Look on the Bright Side...

Or if not the bright side, at least look to the future anyway. I've been slacking off on reporting about the goings on in the world of Phillies minor leaguers, but no more. We'll kick things off with a report on the Phillies AAA and AA squads in Ottawa and Reading in the afternoon and then follow up with the A+ and A ball teams in Clearwater and Lakewood. Without further ado, Ottawa and Reading (interesting numbers and pitching lines are in bold)

Ottawa 4/7

Chris Roberson (CF): 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, K, 2 E (2)
Danny Sandoval (SS): 1-6, K, E (1)
Brennan King (3B): 1-5, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 K
Jason Jaramillo (C): 2-4, 3B, 2 RBI, R, BB, K

Fabio Castro: 1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K
Yoel Hernandez: 1 IP 4 H 3 ER 0 BB 0 K
Eude Brito: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
Brian Sanches: 1 IP 1 H 2 ER 0 BB 2 K wild pitch

Wacky opening night for Ottawa, but good to see the two most important prospects on the team (Jaramillo and Castro) play well.

Ottawa 4/9

Chris Roberson (CF): 1-5, RBI, OF assist (1)
Brennan King (3B): 1-4, E (1)
Jason Jaramillo (C): 1-4, K
Danny Sandoval (SS): 2-4, 2B, R

Not a single interesting pitcher to discuss threw for Ottawa…good times.

Reading 4/5

Jovan Moran (CF): 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, K, SB (1)
Mike Costanzo (3B): 1-4, HR (1), RBI, R, 2 K

Julio De La Cruz: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K
Bubba Nelson: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K
Anderson Garcia: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K

Jovan Moran was reacquired this offseason from the Cincinnati Reds in the Jeff Conine swap. The 24 year old can run really, really fast and does a good job of never striking out and never taking a walk; what a fun player. Costanzo is the Phillies most advanced hitting prospect who is facing a gigantic year in his development as a 23 year old at AA. How Costanzo hits this season will undoubtedly have a great impact on how the Phillies approach the 2007/2008 offseason with regard to shopping for a third baseman.

Garcia and De La Cruz are both 26 years old, and Bubba Nelson is 25; all three guys were obtained in different have taken different paths to Reading, but they all represent the beauty that is the fungible relief pitcher. I’d personally like to see Nelson, a free agent pickup at the end of spring training, to make an appearance in the Phillies bullpen before all is said and done.

Reading 4/6

Jovan Moran (CF): 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, BB
Mike Costanzo (3B): 2-4, HR (2), RBI, R, K

Matt Maloney: 5 IP 2 H 2 ER 4 BB 3 K
Nate Johnson: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K
Anderson Garcia: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K

Maloney had a decent debut at Reading after jumping from Lakewood to AA; the 23 year old looks to convince the powers that be that he isn’t necessarily destined to a future in the bullpen with a great 2007. Nate Johnson is 25 years old and needs to keep throwing well to have a chance to make it to Philly someday; for whatever reason, I have a rather large soft spot for the guy.

Reading 4/7

Javon Moran (CF): 2-4, 2B, 3 R, 2 SB (3/3 on year)
Mike Costanzo (3B): 1-4, 3 K

Kyle Kendrick: 6 IP 5 H 2 ER 0 BB 3 K wild pitch
Nick Evangelista: 1.2 IP 2 H 1 ER 0 BB 3 K
Julio De La Cruz: 1.2 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K

Good first start for Kendrick and Moran keeps on hitting…even though the R-Phils are devoid of prospects for the most part, they’ve played what appears to be some entertaining ball so far. Although basing an assumption on that on box scores alone seems a bit silly, come to think of it…oh well, it takes too much effort to delete, so it stays.

Reading 4/9

Javon Moran (CF): 1-4, 2B
Mike Costanzo (3B): 0-4, RBI, 3 K

Bubba Nelson: 2 IP 1 H 1 ER 0 BB 3 K

Moran had 13 doubles in 293 minor league at bats last season; he has 4 in 16 so far in ’07. Costanzo has a whopping 9 strikeouts in 16 at bats through 4 games, not a great sign.