Lehigh Valley Weekly Report

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Mediocrity continues for the ‘Pigs who went 3-4 this week, including a 4-3 loss tonight, and now sit at 38-41 and in 5th place of the Northern Division of the International League, 10.5 games behind division leading Syracuse.   After completing a short two day (3 game) road trip to Syracuse on Wednesday, Lehigh Valley returns home for 4 games (Rochester, Scranton) over the weekend.

‘Pigs league Leaders, Hitting: Maikel Franco is 3rd in AB’s(288); Tyler Henson is 4th in K’s(78) and 5th in SB’s(16)

Pitching: Barry Enright is 3rd in losses (7);2nd in HR allowed (15);  has the 7th worst ERA (5.20); is tied for 2nd in starts(15)and has the 8th worst WHIP (1.50); Luis Garcia is 4th in saves (12); Sean O’Sullivan is 4th in IP (87.2) Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Phils Sign Grady Sizemore

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The Phillies, looking for anything to help their OF depth, are taking a shot that 31 year old Grady Sizemore is their man.  Sizemore spent the majority of his career with the Cleveland Indians, having several excellent seasons during which he put up 20-30 Homers with 30+ stolen bases.  That said, Sizemore hasn’t hit above .248 since 2008, and has spent the last two seasons struggling through a myriad of injuries before a fairly miserable 2014 with Boston.  His line with the Red Sox prior to his release was .216/.288/.325 in 185 AB’s with 2HR 15RBI and 5SB.

Sizemore is a three time all star and two time gold glove winner.  He will report to AAA Lehigh Valley on Thursday.  My guess is Tony Gwynn’s time with the Phillies is limited…

J.P. Crawford and Maikel Franco selected for Futures Game

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A pair of Phillies’ prospects are on their way to the 2014 All-Star Futures Game at Target Field in Minnesota.

J.P. Crawford and Maikel Franco have both been selected to participate in the contest, which will take place on Sunday, July 13th as part of the All Star festivities.

Crawford is a no-brainer, as he has hit .286/.388/.391 so far this season. He has struggled in his first 23 at-bats in Clearwater, hitting just .190. That said, it would have been impossible to keep him off the roster. He will suit up for the U.S. team.

Franco’s selection is a bit more of a surprise, considering he has hit just .207/.265/.323 so far. He began the season slowly, then had that nice hot streak for 20 games, where he hit .304 with three homers and 11 RBIs. He has been very quiet for about a month now, and his struggles have been well-documented. He will play for the World roster.

This is Crawford’s first time at the Futures Game, and Franco’s second trip to the game.

Around the System–Relievers (AAA, AA)

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A look at relief pitching at the upper reaches of the system; Over the weekend we will look at relief pitching through the rest of the syste,

Lehigh Valley

Phillippe Aumont, 25, Acquired from Seattle in 2009; 22 games, 2-1 with a 4.02 ERA; 31.1IP 26H 22BB 34K; 1.25 GO/AO; .236 opp. avg; 1.53WHIP; 6.3BB/9.8K per 9; .170 vs. LHH, .286 vs. RHH, .294 with RISP; Pretty much the same old story for Aumont who still struggles to throw the ball over the plate consistently. His cup of coffee with the Phillies was a disaster and he hasn’t pitched in 10 days due to a sore arm.

Shawn Camp, 38, Signed as a free agent in 2014; 12 games, 0-1 with a 4.50ERA; 14IP 20H 5BB 9K; 2.44 GO/AO; .345 opp. avg; 1.79WHIP; 3.2BB/5.7K per 9; Camp has been ineffective since changing his motion to that of a side armer. At 38, his days may be numbered when everyone gets healthy. Continue reading Around the System–Relievers (AAA, AA) →

Box Score Recap – 6/23/2014

Box Score Recap

Aaron Nola got his feet wet with a fifty-pitch limit in place – he allowed 5R 4ER on 3H 1 HR 3BB and 3K. He’s not lined up to pitch Saturday on turn because he’s a finalist for the National College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year award, which will be given out on that date. Aaron Brown is in the running for the John Olerud award for two-way players that night as well, so I assume he’ll be out of the lineup for WIL.

I don’t know how poorly Brad Lincoln would have needed to pitch to not get the call-up for Saturday’s double-header in Philly, but he certainly passed in my eyes, as he allowed 2R on 2H 3BB 4K in 7IP. Would have liked to see him throw more strikes – he had just 53/93 or ~57%. Jesse Biddle didn’t fare as well for Reading, and you have to wonder if there’s something physically wrong with him at this point. Might not be, but it would at least help explain the tragically bad June he’s put up – he’s walking more than he’s striking out, he’s allowed six home runs in 15.2 innings, and he hasn’t only gotten out of the fourth inning once in four June starts.

