Skip to main content

Reading righty Lively honored as EL Pitcher of the Week

Ben Lively, image- Tug Haines
On Monday, Ben Lively became the second Reading Fightins hurler in three weeks to be named as the Double-A Eastern League's Pitcher of the Week.

Lively, who was acquired last off-season from Cincinnati for Marlon Byrd, notched two wins along with a 2.08 ERA while striking out 16 and walking just two in 13 innings for the Fightins during the week of April 27th through May 3rd.

The 23-year-old attributes his recent success to learning from his own mistakes.

"I've just been working on some stuff," Lively explained. "I was all over the place my first few games, it felt like to me. I mean I did alright, but I expected to do better, so I worked harder and it paid off."

According to Reading skipper Dusty Wathan, Lively is able to make improvements when and where others aren't able to, which has helped the Florida native make an impact.

"The biggest thing was he went into the sixth inning (on Sunday) and that was his best inning, so it showed me that he can make adjustments as the game went on. And as the game went on, he got better, which is good to see because a lot of these young pitchers, they can't make adjustments in the game and, hopefully, those adjustments can come quicker- inning to inning, pitch to pitch," Wathan stated.

Lively, originally a 4th round draft selection by the Reds in 2013, sports a four-pitch repertoire including a change up, a curve ball and a slider, but leans on his fastball, which mainly resides in the low-90's as his go-to offering in critical spots.

"He's a tremendous athlete, a good competitor, he's got a fastball that kind of plays a little bit better than what the velocity says. I think guys don't see it well," said Wathan.

As part of a highly touted starting rotation for Reading, which includes righty Zach Eflin, 2010 top Phils draft choice Jesse Biddle, last year's first round draft selection Aaron Nola and lefty Tom Windle, Lively cites a competition among his fellow hurlers as a factor that could drive him all season long.

"All five of us are fired up and we're competitors and we're competing among each other, pushing each other, and it's kind of cool to get noticed for it."

Among his peers, consistency is the aspect of Lively's game that stands out, according to Wathan.

"He throws a lot of strikes, Wathan stated, "I mean, if you can throw a lot of strikes you're going to have a good chance to win ball games and he throws strikes where he wants to."

Previously getting the nod as EL Pitcher of the Week last month was the aforementioned Eflin, who tossed 14 scoreless innings in his first two starts of the season.

Other Reading notes-

Reading infielder Carlos Alonso will miss the remainder of the season with a ligament tear in his left knee. Carlos is the brother of recent Eagles acquisition Kiko Alonso.

#TeamAaron...A grand slam by outfielder Aaron Altherr helped to lock in the third win of the season for right-hander Aaron Nola on Monday night as the Fightins defeated New Hampshire, 5-1.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

World Series Preview: Phillies vs. Astros

The Fall Classic is set to get underway on Friday with the Phillies opening on the road to take on the Astros in a best-of-seven series. This year marks 75 years since the first time a World Series was televised and this year each game will be broadcast on the FOX television network.  ESPN will have the radio broadcast and that feed can be streamed by using this link . Game 1 Friday, 8:03pm Eastern....in Houston.  RHP Aaron Nola (11-13, 3.25 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (18-4, 1.75 ERA).  In 16 road starts during the regular season this year, Nola notched a 5-9 record with a 3.00 ERA.  Nola has struck out 18 and walked three in 17 1/3 innings pitched this postseason.  Earlier this month, Nola tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings at Houston.  In 15 home starts during the regular season, Verlander sported a 10-1 record with a 1.64 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP.  Verlander has a 5.68 ERA and has not recorded a win in seven career World Series starts.  Verlander has...

PhoulBallz Interview: RHP Ben Brown talks TJ recovery, O'Hoppe, cancelled season

Image- MiLB.com Out of action since last May when it was determined he required Tommy John surgery, righty pitching prospect Ben Brown is using the downtime of the pandemic hiatus to continue his physical recovery.  A 33rd round draft selection of the Phillies back in 2017, Brown made his professional debut that same year, posting a 2.57 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in 10 appearances in the rookie level Gulf Coast League.  The following season, Brown began to make a name for himself in the GCL, striking out 16 batters in one July appearance.  He would post a 3.12 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 10 games (eight starts) before earning a promotion and finishing the season with a pair of outings with Class A short-season Williamsport. Brown, a Long Island, NY native, opened last year with Class A Lakewood.  In four appearances with the BlueClaws, he struck out 20, walked four and allowed no runs in 13 2/3 innings and looked well on his way to making an impact on betting odds and avai...

2019 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #7 LHP JoJo Romero

JoJo Romero, image- Jay Floyd With a growing crop of very talented pitching prospects in the Phillies organization, left-hander JoJo Romero is certainly among the standouts. The five-foot-11 200-pounder was the Phils’ 4th round draft selection in 2016. That year he helped Yavapai College, the same school that the Phillies drafted Kenny Giles from in 2011, clinch the JuCo World Series, leading the way with an 11-5 record, a 3.64 ERA and a 10.2 K/9 mark. He also tossed a complete game gem to earn the win in their title game. After signing with the Phillies, Romero made his professional debut as a member of the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters. There, he notched a 2-2 record with a 2.56 ERA while striking out 31 and walking 11 in 45 2/3 innings. In 2017, he got off to a terrific start with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. In 13 starts, Romero tallied a 5-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and a 9.3 K/9 mark and was honored as a South Atlantic League mid-season All-Star. R...