Minor League Update 4/13, 4/14, and 4/15

Ottawa 4/14 (DH)

Chris Roberson (CF): 2-4
Chris Coste (C): 1-3, K
Brennan King (3B): 1-3
Danny Sandoval (SS): 1-3

I'm ready for either Chris Roberson or Chris Coste to get called up to replace the not quite ready for primetime Michael Bourn. Bourn ought to be playing everyday in Canada, not serving as Pat Burrell's legs with the big club.

Zack Segovia: 6 IP 5 H 4 ER 2 BB 3 K wild pitch

12 groundouts to 3 flyouts for Segovia on the night, a silver lining on an otherwise unspectacular outing.

Ottawa 4/14 (DH)

Chris Roberson (CF): 1-3, RBI, R, BB
Chris Coste (DH): 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Brennan King (3B): 0-3, R, BB
Jason Jaramillo (C): 1-3, R
Danny Sandoval (SS): 2-3, 2B, RBI

Eude Brito: 0 IP 2 H 2 ER 1 BB 0 K
Yoel Hernandez: 1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K
Brian Sanches: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K

Brito's rough night leads to his ERA jumping to 18.00 through 2 innings.

Reading 4/13

Javon Moran (CF): 3-5, R, SB and CS (5/6 on year)
Mike Costanzo (3B): 0-4, K, E (6)

Kyle Kendrick: 6 IP 8 H 3 ER 1 BB 2 K
Nate Johnson: 2 IP 4 H 3 ER 1 BB 1 K

Reading 4/14

Javon Moran (CF): 2-6, RBI, 2 R, SB (7/8)
Mike Costanzo (3B): 2-3, 2B, RBI, R, 2 BB, K

With the two walk day, Costanzo now has a BB/K ratio of 3/14 through 35 at bats.

Bubba Nelson: 0.2 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K
Anderson Garcia: 2 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K

Clearwater 4/13

Greg Golson (CF): 1-4, RBI, K, E (1)
Brad Harman (2B): 0-4, 2 K
Jeremy Slayden (RF): 2-4, 2B, R, K
Clay Harris (3B): 0-4, E (2)
Welinson Baez (DH): 1-4, 2B, RBI, K
Lou Marson (C): 2-4, 2B, 2 R, E (2)
Fidel Hernandez (SS): 1-4

Carlos Carrasco: 3.1 IP 7 H 7 ER 1 BB 3 K wild pitch
Derek Griffith: 2.2 IP 0 H 0 ER 3 BB 5 K
Mike Zagurski: 1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 3 K
Will Savage: 1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K

One plus in having Carlos Carrasco get shelled is that the bullpen guys get plenty of opportunities to impress. Griffith, Zagurski, and Savage all have kept opposing hitters at bay this season combining on 13.1 innings of scoreless baseball. Zagurski has a whopping nine strikeouts in his 4 innings of work so far.

Clearwater 4/14

Greg Golson (CF): 2-4, 2B, R, K, SB (4)
Jeremy Slayden (DH): 1-3, R, BB
Clay Harris (1B): 0-3, RBI, 2 R, BB, K
Welinson Baez (3B): 2-3, HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB, K
Brad Harman (SS): 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 K
Lou Marson (C): 0-3, RBI, K

Reports out of Clearwater claim that Welinson Baez is the early frontrunner for most improved player on the Threshers squad - his homer in this game was apparently a 420 foot bomb that got the attention of scouts in attendance.

Daniel Brauer: 6 IP 1 H 0 ER 3 BB 9 K
Zac Stott: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K

Two great starts for Brauer so far and rumor has it that his velocity has seen a bit of a jump in the early going - it goes without saying, but a couple more ticks on his fastball make him an even more interesting prospect than he already is.

Clearwater 4/15

Greg Golson (CF): 2-4
Jeremy Slayden (DH): 1-3, 2 RBI, R, BB
Welinson Baez (3B): 1-4, 2B, RBI, R, K
Lou Marson (C): 2-3, RBI, K
Fidel Hernandez (SS): 0-4

It's early, but Greg Golson has been hitting and hitting with power. He is 14 for his 41 (.341 average) and 6 of those 14 hits are for extra bases (.561 slugging). His BB/K ratio still leaves something to be desired (1/10 ain't gonna cut it), but it's been a nice first 10 games for the former first rounder.

