Skip to main content

Buchanan returns to the mound in Clearwater

In his first action facing hitters since he was sidelined with a severe right ankle sprain in an outing for the Triple-A IronPigs in mid-May, right-hander David Buchanan looked good on the mound in an exhibition with the Phillies' extended spring training team on Thursday.

According to Jim Peyton of PhuturePhillies.com, who was present for the outing, the 26-year-old hurler faced 14 batters, retiring 13 of them and looked good moving around on defense.

Screenshot_2015-06-18-18-20-41_1Buchanan, who tallied a 0-5 record with an 8.76 ERA in five starts with the big league team and went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three starts for Lehigh Valley this year, posted images (featured to the left) of his ankle in various stages of the injury this week on Instagram.

Seeing action in that same game was righty hurler Shane Watson, who is nearing a return to full-season club action following his second shoulder surgery last year.

Watson, who stands six-foot-four and is up to 240 pounds, threw five scoreless innings, notched one strike out, walked one and gave up three hits. He ranged 88-94 MPH with his fastball.

The Phils' top pick in 2012 (40th overall) expects to make one more start with the rookie level Gulf Coast League team next week prior to being activated for either Class A Lakewood or Class A Advanced Clearwater.


The California native sports a 4-7 record with a 4.44 ERA and a .227 batting average against in 21 career professional appearances. Watson last pitched in a regular season game in July of 2013.

Also of note, RHP Ethan Martin, out since spring training with shoulder inflammation, saw his first action of the regular season on Wednesday, when he took the mound for the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers.

Martin, 26, tossed one inning in relief, surrendering one earned run on a walk and a hit without striking anyone out in the Threshers' contest against St. Lucie.

Last season in 32 relief appearances with the IronPigs, Martin posted a 2-1 record along with a 3.93 ERA and a .256 batting average against. He also appeared in two games with the big league team.

This post was originally published on PhilliesNation.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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. ...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...