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.

PhoulBallz Q&A with Mike Stutes

Mike Stutes completes "The Reading Phils Mike Tri-fecta" over three days, here on PhoulBallz.com. Stutes, a 22 year old, was an 11th round selection by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Stutes, a right handed starting pitcher, helped lead Oregon State to the College World Series championship in both 2006 and 2007. Stutes and teammate Vance Worley are the first players to begin a season at Reading the year after being drafted since Pat Burrell did it in 1999. Stutes was the Phils' minor league pitcher of the month in August '08, when he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts. Check out my Q&A with the third Mike below. Can I get you to talk about the coaching staff and how they help you deal with ups and downs? They've been real positive with me. I started out good and then I hit a rough patch. They've stuck with me through it all. I haven't heard any negative words from them. Every day they try to come out, work with me, try to get me turned around...

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...

Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

**** Today, New York Yankees fans attended a Pepsi promotion in Times Square hoping for chances to win opening day tickets to the new stadium, but the tickets, which were difficult to track down due to poor organization on Pepsi's part, were actually for a game in June. Furthermore, the 250 pairs that were promised were actually only 100 pairs. The fans, who were made to sprint through traffic over multiple city blocks when locations for the promotion changed, quickly turned against the soda brand by pooring out their beverages and chanting anti-Pepsi phrases. Yankees fans are even threatening a boycott of Pepsi. An appearance by Yankee great Goose Gossage could not even settle the angry mob, as he had to be whisked away, as a precaution, according to the Daily News . Ooo , I'd hate to see what "the worst fans in sports" (Philadelphia fans) would have done to their free Pepsi cans and beloved reliever in that situation. Because this happened in a non-Philly city, th...

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