Andrew Carpenter: 7 IP 3 H 0 ER 0 BB 5 K
Brett Harker: 1 IP 3 H 2 ER 0 BB 0 K

Carpenter followed up fellow 2006 college draftee Dan Brauer's stellar start with a pretty damn impressive outing of his own. Brett Harker has been a disaster so far this year, I can't help but wonder if he is hurting.

Lakewood 4/13

Quintin Berry (LF): 2-4, 2B, 2 R, K
Jason Donald (SS): 2-4, 3B, RBI, 2 R, K, 2 CS (now 0/3 on the year)
Adrian Cardenas (2B): 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, K
Tuffy Gosewisch (C): 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 3 K
Jay Miller (DH): 3-5, RBI, R, K
Gus Milner (RF): 2-4, RBI, BB
C.J. Henry (3B): 0-4, BB, 2 K
Julian Williams (CF): 0-3, RBI, R, K

Great day for the BlueClaws lineup, you'll win a couple of games when you're first six batters all have multiple hit days. Cardenas' batting average (.333 through 7 games) may be a tad empty (only one extra base hit and 2 walks), but it is still damn impressive for a 19-year old in full season ball.

Darren Byrd: 4 IP 5 H 4 ER 3 BB 5 K HBP
Ben Pfinsgraff: 3.1 IP 2 H 0 ER 2 BB 3 K
Andrew Cruse: 1.2 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 2 K wild pitch

Ben Pfinsgraff continues to make me look like an ass by pitching so well at Lakewood - 7.2 scoreless innings so far for the former Maryland Terrapin.

Minor League Report

The Phillies will try for elusive win number two tonight as Adam Eaton takes the mound for the good guys looking for his first win as a member of the team that drafted him. He'll be opposed by the erratic, but talented lefthander Oliver Perez. I'd say more, but I've got tickets to see Felix Hernandez vs. Daisuke Matsuzaka tonight at Fenway. Since you're probably jealous, I offer up a hearty dose of Phillies minor league action to read all about - fair trade, no? Boy, oh boy, can't wait to see how the Lynx did last night! Suckers.

Ottawa 4/10

Chris Roberson (CF): 0-4, 2 K, E (3)
Chris Coste (1B): 0-3, 2 BB
Brennan King (3B): 1-4
Danny Sandoval (SS): 0-4
Jason Jaramillo (C): 0-3, BB

J.A. Happ: 5 IP 0 H 0 ER 3 BB 6 K
Joe Bisenius: 0.2 IP 2 H 3 ER 1 BB 0 K
Eude Brito: 1 IP 3 H 2 ER 1 BB 1 K
Yoel Hernandez: 1.1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K

Happ impressed with five innings of no hit ball, only to see Bisenius and Brito find ways to blow the lead against Buffalo. J.A. kept up his crazy flyball tendencies by getting eight of his nine non-strikeout outs on balls hit in the air. Terrible night by the Lynx position players, especially Roberson (3 errors already?).

Reading 4/10

Javon Moran (CF): 2-5, 2B, RBI, K
Mike Costanzo (3B): 0-4, K, 3 E (5)

Nate Johnson: 1 IP 3 H 1 ER 0 BB 0 K wild pitch
Nick Evangelista: 1 IP 4 H 3 ER 0 BB 2 K
Anderson Garcia: 1 IP 3 H 1 ER 0 BB 2 K wild pitch

Wow, at least Ottawa had good performances out of Happ and Hernandez; Reading was terrible last night. Johnson, Evangelista, and Garcia all got hit hard, and Mike Costanzo had an epically bad night – his 3 errors (2 fielding, 1 throwing) give him 5 on the year and his strikeout gives him 10 in 20 at bats. At least Javon Moran keeps up his hot hitting; another double tonight gives him 5 in 21 at bats, a pretty impressive feat considering he only had 13 in 293 last year (I know I mentioned this previously, but it boggles my mind for some reason).