Also in Reading, Pete Lavin was a single short of the cycle, which may be a bit of a letdown, but that’s a heck of a night anyway. Logan Moore connected for two doubles. It’s still a small sample there, but his hitting is something to watch. Roman Quinn was on base twice and stole his sixth bag of the year in his 26th game. It’s about half the pace he had the last two years, but that would be about 30 steals for a full-season. Coming off his Achilles’  injury, I’ll take that as a good sign. Also for CLR, Brian Pointer stays hot – he’s hit in seven straight, and is OPSing .926 for the month of June.

Sam Hiciano went deep (7) and Aaron Brown did as well, his first as a pro. Cord Sandberg continued his hitting streak – it’s at 12 if you include last year’s finale. And Yoel Mecias returned from TJ with good results, while 4th rounder Chris Oliver made his pro debut with results that were not so good. I imagine they’ll give him a couple more chances before they give up on him.

And now in the interest of me not rambling too badly, (too late, I think), I’ll let you all scour the rest.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 6/23/2014 →

General Discussion – Week of 6-23-2014 – Sixth Starter Edition

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The Marlins comes to town tonight for four in a row at 7:05, and the Braves are in on Friday for a four-gamer that includes a day/night double header on Saturday (2:05pm and 7:15pm start times). Seems as though they have Brad Lincoln lined up to pitch that day if they want. I would assume that Lincoln not being the guy means it’s Sean O’Sullivan on an extra day of rest. Greg Smith is set to throw Wednesday, so he’d be way off turn if they held him out until Saturday.

There is no one on the full 40-man roster right now who would make sense as the starter, so anyone will need a roster spot. Who goes? Jon Pettibone to the 60-day DL seems easiest, as he has had or is about to have exploratory shoulder surgery, which would put him well off of a return.

Discuss.

Box Score Recap – 6/22/2014

Box Score Recap

Luis Garcia gave up an earned run *audible gasp*, and BJ Rosenberg struck out two before being called up to take Ethan Martin’s spot in the big league bullpen. Ryan Demmin struck out eight in eight scoreless innings for Clearwater. He’s struck out 27 and walked two in 28 innings in CLR. Impressive line, though he’s not more than an org arm right now.

Samuel Hiciano was 3-5 with a double, Andrew Knapp was 2-4 with a walk and Larry Greene was 2-4 with two doubles, but it wasn’t enough to push Lakewood to victory. Jan Hernandez hit his first home run of the year, and Cord Sandberg remains hotter than whichever attractive lady (or gentleman) you prefer to reference in such cases. No matter the lady or gentleman, he’s hotter. Sorry, Betty White.

And Mitch Gueller gave up six runs on seven hits and five walks in four+ innings. Ricky Bielski hit two of the three men he faced, which emptied the benches and got him and his manager tossed.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 6/22/2014 →

Reading Report: 6/16-6/22

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I wish I had something fresh, new and exciting to report with the Fightins this past week. Alas, with the team’s 0-6 record, there just isn’t much to talk about here, so we will keep this to a bare-bones recap.

Continue reading Reading Report: 6/16-6/22 →

Tyson Gillies Released

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MLB Trade Rumors reports that the Phillies released Tyson Gillies today.  I don’t think anyone is surprised that this finally came to be.

Box Score Recap – 6/21/2014

Box Score Recap

Not a whole lot of note in AAA or AA, so I’ll start with JP Crawford getting his first extra base hit and his first multi-hit game at Hi-A. USA Today’s man in Lakewood Steven Falk reports that Yacksel Rios has taken Drew Anderson’s spot in the rotation while Anderson is out with an elbow injury. Sounds great. Just super. Rios went three innings, allowing five hits and five runs, though only one was earned. Larry Greene walked twice and walked-off in the tenth with a single in his return to Lakewood following a one=game rehab assignment at GCL. Andrew Knapp went deep in that one.

Cord Sandberg kept his season-long hitting streak alive with a 2-3 night, and he added a walk. He’s OPSing .994 in nine games. Damek Tomscha was 3-3, and Jake Sweaney stole two bags for GCL. Jason Marquis started his rehab assignment there today, and Jim reports that after his appearance, he got himself a couple simulated innings to get to 90 pitches. May not be long until he’s pushing for a big league spot, if he’s showing good stuff and getting some guys out when he gets to the higher levels.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 6/21/2014 →