Located just under three and a half hours north west of Citizens Bank Park inside the confines of Historic Bowman Field are the Williamsport Crosscutters, Short Season 'A' Affiliate of the Phillies. While we normally hear about the Blueclaws in Lakewood, NJ, the Clearwater Threshers in Florida, the Reading Fightin' Phils in Reading and the Ironpigs in Lehigh Valley, Williamsport is lower in the system then each. The Cutters are five games into their 76-game campaign and some players have already gotten off to some quick starts. But first, for those of you who aren't familiar with this affiliate, here is a quick background.
The Crosscutters play at Historic Bowman Field and the ballpark lives up to its name. The third oldest minor league ballpark in the United States, Bowman Field was completed in 1926 to host the city's entry as an original team in the New-York Pennsylvania League called the Williamsport Grays, named after Thomas Gray, one of the integral people in the ballpark's funding. The Grays hosted their first game at Bowman Field on April 22nd, 1926 against Bucknell University. The stadium has a seating capacity of 4,200.
Now an affiliate of the Phillies, the Crosscutters were also a Pirates affiliate from 1999-2005. In '05, the Cutters became an affiliate of the Phils and have been ever since. The name "Crosscutters" reflects the logging heritage of Williamsport, once known as the Lumber Capital of the World. The Cutters have sent 560 players to the majors, most recently outfielder Aaron Altherr, who was called up by the Phillies after Tony Gwynn Jr. went on the bereavement list.
The Crosscutters have three of the top 20 Phillies prospects, according to MLB.com, in catcher Deivi Grullon, outfielder Cord Sandberg and starting pitcher, Mitch Gueller. Although the Cutters are off to a 2-3 start to their season, there have been some good performances thus far.
David Whitehead (RHP) - Drafted in the 34th round of last year's First-Year Player Draft, the Elon alumni missed last season due to Tommy John Surgery. He took the hill for his first Cutters start on Father's Day, in front of his dad, against the State College Spikes. Whitehead dazzled in his debut, tossing six hitless innings, walking two and striking out five. Whitehead's outing was enough to catch the attention of MiLB.com, who posted a story on the 22-year-old's special day.
Cord Sandberg (OF) - Unrelated to Phils skipper. Ryne Sandberg, the left-handed outfielder is in his second season in the Phillies organization. After hitting just .207 in 48 games for the GCL Phillies, Sandberg is 9-for-22 this season with a triple, a home run and six RBI's. He collected five of those RBI's last night against the Jamestown Jammers, where he went 2-for-5 with a triple, homer, five RBI's and two runs scored. Sandberg was drafted in the third round of last year's draft after turning down the opportunity to play QB at Mississippi State. MLB.com ranks him as the Phillies 10th best prospect in the organization.
Mitch Gueller (RHP) - Gueller is slotted at #17 in the Phillies prospect list from MLB.com. Selected by the Phillies in the first round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of William F. West High School in Washington, Gueller went 1-5 with a 5.27 ERA with the GCL Phillies in 2012. 2013 wasn't much better for the right-hander, posting a 5.86 ERA last season for Williamsport in 58.1 innings of work. In his first start for the Cutters this season, Gueller threw four shutout innings, walking and striking out three.
Ricardo Pinto (RHP) - While Pinto may not be listed on the Phils prospect watch, he spent two seasons (2012-13) with the Phils Venezuelan Summer League team, posting a combined 2.80 ERA in 29 games, 24 of those being starts. The 20-year old righty held opposing hitters to a .228 average last season and has started 2014 on a high note, despite the Cutters losing the game. Pinto gave up one earned run over 5.2 innings, walked three and set eight Spikes hitters down via the strikeout.
Jiandido Tromp (OF) - Also not listed on the Phillies top prospect list is 20-year-old right-handed outfielder, Jiandido Tromp, who is off to a great start in 2014, his fourth season in the Phils organization. After hitting .299 in Williamsport last season, Tromp was promoted to Lakewood, where his average fell to .150. Looking to get him playing early this season, the Phils started him in Lakewood, where he appeared in 27 games, posting a .224 average with four doubles, a triple, a homer and nine RBI's. He struck out 30 times in 85 at-bats. Since returning to the Crosscutters, Tromp has regained some offensive confidence, hitting .333 in the early going with two doubles, two homers and six RBI's. Both homers came in last night's game against Jamestown, when Tromp went 3-for-4 at the plate with two home runs, a double, two runs scored and two RBI's.
Obviously, it is in the very early going for these forementioned players along with the rest of the Crosscutters, but gaining confidence when the season begins can go a long way in the mind of a young prospect.
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
