Following the All-Star break, fans began to pay more attention to the Phillies since they were playing better. Now losers of five of their last six games, fans are back to sqaure one, where things started before the Midsummer Classic, with a team that doesn't have effective starting pitching or an offense to produce consistent results day after day.
On the brighter side of things, since the trade deadline, Phillies fans have been treated to some new, young faces around the minor leagues, most notably Jake Thompson, Jerad Eickhoff, Nick Williams and Alec Asher. While the big league team continues to play meaningless baseball, four of the Phillies minor league affiliates are in contention for postseason play, with Clearwater having already clinched a spot in the playoffs. This past weekend, while the Phils were getting swept by the Brewers, their minor league clubs weren't doing much better, but Double-A Reading, despite having their win-streak snapped, continued to be the highlight of the teams' farm system. Here's a recap of this past weekend's minor league action:
Williamsport Crosscutters – Short Season 'A' affiliate
Record: 35-21
Standings: 1st place, New-York Penn League's Pinckney Division
This past weekend, the Crosscutters went 1-2, with a loss in Staten Island and a split at home against Mahoning Valley. On the offensive side of things, the Cutters were led by 2B/DH Josh Tobias (.314 average), whom the Phillies selected in the 10th round of this year's First Year Player Draft. On Friday night, Tobias went 2-for-5 at the plate with a three-run homer, a run scored and three RBI's. He followed that up with a 1-for-4 day at the dish on Saturday and Sunday in Williamsport's 3-0 and 7-2 losses. Cutters backstop Jesus Posso went 3-for-3 in the teams' 7-6 win in Staten Island on Friday with a two-run homer. His catching mate Austin Bossart went 2-for-4 on Friday and Sunday with a double and an RBI on Friday against Staten Island. Pitching-wise, starter Alejandro Arteaga took the loss on Saturday night. He tossed six innings and gave up one earned run on seven hits. He's 4-1 with a 2.75 ERA this season for the Cutters. Eight Williamsport players will participate in Tuesday night's New York-Penn League All-Star Game at Ripken Stadium located in Aberdeen, MD. They begin a short two-game series with State College on Wednesday night.
Lakewood Blueclaws – Low Class 'A' affiliate
Record: 28-21 in the second half, 61-56 overall
Standings: 2nd place, South Atlantic League Northern Division
This weekend, the Blueclaws dropped two out of three to the Delmarva Shorebirds, Low Class 'A' affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. On Friday night, Lakewood lost by six, 8-2. Right fielder Herlis Rodriguez and first baseman Kyle Martin both went 1-for-4 at the plate and drove in the two Blueclaws runs. Starter Shane Watson (1-4, 4.28) pitched four innings and gave up four runs on five hits. Lakewood returned the favor to Delmarva on Saturday, pulling out an 8-1 win a night after giving up eight the day prior. Starter Will Morris (5-0, 1.74) threw seven scoreless innings, striking out two in the process. He has seen time in Clearwater, Lakewood, Reading and Williamsport this season, combining to give up just 13 runs in 68 1/3 innings. Left fielder Cord Sandberg went 2-for-4 on Saturday with two doubles, two RBI's and a run scored. On Sunday, Lakewood lost 4-2. Starter Tyler Viza (4-8, 3.53) allowed four runs, two earned, over five innings, tallying nine strikeouts on the day.
Clearwater Threshers – Advanced 'A' affiliate
Record: 30-20 in the second half, 67-53 overall, clinched playoff berth
Standings: 2nd place, Florida State League North Division
Clearwater was outscored 15-3 over two games this weekend. Saturday's contest against the Tampa Yankees was cancelled due to inclement weather. They begin a three-game series with Dunedin tonight at 6:30pm. They only managed three hits on friday, one each from Malquin Canelo, Andrew Pullin and Dylan Cozens in the 5-1 loss. Pullin's solo home run accounted for the only score on the day. Starter Yacksel Rios (5-3, 3.03) gave up five runs in 4 1/3 innings. On Sunday, the Threshers were thrashed by Dunedin, 10-2. Victor Arano (4-11, 4.95) took the loss after giving up seven runs in just 2 2/3 innings of work. Dylan Cozens went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the losing effort.
