Skip to main content

Weekly Minor League Wrap Up, 5/6/12

By
Welcome to the (semi-)weekly minor league wrap up.  This edition takes a glance at each level of the Phillies' developmental system and details hot and cold players from each club.

Lakewood

Who's Hot-

Local product Bob Stumpo (pictured, right) has been hot for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws through his first 5 games with the club. The West Chester University grad, who was a 33rd round draft selection in 2010, has gone 10-for-21 in the South Atlantic League thus far, after being re-assigned from Clearwater. Combined at two levels this year, the switch-hitting catcher posted a .405 batting average through action on Saturday.

Who's Not-

Brian Pointer, who had been a standout star for the BlueClaws in the opening three weeks of the season, hit a slow spell this week, going 1-for-20 over a stretch of five games to drop his batting average over 50 points. Pointer still sported a .253 average with 5 HR and 19 RBI through 26 games through action on Saturday. The lefty hitting Pointer was a 28th round draft choice by the Phillies in 2010.

Well regarded third base prospect Maikel Franco has seen his production drop off lately. In a 9-game stretch that ended Friday, the 19-year-old third baseman had gone 2-for-35 (.057 avg), a slump that dropped the Dominican born slugger’s average from .295 down to .208.


Clearwater

Who's Hot-

Third baseman Cody Asche has been steadily showing his worth this season for Class A Advanced Clearwater. The Phillies’ 4th round draft pick from 2011 sported a .322 batting average, through action on Friday, which ranked him 7th in the Florida State League. The 21-year-old attended the University of Nebraska prior to turning pro. Asche batted .192 with 2 HR and 19 RBI in 68 games with short-season Williamsport last year.

Left-handed starting pitcher Austin Wright (pictured, left), 22, has been excellent for the Threshers, posting a 4-0 record with a 2.40 ERA and a .182 batting average against in 5 outings this season. Additionally, the 8th round draft selection from 2011 has struck out 37 batters while walking 12 in 30 innings. Wright, a University of Mississippi product, went 4-3 with a 3.03 ERA while striking out 85 batters and walking 22 in 68 1/3 innings in 15 games combined for short-season Williamsport and Lakewood last season.

Who's Not-

Right-handed hurler Garett Claypool has had a troublesome season thus far, tallying a 9.98 ERA through 9 relief outings for the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers. The 23-year-old UCLA product had the worst outing of his career on Friday, when he was charged with 6 earned runs without recording an out in an appearance against Charlotte. Claypool was terrific last season, when he sported a 5-7 record with a 3.47 ERA in 27 games (23 starts) for Lakewood.


Reading

Who's Hot-
Reading second baseman Cesar Hernandez (pictured, right) has picked up his offensive game lately, posting a .385 batting average in his past 10 games, ending Friday. Hernandez capped off a stretch in which he had multiple hits in 5 of 8 games with a 4-for-5 effort including 2 doubles and 3 RBI in Friday’s victory over Erie. The 21-year-old Venezuela native sported a .268 batting average in 119 games with Clearwater last season.

Who's Not-

Outfielder Leandro Castro has struggled lately for the Double-A Reading Phillies. The 22-year-old went 3-for-32 (.091 avg) over a ten game stretch that wrapped up Friday. Overall this season, the Dominican born Castro is batting .212 with 1 HR and 15 RBI in 24 games, through action on Friday.


Lehigh Valley

Who's Hot-

Lefty reliever Jake Diekman has been tremendous out of the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ bullpen this season. In 11 outings, the 25-year-old has posted a 1-0 record with 4 saves and a 0.73 ERA. Additionally, Diekman’s strikeout to walk ratio (20:3 in 12 1/3 innings) is just about as good as it gets. Diekman was the Phillies’ 30th round draft selection in 2007.

Who's Not-

Domonic Brown is still without a homerun through 24 games with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, after action on Friday. The top rated Phillies prospect entered the weekend with a .247/.292/.337 line through 24 games.

Outfielder Scott Podsednik has posted a .190 batting average for the IronPigs through 17 games, prior to Saturday. Podsednik batted .309 in 31 spring training games with the Phillies this year.

__________________________________________________________


You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.


Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 73

By
Danny Ozark was the Phillies' manager from 1973-1979. During his tenure as the team's general, Ozark led Philadelphia to three straight division titles. In his playing days, Ozark was a first baseman, who was a career minor leaguer in the Dodgers system. When Ozark took over the team in 1973, the Phillies were fresh off 5 consecutive losing seasons and 3 straight last place finishes. During his first season in charge, the Phillies would again finish in last place, 20 games under .500, but as his core of young talent, like Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa, developed, the Phillies' win totals rose. Within 2 years, the Phillies were above .500 and in the playoff hunt until late in the season and the most successful era of Phillies history was about to begin. By 1976, the Phillies were headed to the post-season for the first time since 1950. The Phils would enjoy a 10-game lead over their nearest division rival at the midway point of the season. Despite a lul, which saw their lead d...
2 comments
Read more

PhoulBallz Interview: First round pick Bryson Stott

By
Bryson Stott, image- Jay Floyd Shortstop Bryson Stott , the Phillies' first round draft selection this year, has enjoyed a successful initial pro campaign.  En route to being recognized as an All-Star for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters the 21-year-old UNLV product has tallied a .295 average with six home runs and 25 RBI in 45 minor league contests. Last week I spoke with the lefty hitting Stott to discuss his transition to professional baseball, joining the Phillies organization and plenty more.  Read ahead for that interview.  -Obviously, your performance and the production on the field is going well, but how do you feel you have adapted to the pro life? It feels good.  You hear about the everyday grind, but you don't really believe it till you feel it. I would say that's the difference between college and the pros, is you're not practicing, you're playing games every day.  I would say that's the biggest difference.  But I...
Post a Comment
Read more

Velasquez shut down, Eflin on deck?

By
Eflin with Reading in 2015, image- Jay Floyd Following Vincent Velasquez leaving his start after just two pitches for the Phillies on Wednesday, righty prospect Zach Eflin was pulled from his start for Triple-A Lehigh Valley at Gwinnett. The 22-year-old sports a 5-1 record with a 3.14 ERA and a .210 batting average against in 10 starts for the IronPigs this season. He could take the place of Velasquez if he is required to miss any additional time. Initial word on Velasquez after he threw two fastballs that clocked in the 86-87 MPH range (considerably slower than the 94 MPH he averages) and was swiftly pulled from his outing, is that he has a biceps strain. He'll be further evaluated in the coming days. Prior to the regular season, Eflin got a taste of competing against big leaguers when he was charged with 12 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits while striking out two and walking one with a wild pitch in three innings of work in an intrasquad exhibition that pitted the Phils...
Post a Comment
Read more