Phuture Phillies recently got a chance to sit down with the Threshers slugging third baseman Cody Overbeck to talk with him about baseball and life. Overbeck was drafted in the ninth round of the 2008 draft out of Ole Miss after his Junior season and finished the summer of that year in Williamsport where he hit .272 and set a team record for RBIs in a season. In 2009 Cody skipped over Lakewood going to high-A Clearwater where he had an off season hitting just .230, but at Clearwater again for a second season in 2010 he has gotten off to a red hot start. We wanted to know what he thought about his season so far, how he got here today, and where he hoped to be at the end of the year.
Continue reading Cody Overbeck Interview
Now taking mailbag questions
Here’s something new. When I write my weekly notes column on Sunday, I figured that I’d solicit some reader emails/questions and add a mailbag on to the end, and do it on a weekly basis. I’ll probably only be able to answer a few questions, but I thought it would be something interesting to try. So, if you have a question about something prospect related, or want to hear my opinion on something, send an email to phuturephillies at gmail dot com and put MAILBAG in the title. If you don’t put mailbag in the title, I probably won’t read it. Try and make the questions specific, not just things like “do you think Domonic Brown is a good prospect”, because I’m going to spend most of my notes columns making comments about players in general. So give that a shot and we’ll see how it goes.
Josh Zeid Q and A
You asked and Josh Zeid answered. A huge thank you goes out to Lakewood BlueCLaws Media Relations Director Greg Giombarrese for arranging this and asking your questions, and obviously to Josh Zeid who took time away from his day to answer your questions. Check out http://www.blog.blueclaws.com/ for all your Lakewood BlueClaws info including audio of the transcript below.
How has the bullpen been so far, and how do you prepare mentally as compared to your role as a starter? I enjoy it a little bit more because I like to come to the field knowing I’m going to play almost every day.That plays a big part in the happiness of my pro career so far. To prepare mentally, you have to work hard every day because it might be the day you pitch, or the next day or the next day. You have to stay prepared every day. Continue reading Josh Zeid Q and A
Lehigh Valley Weekly Report
A very bad week for Lehigh Valley, who were 2-5 on the week, and now stand at 13-20, in 5th place in the Northern Division, 7.5 games behind division leading Syracuse.
League Leaders, thru 5/12: Hitters: DeWayne Wise is tied for 4th in the league in doubles (11),9th in slugging (.550) and leading the league in triples (4). Cody Ransom is tied for 4th in homers (8) and 2nd in strikeouts (40), Andy Tracy is tied for 9th in Walks (18), Rich Thompson is 4th in batting average (.350).
Pitchers:Nate Bump is tied for 3rd with 4 wins; Scott Mathieson is 8th in saves (5); Brian Mazone is tied for 4th in homers allowed (6); Ryan Vogelsong leads the league in hitters walked (25) and is 7th in K’s (37). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report
Jonathan Singleton homers in his debut
Around the System–Relief Pitching
A first look at the success or lack of success seen in the systems relief pitching with some comments added. As always, take these comments as what they are. Observations based on the first 5 weeks of the minor league season. Feel free to discuss.
Lehigh Valley
Scott Mathieson, 26–13 games; 2-0 with an 0.54 ERA; 5 saves; 16.2 IP 9H 1 ER 4BB 18K; 0.84 WHIP; .185 vs. LH, .179 vs. RH; .182 with RISP. Mathieson has been simply dominant coming off two Tommy John surgeries. WHile Ruben Amaro was recently quoted as saying Mathieson was not major league ready and needed to work on his command, I simply couldn’t disagree more. He has been consistently in the mid 90’s and is the power pitcher the Phils need in the back of the bullpen right now.
Antonio Bastardo, 24–Has made 5 appearances since being sent down from Philadelphia. 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA. 3.2 IP, 1H 3BB 6K. Has struck out 4 of the six batters he has faced with RISP. Bastardo who was sent down to make room for JC Romero, is simply the more consistent of the two right now. The Phils need to find a way to make room for Bastardo, who, while having some control issues, gets outs when needed. Continue reading Around the System–Relief Pitching
May 12th Box Score Roundup
Gillies Placed on DL, Aumont Update
Some breaking news out of Reading this morning, OF Tyson Gillies, acquired in the CLiff Lee deal was placed on the DL with a left hamstring strain. Gillies had been playing better lately after really struggling initially this year. He had a 7 game hitting streak snapped on Monday, With speed being Gillies game, the Phils are sure to be conservative with this injury. Gillies was hitting .247 with 2 HR and 6 RBI, to go along with 1 stolen base in his 97 AB’s this season. See below for Aumont commenatry from todays game. Continue reading Gillies Placed on DL, Aumont Update
May 11th Box Score Roundup
Your nightly/daily links. Discuss the games here.
Lehigh Valley loses 2-1.
Reading loses 3-2.
Clearwater wins 4-0.
battling line of the day is easy; Domonic Brown: 1/3, HR (6), SB (4)
pitching line of the day is easy; Austin Hyatt: 8 IP – 0 ER – 1 H – 2 BB – 14 K (6 GB, 2 FB)
Hyatt, for those of you who were asking, is a fastball/slider guy. He’s old for A+ ball, but is doing what he’s supposed to, and that’s dominate. I asked Kevin Goldstein via Twitter where his fastball is sitting, and he replied “88-91”, which is on the lower end of what I had read before, which was 90-93, though I suppose he can hit those ranges in short stints. Hyatt has great command, and with great command, he can carve up A ball hitters with relative ease. The big test comes at AA.
More thoughts on the draft
If you missed it a few days ago, I wrote a very lengthy piece expressing my views on the MLB draft, why its flawed, and how to fix it. Obviously I don’t expect my ideas to be used, or even accepted by the masses, and the debates on how to fix the draft will go on for as long as the draft remains the mess it is today. But I’ve been thinking more about the upcoming draft, and past drafts, and I thought I’d write another piece, because I think maybe we’re missing the mark with our draft analysis and reactions. Check below for more…
