hopefully he’s able to work up the ladder to the top spot in the Phillies org. Congrats to him on the accomplishment.

A 4-3 week for Lehigh Valley and they enter the final weekend before the All Star break. They remain in first place of the Northern Division of the International League, 50-36 on the year, 3.5 games ahead of second place Pawtucket. With the all star break comes a break for the “Lehigh Valley Report”. Look for the next report July 20-21.

‘Pigs Leaders, Hitting: Brandon Moss is 8th in homers (14), 8th in OPS (.881)and 5th in Slg % (.518); Jeff Larish is tied for 8th in strikeouts (79); Delwyn Young is tied for 8th in strikeouts (79); Rich Thompson is 2nd in stolen bases (28) Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report 6 July 2011 →

A bumpy week for Lehigh Valley as they have been decimated by call ups to Philadelphia as well as injury to their rotation.  The ‘Pigs went 3-4 on the week and now stand at 46-33, still in first place in the Northern Division of the International League, 3.5 games ahead of second place Scranton.

‘Pigs Leaders–Hitting: Jeff Larish is 6th in homers (13); Brandon Moss is 10th in homers (12) and 10th in RBI’s (45); Delwyn Young is 8th in strikeouts (73); Rich Thompson is 2nd in SB’s (26) and 4th in OBP (.391) Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report 29 June 2011 →

The first week in quite a while that Lehigh Valley have struggled as they went 2-5,however are still in first place in the Northern Division of the International League, five gamnes ahead of the also struggling Scranton WIlkes Barre Yankees. On the year, the ‘Pigs are now 43-29 and have reached the half way point of the season.

‘Pigs leaders: Hitting:Jeff Larish is 9th in homers (12); Rich Thompson is second in SB’s (23); Delwyn Young is 7th in strikeouts (70). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report 23 June 2011 →

Lehigh Valley is now 41-24 (the high water mark in their history) after another good week (4-2) and in first place of the Northern Division of the International League, five games ahead of second place Scranton.  The ‘Pigs hit the road for a four game series in Pawtucket before they return to Coca Cola Park next Monday, when they begin a 8 game home stand (Indianapolis/Charlotte). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report 15 June 2011 →