Lakewood 4/10

Quintin Berry (LF): 1-5, R, K, E (1)
Jason Donald (SS): 3-5, 2B, 2 R, K
Adrian Cardenas (2B): 1-3, R, BB, 2 K
Tuffy Gosewisch (C): 0-2, R, 3 BB, K
Jay Miller (DH): 0-2, RBI, 2 R, BB, HBP
Gus Milner (RF): 3-5, 2 2B, 5 RBI, R, K, OF assist (1)
C.J. Henry (3B): 1-4, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K
Doug Morales (1B): 1-4, BB
Julian Williams (CF): 1-4, RBI, R, BB

Kyle Drabek: 6 IP 5 H 1 ER 2 BB 4 K
Alex Concepcion: 2 IP 1 H 0 ER 1 BB 2 K
Justin Blaine: 1 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K

Lakewood drilled West Virginia last night behind big hits from Jason Donald and Gus Milner, and a strong starting turn by last year’s first rounder Kyle Drabek. Speaking of Drabek, from the April 1 edition of Future Shock from Baseball Prospectus:

2006 first-round pick Kyle Drabek had a tough pro debut with the Phillies, and one scout in Florida was unpleasantly surprised by the righthander when he saw him pitch for the first time. "I just expected much more out of him," he said. "There's no way, no how he's six feet tall. He's maybe 5-foot-10, and stocky and muscly, and there's just nothing to project on." And the stuff? "The curveball is good, but he was like 88-92 mph and I was not impressed--I don't see him as much more than a reliever."

This more or less directly contradicts reports from spring training published by Baseball America, so take it with a grain of salt. I’m still certain that no player in the Phillies system has more star potential than Drabek, though admittedly his skill set makes him a bit of a boom-or-bust kind of prospect. For what it’s worth, unsubstantiated reports from last night game had Drabek hitting the mid-90s with his fastball while trying to work in his newly refined changeup (in the low 70s), a “show me” slider (mid 80s), and his best pitch, the spike curve (76 mph – 82 mph).

Look on the Bright Side...(Ver. 2.0)

Check out recaps of Phillies prospects currently at Ottawa and Reading right here. See what's going on at Clearwater and Lakewood below (interesting numbers and pitching lines in bold).

And because I had nowhere else to put it, the Phillies made some roster moves over the past few days that I keep forgetting to mention. Chris Coste, Joe Bisenius, and Zack Segovia are all now with Ottawa; Jon Lieber and Francisco Rosario are Phillies; and Joe Thurston was promoted from Reading to Ottawa after the Phillies traded Brent Abernathy to Washington. Now that you are all caught up, on to the minors...

Clearwater 4/5

Greg Golson (CF): 3-4, 3B, 2B, RBI, 3 R
Brad Harman (2B): 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Lou Marson (C): 0-0, R, BB, HBP
Jeremy Slayden (DH): 2-3, 2 RBI, BB
Clay Harris (3B): 0-2, 2 RBI, E (1)

Chris Coste (C): 1-2, RBI, R
Freddy Garcia: 3.1 IP 3 H 0 ER 1 BB 7 K

Pat Overholt: 4.2 IP 3 H 1 ER 2 BB 4 K
Mike Zagurski: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K

Overholt is a 23 year old, short righthander coming off of a very good year spent between Lakewood and Clearwater; biggest challenge facing him going forward will be his coming to terms with shoring up his spotty control. Zagurski is a 24 year old short lefthander coming off a dominating season pitching out of the bullpen in Lakewood; as a college draft pick (University of Kansas), Zagurski has to pitch well enough to convince the Phillies to pick up their timetable with him or risk becoming the classic example of an older minor leaguer feasting on less experienced players.

Clearwater 4/6

Greg Golson (CF): 2-5, 2B, R, K, 2 SB (2)
Brad Harman (2B): 0-5, R, 3 K
Jeremy Slayden (DH): 3-5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, R
Clay Harris (1B): 2-5, HR, RBI, R, 2 K
Welinson Baez (3B): 1-4, R, HBP
Fidel Hernandez (SS): 2-4, 2 E (2)

Slayden can hit, that much should now be obvious. The next step for the Phillies is to keep him in Clearwater a bit longer, let him get some time at first base and the outfield corners, and then finally promote him to Reading. I know he is a butcher in the field (or so I’ve been told), but if he can at least pretend to play those few positions then he’d make a very valuable (and cheap) bench bat for the Phillies in a year or two.

Chris Coste (C): 1-4, 2B, R, K
Jon Lieber: 3.2 IP 4 H 1 ER 0 BB 4 K

Derek Griffith: 0.1 IP 0 H 0 ER 1 BB 0 K
Josh Outman: 2.1 IP 7 H 6 ER 3 BB 3 K wild pitch

Griffith is a giant 24 lefthanded pitcher who is a marginal prospect…at best. Outman is a 22 year old lefty who seemingly has a future as a big league reliever…at worst.

