Reading Phillies Weekly Report (4/20 – 5/3)

6. Reading

I know this is a bit long, but it encompasses two weeks worth of action due to my critically ill daughter, oops, I meant computer.  No really, I did.  I hope everyone enjoys the goodness that Reading has to offer and comments it up.  Have fun!

Over the past two weeks, the Phillies have had some phenomenal individual efforts by the likes of Stutes, Worley, Bastardo, and Taylor.  Even with these efforts, however, the Phils found themselves only going 7-5 over that two week span.  Despite the mediocre record, I think the teams play thus far is above what most of us expected.  Surprisingly, the Phils sit at 13-8 and are tied for 3rd in the Eastern League.  Not surprisingly, the pitching has really carried the team while the offense has mostly been a one man show featuring Michael Taylor.

Continue reading Reading Phillies Weekly Report (4/20 – 5/3) →

‘Pigs Weekend Game Report

7. Lehigh Valley

5/1/09– Carlos Carrasco was brilliant against Toledo for the first three innings, but struggled through the fourth and fifth, leaving with a 5-1 deficit, having gone 4.2 innings and yielding 5 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits.  He walked 2 and struck out 8.  The ‘Pigs chipped away at the four run lead, eventually taking the lead in the bottom of the 8th on a sac fly by Mike Cervenak, who had three hits and three RBI’s on the night.  On a wet night, Jason Donald made his first start at third, committing an error on his first chance, but was unfazed at the plate, adding three hits.  Rich Thompson was clearly the spark plug of the offense, in the 6-5 victory, stealing 3 bases, scoring 3 runs, adding two hits, and generally playing heads up baseball.  Jake Woods (2-0) got the win in relief with Mike Koplove picking up his first save of the year in a 1-2-3 ninth. Continue reading ‘Pigs Weekend Game Report →

Jason Donald at 3rd

Other Stuff

Jason Donald is  getting his first start of the year at third base tonight.  Newly acquired David Newhan is at SS, with Carlos Ruiz, back in the lineup once again catching and hitting 7th. Unfortunately, Donald made an error on his first chance at third, but is making up for it at the plate, with two hits and an RBI, thus far on the evening.

Taylor makes the Minor League Update

Ten Pack/Hot Sheet

It’s not technically the BP Ten Pack or the BA Hotsheet, but Kevin Goldstein has started giving daily minor league updates over at Baseball Prospectus.  It hasn’t fallen under the guise of premium content (at least not yet), so it’s certainly worth the daily read for all of you minor league aficionados.  Anyhoo, Goldstein has Michael Taylor in today’s update:

Michael Taylor, OF, Phillies (Double-A Reading)
Thursday’s stats: 3-for-5, 2 2B, HR (3), 5 RBI
After three disappointing years at Stanford, Taylor got away from the single-plane “Stanford swing” in 2008 and suddenly delivered a .346/.412/.557 season while suddenly looking like the player who in high school was one of the best tools guys in the country. A monster athlete at six-foot-six and 250 pounds, Taylor is batting .424 during a current seven game hitting streak and .338/.389/.569 overall. The scary part? Some think he’s just starting to tap into his potential.

Just to add a few tidbits: there was some concern last year that Taylor’s strikeout-to-walk ratio in Clearwater indicated that he would have some difficulty adjusting to Double-A, but his 10:6 ratio so far this year is more than manageable.  His .231 ISO, 6 walks, and 5 stolen bases (in 5 attempts) add up to a .400 SecA.  We’re just a few weeks into the season, but the early returns are certainly promising.

Lehigh Valley Weekly Report

7. Lehigh Valley

A fairly good week for the ‘Pigs having gone 4-3, and now stand at 9-11, and in 4th Place of the Northern Division of the International League. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

A Closer Look: Matt German

A Closer Look

This is a post I’ve been wanting to do for a while because I find Matt German’s case to be intriguing. For those who don’t know, he’s a 6-foot junkballer tearing up Reading after doing a pretty good job in Clearwater last year. I thought he deserved some press just based on the stats he’s posted thus far.

