Skip to main content

Minors Rundown: Asche, Biddle, Hanson, Charles, GCL

Cody Asche, photo- Jay Floyd
Third baseman Cody Asche has been on a torrid pace of late. Asche, a University of Nebraska product, is showing more and more that he's ready for a bigger challenge. The 23-year-old lefty batter has gone 14-for-33 (.424 avg) along with three doubles, five homers and 12 RBI in his last eight contests with the IronPigs.

Overall this season, Asche, who represented Lehigh Valley in the Triple-A All-Star Game earlier this month, is batting .295 with 15 home runs and 68 RBI in 104 games.

On the latest edition of the PhoulBallz Podcast, Asche was featured as a call-in guest. When asked when he'll feel ready for the bigger challenge of the major leagues, he said the following:

"Whenever (the Phillies) tell me. That's when I feel like I'm ready. There's a lot of guys in this organization that are really smart and they know what they're doing and they've been through this before with many players, so, you know, I 100-percent trust what they have in store for me and what they have planned for me. So, until they call me and say, 'Hey, you're ready! Let's go do it.', then I'm gonna keep working hard to be the best player I can be."

Lefty pitching prospect Jesse Biddle has had a pair of considerably poor outings in a row for Double-A Reading. On July 23rd, against Binghamton, the Phillies 1st round draft pick from 2010 allowed four earned runs while lasting just 2/3 of an inning. His next time out, against New Britain on Sunday, the 21-year-old surrendered five earned runs in 1 1/3 innings. The rough stretch has raised Biddle's season ERA from 3.19 to 3.89.

Class A Lakewood right-hander Nic Hanson has been exceptional since coming off the disabled list with a groin issue. The six-foot-seven 210-pounder has posted a 1-1 record and a 0.72 ERA while striking out 16 and walking two in his last four starts. Overall this season, last year's 16th round draft pick has a 2-2 record with a 2.38 ERA and 7.13 K/9 mark in 16 outings, including a rehab appearance with the Gulf Coast League team.

Also for Lakewood, first baseman Art Charles has had a hot week, going 10-for-26 (.385 avg) with four doubles, two triples and a home run along with 11 RBI over his last six games. Charles locked up a 4-3 win for the BlueClaws against Greenville on Sunday, as he mashed a two-run walk off triple with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning.  The 22-year-old left-handed hitter was acquired from Toronto during the preseason for pitcher Michael Schwimer.

In the rookie level Gulf Coast League, outfielder Wilmer Oberto and this year's first round draft pick shortstop J.P. Crawford rank 1st and 3rd in the league in OPS respectively, with 1.010 and .938 marks. The 20-year-old Oberto, a lefty hitter, has multiple hits in three of his last four games, while the 18-year-old Crawford, also a lefty batter, has swiped four bases in his last three contests.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Mike McGuire Living a Dream With Favorite Team

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Every young ballplayer grows up wishing he could play for his favorite team. Mike McGuire has an opportunity to do just that after signing with the Phillies organization in July. McGuire was a 43rd round draft pick taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. Early scouting reports liked McGuire's abilities, despite some arm trouble. He advanced as far as High A Level Kinston last season. While there, he posted an 0-3 record with a 5.46 ERA in 9 games, 8 of which were starts. The Indians weren't happy with McGuire's efforts this spring and released him. McGuire caught on with the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League, where he stayed in shape and pitched against other formerly affiliated minor leaguers. As a starter with the Skyhawks, McGuire went 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 8 outings. From there, just as all players in those independent leagues hope for, the 24-year-old McGuire got noticed. The Phillies wer...

Harry's Plaque Has Misprint

At the ballpark today for the first time since Harry Kalas was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday, I noticed an error in the text on his plaque. Verbage on the plaque reads like this... Voice of Phillies baseball on radio and TV for 39 seasons. Teamed with Richie Ashburn from 1971 until 1997. Harry was on the air for all of Mike Schmidt's 548 home runs, five Phillies no-hitters, seven National League Championship Series, three World Series, the first and final games at Veterans Stadium and the Citizens Bank Park 2004 opener. Received the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award in 2002 for "Major Contributions to Baseball" and was inducted into the broadcasters' wing at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. His calls were legendary, especially his signature home run call, "Outta heeere." On October 29, 2008, he brought utmost joy to Phillies fans: "The 0-2 pitch, swing and miss , struck him out. The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 Worl...

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...