Clearwater 4/7

Greg Golson (CF): 1-5, HR, RBI, R, 2 K
Brad Harman (2B): 0-5, 2 K
Jeremy Slayden (DH): 2-4, R
Clay Harris (3B/1B): 0-4, RBI, K
Lou Marson (C): 1-3, BB, K
Fidel Hernandez (SS): 1-4, RBI, K, E (3)

Chris Coste (1B/3B): 2-4, R

Carlos Carrasco: 5.2 IP 3 H 0 ER 3 BB 4 K HBP
Will Savage: 2 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K
Brett Harker: 1 IP 3 H 2 ER 1 BB 1 K

I wrote in the Lakewood portion below about how exciting the debuts of Drabek and Edgar Garcia were; Carlos Carrasco’s was right up there with them. I compared Carrasco’s development to Ryan Madson’s a few months ago (the good Ryan Madson, for the record), so I’m anxious to see what kind of performance he puts up in his Age 20 season in advanced A ball. Savage is arguably the best relief prospect to come out of the 2006 draft for the Phillies, he has legitimate bullpen sleeper potential.

Clearwater 4/9

Greg Golson (CF): 1-4, RBI, K, PO (1)
Brad Harman (2B): 3-4, 2 R
Jeremy Slayden (RF): 1-3, 2B, RBI, R, BB
Clay Harris (3B): 1-4, R, K
Lou Marson (C): 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI

Dan Brauer: 5 IP 6 H 1 ER 2 BB 3 K
Andrew Carpenter: 4 IP 3 H 1 ER 3 BB 4 K

Very encouraging night for the Threshers. 2006 draftees Brauer and Carpenter teamed up to hold Dunedin to just two runs, Brad Harman busted out with 3 hits, and Jeremy Slayden was freed from his personal designated hitter prison. It’s only been 15 at bats, but Slayden has a line of .533/.588/.867 on the year so far. Greg Golson is right there behind him with a line of .389/.368/.778 through 18 at bats.

Lakewood 4/5

Quintin Berry (LF): 1-5, RBI, R
Jason Donald (SS): 2-4, RBI, R, BB, K
Adrian Cardenas (2B): 1-4, RBI, R, BB, K
Tuffy Gosewisch (C): 0-4, BB, 2 K
Jay Miller (DH): 1-5, RBI, R, 2 K
Gus Milner (RF): 1-4, K
C.J. Henry (3B): 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 E (2)
Julian Williams (CF): 0-3, R, BB, K

Carlos Monasterios: 0.2 IP 5 H 7 ER 1 BB 0 K
Justin Blaine: 4.1 IP 3 H 2 ER 1 BB 3 K
Jarrod Freeman: 1 IP 3 H 2 ER 0 BB 1 K
Alex Concepcion: 2 IP 3 H 0 ER 1 BB 3 K
Ronald Hill: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K

Monasterios, one of the prizes from the Bobby Abreu deal, had as bad a debut performance as you’ll ever see. The 21 year old righthander has an ERA of 94.50 to start off his season and somehow managed to throw 3 wild pitches while throwing to 9 batters; nowhere to go, but up…right?

Blaine is a big 23 year old lefty out of San Diego. Freeman is one of my favorite prospects in all the organization, a deep sleeper with a projectable frame (6’3”, 195) who suffered from a lack of exposure leading up to last year’s draft (not too many scouts plan trips to watch high school ball in Utah). He joins Adrian Cardenas as another teenager on the Lakewood squad (he’ll be 19 all season long). The organization is reportedly very high on the 22 year old native of the Dominican Republic, Alex Concepcion; it should be interesting how he does in his first crack at full season ball stateside. Ron Hill is a fringy minor league bullpen arm that is old for his league (24), but was a nice draft pick a few years back by the Phillies – I like the idea of targeting underused collegiate arms in the very late rounds of the draft and sticking them in the bullpen. Growing your own bullpen arms is all about quantity, quantity, quantity…if you have a good idea of what to look for and you try multiple ways of searching for it, good things will happen.