Continue reading A Closer Look: Matt German →

A quick word on Jason Knapp

Other Stuff

I’ve kind of been holding back, but I guess its time to just make a simple statement. He’s 18. He pitched in a Northeastern state, thus his workload/exposure was more limited than say, a kid from California. He’s a true 18 year old pitching in a league where the average prospect age is 19-20, with lots of 21-23 year olds. He’s gotten off to an awesome start. He has a big arm. He throws hard. Guys with 95-97 mph fastballs are supposed to be blowing away lousy/raw/unrefined hitters. But he’s made a total of FOUR starts. He’s thrown 24 innings in full season ball. There is absolutely ZERO upside in rushing him this season. The Phillies should continue to monitor his delivery and mechanics, as well as his innings. There’s no need to rush him to A+ this season. Tell me what the downside is in him staying in Lakewood all season, throwing 130-140 innings, striking out 160 and posting an ERA of 2.35, and then promoting him to Clearwater for next year? Here’s a test case in Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner, a first round pick, was considered raw and many felt he needed time to develop because his secondary stuff wasn’t all that refined. He blitzed the SAL last year as an 18 year old (essentially 1 month older than Knapp this season), striking out 164 in 141 IP and posting a 1.46 ERA. The Giants left him in A all season, resisting the urge to rush him, and his secondary stuff improved throughout the year. He’s now their top prospect and one of the best prospects in the game, and his development wasn’t stunted because the Giants let him dominate the level he was at.

Bottom line? There is absolutely zero reason to rush him. Lets let him dominate at Lakewood this season, keep an eye on his arm and his pitches thrown, and then move him to Clearwater next year. He’s not going to make it to Philly before 2011 at the absolute earliest, and at that point he’d be 20. Everyone take a deep breath.

Lakewood BlueClaws Weekly Report (4/21-4/27)

4. Lakewood

And your current 2009 SAL North Division Leaders…the Lakewood BlueClaws.

Wow, what a week. The BlueClaws won five and only lost one on the backs of tremendous starting pitching performances from promising prospects Jason Knapp, Tyler Cloyd and Jon Velasquez. After swapping games with the Lake County Captains in a rain-shortened two-game series, the ‘Claws swept the Hagerstown Suns in a home series and won the first game of a series at Delmarva.

Continue reading Lakewood BlueClaws Weekly Report (4/21-4/27) →

Reading Phillies Weekly Report (04/20 – 04/26)

6. Reading

Hello everyone.  Here is the deal.  My 6 year old computer’s health has sadly taken a turn for the worst.  Lets just call it critical condition.  Anyway, this means that I am not going to be able to publish the Reading Phillies weekly report for this week (I might write something up in a few days time when I get my hands on a working computer).  So, I am very sorry for missing a week, but, like I said, hopefully I will be back up and running shortly.  Feel free to talk about all of the awesome Reading news this week like their 4-2 record, Stutes’ 6 innings of 2 hit ball, the return of the hefty lefty, Mike Zagirthski (yes, that can be taken out of context, but lets not), the continued domination of the buzzsaw, Matt German, Bastardo’s conversion to the starting rotation, and much, much more.  Quite a week, actually, I am sorry I missed the  report.  Thanks for your understanding and go Phils.

Ruiz Removed from ‘Pigs Lineup

7. Lehigh Valley

After originally being scheduled to hit 7th and DH, Carlos Ruiz was removed from the ‘Pigs lineup.  Ruiz took batting practice and apparantly felt some discomfort in his oblique area, and was removed from the lineup minutes before the game.  He will be re-evauluated in Philly tomorrow.

In other news, Carlos Carrasco complained of both a blister as well as soreness in his elbow after his poor start yesterday.  Carrasco believes he will be able to make his next start.  Andy Tracy was also a late scratch from the lineup Monday night after developing back spasms.  He was replaced at first by Mike Cervenak.