Minor League Update

I have more stuff (response to comments from the past few days plus a huge draft review), but Blogger is making it hard on me, so this will have to do for now. The rest should be up later tonight, so get ready - the draft review is massive. Anyway, this is what I've got for now...

The last few days have seen some of the very best Phillies minor league pitching performances of the year. Put these great performances together with the recent addition of RHP Kyle Drabek through the draft and the Phillies minor league pitching depth is something for fans of this team to really be excited about.

AAA Scranton-WB

• Josh Kroeger: 0-1, DL
• Danny Sandoval: 6-12, 2 2B, 4 RBI, R, 2 K, E (8)
• Brennan King: 4-13, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 R, 3 K, E (7)
• Chris Roberson: 5-14, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 K
• Carlos Ruiz: 2-11, 2B, R, 3 BB, K

Good couple of days at the plate for some of the Red Barons prospects…it’s always interesting to see how guys respond upon returning to the minors after getting their first taste of the big leagues – both Chris Roberson and Carlos Ruiz seemed like they needed a game or two to adjust to AAA again, but they have been hot since then…especially Roberson…good for him

• Gavin Floyd (W, 1-0): 9 IP 7 H 1 ER 1 BB 9 K
• Travis Minix (L, 0-2): 1 IP 2 2H 1 ER 0 BB 0 K

Gavin Floyd’s performance against a good Chattanooga lineup is obviously very encouraging. He was freakishly consistent too – I can’t imagine too many outings where a pitcher throws a complete game with 9 ground outs, 9 fly outs, and 9 strikeouts. The Phillies now have a potential problem on their hands. The urge to promote Floyd back to the Philly rotation has got to be strong for those in the front office, but it would be wise to be patient with the young righthander’s development. Barring further injuries at the big league level, Gavin Floyd should be given five starts at AAA before the Phillies even think about bringing him back to Philadelphia.

• Matt Kata (Reds): 3-8, HR, 2 RBI, R
• Ryan Wagner (Reds): 1 IP 3 H 2 ER 0 BB 1 K

Kata, the former Phil, has seemingly played everywhere for the Reds AAA squad this year. Every time I check the boxscore, he is listed at a new position. For his sake, I hope this versatility is his ticket back to the bigs some day. Wagner’s stock keeps slipping, but he has plenty of talent and should not be overlooked as a prospect despite his early major league struggles.

AA Reading

• Michael Bourn: 2-6, R, 2 BB, SB (19)
• Tim Moss: 4-7, HR, RBI, BB, 3 R, 3 K
• Jason Jaramillo: 0-5, RBI, K
• Angel Chavez: 2-8, RBI, K, SB
• Scott Mathieson: 1-1, HR, 2 RBI, R
  

• Scott Mathieson (W, 6-2): 8 IP 8 H 3 ER 2 BB 8 K
• Daniel Haigwood (L, 1-5): 7.1 IP 3 H 4 ER 2 BB 8 K

Tim Moss came back from his suspension with a bang – I think a 4 for 4 game at the plate (including his 6^th homer of the year) qualifies as a bang, no? It’s unfortunate he followed it up with an 0 for 3, 3 K night, but you can’t have it all, right? Jaramillo hasn’t been quite as successful since coming back from the DL…

Mathieson’s latest start at AA was witnessed first hand by all kinds of Phillies executives including Dallas Green and John Vukovich. The big Canadian did not disappoint and all signs now point to him being the first minor league starting pitcher of the current crop of arms to reach the majors. If Eude Brito struggles tonight then maybe, just maybe, Mathieson gets the call to Philly.

Haigwood’s start the night after Mathieson’s was even better – his line was made ugly by a couple inherited runners scoring after he left the game. If Haigwood can keep improving his control, he’ll also find himself in the running for a possible emergency start promotion to the big club.

High A Clearwater

• Mike Costanzo: 4-12, 2B, RBI, 3 R, BB, 4 K, E (6)
• Brad Harman: 2-11, R, BB, K, 2 E (20)
• Bryan Hansen: 3-8, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, BB, K, CS
• Tuffy Gosewisch: 0-6, BB, 2 K
  
  
• Kyle Kendrick (L, 1-3): 6 IP 7 H 5 R 3 ER 3 BB 4 K
• J.A. Happ (W, 3-6): 8 IP 2 H 1 ER 3 BB 10 K
• Derek Griffith: 2.1 IP 8 H 6 ER 2 BB 3 K

Floyd, Mathieson, Haigwood…and don’t forget J.A. Happ. Happ had the best start out of the four and has had a great stretch on the mound as of late. He absolutely needs to get promoted to Reading…

Low A Lakewood

• Greg Golson: 3-8, 2 2B, RBI, R, 2 SB (9), 2 K (.203)
• Welinson Baez: 0-2, 2 K, E (18)
• Lou Marson: 0-3, BB
• Jeremy Slayden: 3-6, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, E (3)
• Clay Harris: 1-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R, HBP, 3 K
• Sean Gamble: 0-4, K, released

• Josh Outman (W, 2-4): 5.1 IP 5 H 1 R 0 ER 4 BB 3 K
• Maximino De La Cruz: 6 IP 6 H 4 R 1 ER 3 BB 2 K
• Pat Overholt (L, 3-3): 1 IP 1 H 1 ER 3 BB 1 K

Sean Gamble…another wasted pick…the Phillies released the promising outfielder under the cloud of mysterious bad attitude allegations…sometimes it is frustrating being a Phillies fan...