Reading Fightin' Phils – Double-A affiliate
Record: 69-51
Standings: 1st place, Eastern League Eastern Division
Though they had their 10-game winning streak snapped, Reading took two out of three from the Trenton Thunder this weekend. The Fightins are 12-2 so far in August. On Friday night, Reading fell 2-1 despite a very strong effort from top prospect, Zach Eflin (6-6, 3.43). He scattered six hits over seven shutout innings. First baseman Brock Stassi tallied the lone RBI on the night, a double to score Cam Perkins in the ninth. Reading rebounded to post a 4-2 victory on Saturday night behind a two-RBI performance from top prospect Nick Williams. Since joining the Phillies organization, the outfielder is hitting .388. Third baseman Angelo Mora went 2-for-2 with a triple, two runs scored, an RBI and a walk in the win. Top pitching prospect Jake Thompson pitched six innings of two-run ball to earn the victory, striking out five Thunder hitters in the process. He's 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA since the Cole Hamels trade. Reading shutout Trenton on Sunday, 2-0, behind a strong pitching performance from Ethan Martin. Martin tossed five shutout innings, allowed just two hits and struck out three. J.P. Crawford went 2-for-4 with an RBI-triple while Nick Williams contributed with a triple of his own.
Lehigh Valley Ironpigs – Triple-A affiliate
Record: 54-69
Standings: 4th place, International League North Division
The Ironpigs went 1-3 this weekend, earning a split during Saturday's doubleheader against Pawtucket. On Friday night, they lost a 10-inning contest by a score of 7-6. Newly-acquired Alec Asher took the ball for his start and pitched six strong innings, giving up two earned runs on 10 hits, striking out four. Outfielder Kelly Dugan went 1-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored while Tommy Joseph tallied an RBI-double in his return to Lehigh Valley. Pawtucket took care of the Ironpigs 5-2 in game one of Saturday's doubleheader. Jerad Eickhoff took his first loss since being traded, allowing five runs, three of which came in his final inning of work, over 7 2/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked one. Kelly Dugan went 2-for-3 with a run scored while Jordan Danks belted a two-run homer in the ninth. Despite allowing four ninth-inning runs in game two of the double-dip, the Ironpigs escaped with a 6-5 win. Severino Gonzalez pitched five innings of one run ball while Tommy Joseph hit a two-run homer. Outfield prospect Aaron Altherr went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a double. David Buchanan allowed three runs over 5 1/3 innings in the Pigs 7-1 loss on Sunday. Aaron Altherr, hitting .294 on the season, went 3-for-4 with a double in the blowout loss.
You ask, we answer…
Q: Which highly ranked prospect has the highest chance of being a bust?
A: While it may be extremely tough to predict the outcome of any prospect on any team, if I had to choose one guy on the Phillies top prospect list that I believe will not make it, that would be Jorge Alfaro. Though we haven't seen him play one game in the organization, his strikeout rate is extremely alarming. He's struck out in 29.2% of his 1,684 minor league at bats and has walks in only .056% of those AB's. He's known to be very "raw" at this point, but with the emergence of Andrew Knapp behind the plate, will Jorge have a spot when he's healthy or will he be moved to another position? When the Phillies acquired Alfaro from Texas, he drew comparisons to Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez. If that happens, that Hamels deal will be a heck of a steal for the Phillies, but for whatever reason, I'm not very optimistic.
Q: How far is Jerad Eickhoff from the big leagues?
A: This has a pretty easy answer, I'd think. David Buchanan got sent down following his last atrocious performance and since the Phillies don't need a starter until Saturday to fill his spot, Aaron Nola will pitch on Tuesday. Rumor has it, despite allowing five runs in his last start with the Ironpigs, that Eickhoff could take Buchanan's spot in the rotation when the Phillies visit Miami this weekend.