Lakewood 4/6

Quintin Berry (CF): 2-4, 2 R, BB, K, SB (1)
Jason Donald (SS): 2-5, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 K
Adrian Cardenas (2B): 0-4, RBI, R, 2 K
Tuffy Gosewisch (C): 2-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, R
Jay Miller (DH): 0-4, K
Gus Milner (RF): 2-4, 3B, R, 2 K
C.J. Henry (3B): 1-3, 3B, 2 R, K, HBP, SB (1)
Julian Williams (LF): 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB
Doug Morales (1B): 0-1

Edgar Garcia: 7 IP 4 H 1 ER 0 BB 5 K
Kyle Drabek: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 3 K
Garet Hill: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K

See, there is hope after all. Garcia and Drabek represent a whole lot of what is promising in the organization. The teenage duo (Garcia doesn’t turn 20 until September, Drabek won’t get there until December) were both sensational in their debuts.

Lakewood 4/7

Quintin Berry (CF): 1-4
Jason Donald (SS): 1-4, E (1)
Adrian Cardenas (2B): 2-4, K
Tuffy Gosewisch (DH): 0-4, 3 K
Jay Miller (LF): 1-4
Gus Milner (RF): 2-4, 2B, R
Joel Naughton (C): 1-3

Great to see Naughton get a start behind the dish, the Phillies have high hopes that the young catcher out of Australia will have a strong year in full season ball.

Darren Byrd: 4.1 IP 3 H 3 ER 4 BB 3 K
Mike Dubee: 1.2 IP 2 H 0 ER 0 BB 0 K
Ben Pfinsgraff: 2 IP 0 H 0 ER 1 BB 1 K
Andrew Cruse: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 3 K

Cruse may take exception to the comment I made about Will Savage emerging as the best relief prospect the Phillies took in 2006; I’m surprised the Phils decided to start him in Lakewood rather than Clearwater though. I like Dubee way more than most, but am still very apprehensive about labeling Pfinsgraff a real prospect despite his success as a pro thus far – prove me wrong, Ben, prove me wrong.

Lakewood 4/9

Quintin Berry (LF): 1-4, BB, CS (1)
Jason Donald (SS): 0-4
Adrian Cardenas (2B): 1-4, R, K, CS (1)
Tuffy Gosewisch (C): 1-4, 2B, RBI, K
Jay Miller (DH): 1-4, 2B, R, K
Gus Milner (RF): 0-3, R, BB, 2 K, SB (1)
C.J. Henry (3B): 1-3, 2B, RBI, R, BB, SB (2)
Julian Williams (CF): 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, SB (1), CS (1)

Berry, Williams, and Milner must make up one heck of a defensive outfield - 2 natural centerfielders and a man with a rocket in right.

Jarrod Freeman: 4.2 IP 5 H 3 ER 3 BB 6 K
Ben Pfinsgraff: 2.1 IP 1 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
Ron Hill: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 1 K
Andrew Cruse: 1 IP 0 H 0 ER 0 BB 2 K

Jay Miller is well on his way to being dropped from the daily minor league updates…nothing personal, buddy. Jarrod Freeman didn’t have a great start by many standards, but the six strikeouts in 4.2 innings is a nice sign. Pfinsgraff continues to impress, I love being proved wrong in cases like this.

Berry is a 22 year old outfielder drafted out of San Diego State last year who struggled adjusting to professional ball at Batavia.

Henry turns 21 at the end of May and it is believed that he is repeating Lakewood to both adjust to third base and to finally get a taste of some professional success at an age-appropriate level.

Milner is a very athletic 23 year old outfielder taken out of the University of Kansas last year. He is raw for a college player but has an interesting blend of speed, size, and power that makes him a name to keep in the back of your mind.

The 22 year old Donald is the best shortstop prospect in a system very thin in that area.

Adrian Cardenas is the best looking young hitter in the organization. The Phillies were relatively aggressive in promoting him to full season ball as a teenager (he is 19 years of age), but his All-Star season in the GCL last year forced their hand. Cardenas is ready to handle the challenge at Lakewood.

Gosewisch was reportedly ready to either repeat Clearwater or advance to Reading, but was instead left behind in Lakewood to serve as the veteran backstop for the promising BlueClaws rotation. While it may be a bit of a tough break for Tuffy, it stinks to be in A ball as a guy turning 24 in August, but it’s a very bright move by the organization to think of their group of talented Lakewood starting pitchers first and foremost.

Williams will be 24 in July and is an A ball repeater. Miller was drafted out of Washington State last year and will be 24 in August. Both players ought to be hopeful of careers as minor league mercenaries because their major league futures are simply not bright. I’ll keep track of their progress for now, but it won’t be long before I lose the will to talk about such marginal A ball players. Sorry, guys.

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.