Skip to main content

Minor League Notebook: Injuries and Playoff Races

In the midst of several playoff races, a handful of injuries popped up at multiple levels over the weekend.

Williams, image- Jay Floyd

For Triple-A Lehigh Valley, lefty batting outfielder Nick Williams was struck in the leg by a pitch in the first inning on Saturday and did not take the field in that contest after coming around to score in the frame.

As I reported on Twitter, Williams should return to action soon and a stint on the disabled list won't be required, according to the 22-year-old, who sports a .265 average with 12 homers and 62 RBI in 118 games this season for the IronPigs.
The IronPigs appear to be in line for a Wild Card berth in the International League playoffs as they are four games behind division leading Scranton and 4 1/2 games ahead of third place Rochester with a week's worth of action remaining on the schedule.

For Double-A Reading, center fielder Roman Quinn was placed on the disabled list with a concussion while Andrew Pullin is also out of action with an elbow strain.

The frequently injured Quinn, who missed time this season with an oblique strain and previously suffered a broken wrist as well as a ruptured Achiles tendon, was injured on Friday when a pick off throw at first base hit him in the batting helmet. In 76 games this season, the 23-year-old switch-hitter is batting .298 with six home runs, 23 RBI and 34 stolen bases.

Pullin, a lefty hitting outfielder, has been on fire since joining the Fightins in June. The 22-year-old has posted a .346 average with 10 homers and 32 RBI in 46 games with Reading.

The Fightins clinched an Eastern League playoff berth on Saturday, but the team is still battling it out with second place Trenton for the Eastern Division crown and home field advantage in the opening round.

For Class A Advanced Clearwater, right-handed starting pitcher Drew Anderson lasted just 30 pitches in the team's victory on Sunday after injuring his leg on a throw to second base, according to Jim Peyton of PhuturePhillies.com. The severity of the issue is unclear at this time.

In 15 starts combined at two levels this season, the 22-year-old, who missed all of 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, tallied a 3-4 record with a 2.70 ERA and a 10.02 K/9 mark.

The Threshers are 2 1/2 games behind first place Dunedin, for the second half division title, with a week left in the regular season in the Florida State League.

Class A Lakewood is three games ahead of second place Hagerstown for the second half title in the South Atlantic League's Northern division with six games left. The BlueClaws, winners of nine of their last 10 contests, have been led of late by outfielder Mark Laird. The 23-year-old lefty batter has an 11-game hitting streak and is batting .348 with a home run and 19 RBI in 43 combined games at two levels this year.

For the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, they are ahead of the second place Blue Jays in the Northwest division with four games left, including today.

This year's first overall draft pick Mickey Moniak has cooled off recently, going 6-for-36 (.167 avg) in his last nine games. Overall, the 18-year-old center fielder has a .281 average with a home run and 28 RBI through his first 44 games as a pro.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

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. ...

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...