Phillies minor league hot list, 4/22/18

Here is a quick run down of how the Phillies' minor league clubs have fared through the first two weeks or so of the 2018 regular season.

Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs (7-7 record, 4th place in International League North Division)-

Mitch Walding with Reading last season, image- Jay Floyd

Third baseman Mitch Walding is off to a strong start for the 'Pigs. The 25-year-old is batting .300 with four doubles, two home runs, six RBI and and eight walks through 14 games played. The lefty batter was a 5th round draft selection by the Phils in 2011.

Hurler Enyel De Los Santos, acquired last off-season from San Diego in a trade for Freddy Galvis, has been very solid in the IronPigs' rotation. Through three starts, the right-hander has tallied a 1-0 record with a 1.98 ERA while striking out 22 and walking five in 13 2/3 innings pitched.

Outfielder Dylan Cozens entered action on Saturday batting .273, but an 0-for-4 night dropped the average to .250. In 14 games, the lefty masher has two doubles, three homers, nine RBI and five steals. Cozens was a 2nd round pick in 2012.

Double-A Reading Fightin Phils (6-10 record, last place in the Eastern League Eastern Division)-

Corner infielder Damek Tomscha is leading the club's offense, batting .315 with a pair of homers and 11 RBI in 16 games. The 26-year-old, who was the Phillies' 11th round draft selection in 2014 out of Auburn, is also among the league leaders in OPS with a .906 mark.

Shortstop Malquin Canelo is doing well in the early going, batting .286 with five doubles, two triples, a home run, five RBI and two steals in 14 contests. The 23-year-old righty batter is a native of the Dominican Republic.

In three starts, right-hander Harold Arauz has posted a 1-0 record with a 3.38 ERA while striking out 20 and walking six in 16 innings. Arauz, a Panama native, was acquired from Houston in the Ken Giles trade in 2015.

Reliever Seranthony Dominguez has looked very good for the Fightins, sporting a 1-2 record with a 2.45 ERA while striking out 17 and walking two in 11 innings pitched. Opponents are batting .200 against the promising Dominican.

Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers (4-12 record, last place in Florida State League North Division)-

Last year's 1st round draft pick Adam Haseley leads the team in hits with 16. Overall in 15 games, the lefty batting 22-year-old OF sports a .254 batting average with a home run, nine RBI and two stolen bases.

Lefty pitcher McKenzie Mills has been the bright spot of the starting staff to date for the Threshers. The 22-year-old has an 0-1 record with a 3.18 ERA and sports a .227 batting average against. He has struck out 13 and walked none in 17 innings pitched. Mills was acquired from Washington last season in a trade for Howie Kendrick.

Class A Lakewood BlueClaws (8-8 record, 5th place in South Atlantic League Northern Division)-

Will Stewart (right), image- Jay Floyd

Pitcher Will Stewart has looked strong, posting a 2-0 record with a 1.69 ERA while striking out 12 and walking one in 16 innings over three starts. The 20-year-old lefty was a 20th round draft pick by the Phils in 2015.

Infielder Nick Maton, a 7th round draft pick last year, has posted a .292 average with two homers and five RBI in 13 games for the BlueClaws. The lefty batter is 21 years old and primarily plays shortstop.

Outfielder Simon Muzziotti had been a catalyst for the team's offense before landing on the disabled list last week. The 19-year-old is batting .304 with four doubles, six RBI and two steals in 11 games. The lefty batters is a native of Venezuela.

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...

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