The Reading Phillies had a nice week, going 4-3 to up their record to an unimpressive 33-49, which is good for last place in the Eastern League Southern Division. There were a few notable performers throughout the week including Durbin, Bisenius, Outman, and of course, Slayden. First, lets get caught up on what took place during the week in the game recaps.
Continue reading Reading Phillies Weekly Report (6/25 – 7/1)
The Threshers had a six game week this past week with a day off on Monday; overall they went 3-3 in the week.
They lost the final game of their series against the Vero Beach Devil Rays on Wednesday with Joe Savery taking the loss. After a Tursday night rain out they then split a double header to start a series with the St Lucie Mets. Drew Naylor pitched a complete game in the first game of the double header but took a 3-1 loss while Andrew Carpenter pitched a complete game in the second game by throwing a one-hit shut out in route to a 4-0 Threshers win.
–A good night for the Phillies minor league system, going 6-1, with most top prospects performing well.
–19 year old first round draft pick Anthony Hewitt signed yesterday for a reported $1.4 million signing bonus. Reports have him being moved to third base.
In the Gulf Coast League, Anthony Gose was 1-3 with a run and a stolen base, Zach Collier took a collar with an 0-4, and impressive reliever Jordan Ellis pitched another scoreless inning (7.2 IP, 1H, 0ER, 1BB, 7K on the season)in the 4-2 Phils loss. Box Score
Justin DeFratus pitched well again for Williampsort getting his second win without a loss, and David Schwimmer pitched 4 shutout innings, striking out 6 in relief in the 5-2 win. Schwimmer, although rocky in his initial outing has struck out 16 in 8 innings. Box Score
For the few who haven’t heard, Brett Myers has accepted an assignment to Lehigh Valley (AAA), and apparantly will start Wednesday evening against Scranton. No annoucement has been made as to who will replace him in the Phils rotation/roster, but the speculation continued to be Happ or Carrasco.
A couple of interesting notes from the GCL Phils game yesterday. Second Round draft pick Anthony Gose began his minor league career with an 0-2 with a strikeout, while Supplemental First Rounder, Zach Collier, was 1-1 with a double in his debut. Former Phillie reliever Matt Smith continued his rehab with his first appearance this year and pitched a scoreless inning. 18th round pick, Tyler Cloud, had his second consecutive strong outing going 6 scoreless innings, giving up only 2 hits and striking out 8.
Not a great day for most of the Phils minor league system as: Kris Benson was hit around in his first rehab start at the AAA level. He was on a pitch count and lasted 4 innings, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits in those 4 innings. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_06_29_syraaa_lhvaaa_1 While he did hit 93 on one fastball, he hovered mostly around 88-89 mph. He doesn’t look to be the answer for Brett Myers struggles at least at this point. My vote goes to JA Happ who has pitched extremely well in June. Gordon to the DL, in the hopes of a healthy September, Myers to the bullpen, and Happ into the rotation. Could that be worse than what we currently have? Interesting matchup tonight with Travis Blackley taking on Francisco Liriano. Yes, that Francisco Liriano. Continue reading Monday Daily Discussion
The Clearwater Threshers were in Port St. Lucie on Saturday night for the third of four games. After a rainout on Thursday night the teams split a double header on Friday. On Saturday night the Threshers jumped out early on the Mets when when Clay Harris got the first of his three home runsto give the Threshers an early 3-0 lead. Harris would eventually homer in his first three at bats of the game as the Threshers jumped out to a 7-2 lead after five innings with five of the RBIs credited to Harris.
Appearantly the Mets were not as happy about Harris’ night as some of us were, and he was hit by a pitch in his fourth at bat by Mets hurler Casey Hoorelbeke. This prompted the benches to be cleared for both teams, but without any real harm done. In the next inning Threshers starter Edgar Garcia was ejected from the game when he promptly hit the first batter he faced .
Apparently not phased by the fact that the bases were loaded in the eighth inning when Clay Harris stepped to the plate for a fifth time Casey Hoorelbeke of the Mets hit Harris for the second time in the game and was ejected while Clay was credited with a career high sixth RBI on the night.
In the ninth inning Tuffy Gosewsich was hit by a pitch that got another Mets pitcher ejected, and in the end the Threshers got the last laugh winning easily by a score of 11-3.
Happy Friday. Its an especially happy Friday for me, as I leave later today for my first true vacation in years. I’ll be out of town until July 7th, and in addition to relaxing and unwinding, I’ll get to see at least one or two Cape Cod League baseball games. I haven’t been to Cape Cod since I was a kid, so I’m looking forward to that part of the trip quite a bit. Gregg, our faithful Lehigh Valley correspondent, is going to start a daily thread while I’m gone. Feel free to discuss anything you’d like, but please do be civil in my absence. This place has really taken off over the last 6 months, its due in large part to you, the daily reader, so just be nice to each other while I’m gone. With all of that said, a few parting thoughts…
Lehigh Valley continues in last place in the IL Northern Division at 31-51, 19.5 games behind division leading Pawtucket. Among the hitting leaders, continues to be Mike Cervenak who is 3rd in at bats (297), 7th in runs(48), 1st in hits (92), and 8th in average (.310). Andy Tracy is 5th in the league in walks (40), and 8th in the league in on base % (.392). Although struggling a bit lately, Brian Mazone remains among the IL pitching leaders. He is 7th in wins (7), 9th in ERA (3.29), 2nd in starts (16), first in innings (104.0), 4th in homers allowed (13), and 5th in WHIP (1.12). James Happ continues to lead the lead in strikeouts (99) and is 7th in innings pitched(94.1). Matt Childers has been very strong lately and is now 4th in the league with 11 saves.
Its Team USA v Team World again. The Phillies representatives, per Baseball America
LOU MARSON C
Double-A Reading/Phillies
After a slow start to his pro career offensively, Marson has improved markedly the last two seasons, showing improved power and a better ability to make consistent contact.
JASON DONALD SS
Double-A Reading/Phillies
Donald’s production as a pro has mirrored his college career at Arizona, only now he’s using wood bats. His steady approach and defensive versatility stand out.
GREG GOLSON OF
Double-A Reading/Phillies
Packed with offensive potential, Golson was having his best minor league season before a sprained left wrist sidelined him in June.
CARLOS CARRASCO RHP
Double-A Reading/Phillies
The Phillies’ top prospect since Cole Hamels graduated to the majors, Carrasco has flashed an improved curveball to complement his fastball and changeup this season
Golson likely won’t play, and its not a rule that he’ll be replaced by another Phillie.
