Lehigh Valley Weekly Report

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A new manager, a new starting rotation and a new urinal game are the 2013 features in Allentown as the IronPigs opened the 2013 season, with a fairly miserable week during which they went 2-4 and played very sloppy baseball.  Lehigh Valley stands at 2-4 after Week One, three games behind division leading Pawtucket.  They conclude their first home stand of the season tonight against Pawtucket and then hit the road for 8 games against Syracuse and Pawtucket.

‘Pigs Leaders-Hitting–Cesar Hernandez is 5th in AB’s (25),7th in OBP (.500); 4th in avg (.462);  leads the league in hits (12) , is tied for 4th in doubles (3) Darin Ruf is 6th in AB’s (25), is tied for 4th in doubles (4); Cody Asche 7th in strikeouts (7); Leandro Castro is tied for 4th in SB’s (2). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Box Score Recap – 4/8/2013

Box Score Recap

One of my 2013 sleepers, Edgar Duran, had quite a night – particularly if you stop reading the box after his 2 steals and before his error.  Big time offense and 6 scoreless from the bullpen helped the Iron Pigs fight back against Pawtucket. An OK start from Mecias, who struck out 6 in 4IP.  And any game where Brody Colvin faces 23 batters and only walks 2 is probably a positive at this point. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/8/2013 →

Overviewing Reading’s Roster – Catchers

6. Reading, Other Stuff

It’s great to be here writing for Phuture Phillies! I’m joecull, and as could be assumed, I’ll be writing for Phuture Phillies. My work will mainly pertain to the Reading Fightin’ Phils (And no, I’m not a fan of the name). Without further ado, lets analyze Reading’s catching situation.

Sebastian Valle- By now, we all know about Valle’s plate discipline, or lack thereof. Last year, he hit .253/.271/.428 with 17 homers and 58 RBI in 388 at-bats between Reading and Lehigh Valley. If he was in Lehigh Valley last year, why is he back in Reading? The answers are quite simple. He was simply dominated in AAA last year, in no small part thanks to his lack of plate discipline. Valle walked 2 times in 80 plate appearances and struck out 31 times. That’s a 15.5 K/BB ratio, which is pretty ugly. It’s safe to say that he wasn’t ready for AAA. Also, Tommy Joseph’s emergence plays a role in Valle’s return to Reading. Acquired in last year’s Hunter Pence trade, Joseph is a better hitter than Valle with more plate discipline. Continue reading Overviewing Reading’s Roster – Catchers →

General Discussion – Week of April 8, 2013

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Here’s a fresh general discussion for you all – just a reminder that this is the best place for general big-club stuff, not in the daily boxscore recap. I know sometimes it’s a fine line and I’m usually not one to quibble, so just do your best, k?

Box Score Recap – 4/7/2013

Box Score Recap

Hopefully for a lot of the org’s starters, in a couple months we’re saying, “Yeah, but throw away their first start and they’re having great years!” At least we saw a couple homeruns on Sunday – Rupp, Valle and Perkins, plus old man Murphy in Reading.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/7/2013 →

Way too Early Draft Preview

2013 Draft

At this point in the spring it is way too early to speculate about which player the Phillies will take with the #16 pick.  However we can begin to speculate at what players could be available and more importantly what type of player could be available when the Phillies make their selection.  I have taken the Top Draft Prospect lists from mlb.com, ESPN, Baseball America, Minor League Ball, and Baseball Prospectus/Perfect Game and taken the 5 players around the Phillies pick (so the #14,15,16,17,and 18 best draft prospects).  If there is a free report included I have added it.

MLB.com:

14. Kohl Stewart: RHP/OF – St. Pius X HS (Texas)

There are several things that make Stewart an intriguing, yet enigmatic, prospect. The first is his dual-sport status: Stewart is one of the better high school quarterbacks in the country and is committed to Texas A&M for both sports. Secondly, Stewart is a Type 1 diabetic and interested teams will surely want to be sure about his health. Even with those variables, Stewart is bound to get a lot of attention, especially after throwing very well at the Area Code Games over the summer.

He can run his fastball up to 95 mph with a slider and changeup to go along with it. He’s more thrower than pitcher right now and his arm action concerns some. That might be a question answered only if a team feels he’s willing to forgo his two-sport college experience.

Stewart played in both the Area Code Games and the Perfect Game All-American Classic over the summer. He was the starting pitcher for the West in the Perfect Game, giving up one run on two hits over his inning of work.

Continue reading Way too Early Draft Preview →

Adam Morgan’s AAA Debut

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Adam Morgan made his AAA debut this evening at Coca Cola Park in Allentown and I came away again impressed.  After seeing Morgan twice last season in Reading, I was looking forward to see how he put it together against a Chiefs lineup that had put up 22 runs in their first 2 games against Lehigh Valley this series.

Morgan was the Phillies 3rd round draft pick out of the University of Alabama in 2011 and quickly rose through the organization after throwing almost 160 innings between Clearwater and Reading last season, consistently looking very good. 

Morgan went 6 innings, and gave up 2 runs on 6 hits.  He walked one and struck out five. He threw 85 pitches, 60 for strikes showing very good command. His lone mistake was on a 2-2 fastball to Jeff Kubernius who put it into the left field bullpen.  Morgan consistently was pitching ahead of hitters throwing his fastball generally between 89-93, but hitting 96 and 97 on one occasion each.  I was impressed with Morgan’s confidence in his off speed pitches, consistently using them behind in the count effectively.  Morgan also showed athleticism, making two nice plays coming off the mound. Morgan’s poise was also notable, as he appeared unphased by the gopher ball by Kubernius and pitched well with runners on base.

Box Score Recap – 4/5/2013

Box Score Recap

I think we’re all going to enjoy this year of Jesse Biddle. And a really fine start for Perci Garner – 1 H and 7K over 6IP.  He’s repeating the level, but still…quite good. And a good effort from Josh Warner for Lakewood. Only Pettibone threw down a clunker from the hill.

Here’s one – Tommy Joseph has 4 passed balls in 2 games. What are we supposed to make of that? The excitement of living in the Lehigh Valley has overtaken him, I suppose.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/5/2013 →

Box Score Recap – 4/4/2013

Box Score Recap

Kicking off the year with an oh-fer, the Phils’ minor leaguers remain on pace for zero wins. Nice night from Mitch Walding, 2 hits and 2 walks. And it’s the first of “many” walks from Sebastian Valle. Hopefully someday I can remove the quotes from that.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/4/2013 →