Phillies Minor League report: May 4-10
Players of the Week
Player -- 1B Art Charles, Reading ... The 24-year-old power hitter rose among the league leaders in a number of offensive categories after a historic week for the Fightin Phils. Charles hit .632 (12-for-19) with four home runs (one every 4.75 at bats), eight RBIs, four doubles, a 1.474 slugging percentage and a 2.140 OPS. The left-handed-hitting Charles particularly liked hitting against the Erie Seawolves. In the first game of the series, he went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs, and then homered two more times in the following game (another 3-for-5 night). Charles added his third straight three-hit game in the finale, going 3-for-3 with a double and a run. Charles currently leads the Eastern League in average (.378), slugging percentage (.757) and OPS (1.177), and he is third with 16 extra-base hits. In addition to his Phillies honors, he was also named Eastern League Player of the Week. Charles was acquired by the Phillies in a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays in February 2013, and he was originally signed by Toronto and Blake Crosby.
Pitcher -- RHP Aaron Nola, Reading ... Nola continues to impress with Reading, heading a deep pitching staff filled with top prospects. Last week, the 22-year-old made two starts, both of which were among his best of the season. On May 4 against New Hampshire, Nola tossed seven strong innings, scattering five hits and yielding just one run. In his next start, he lasted a career-high eight innings, striking out eight while allowing a run on four hits. In those two outings, Nola combined for a 0.73 WHIP (nine hits, two walks in 15 innings) with 11 strikeouts. In 39 2/3 innings this season, Nola sports a tidy 2.04 ERA and 29 strikeouts to just four walks. His ERA is second in the league among pitchers with at least 35 innings, he is tied for second in innings pitched and ranks fifth with a 0.83 WHIP. Nola was selected by the Phillies in the first round (seventh overall) in the 2014 Draft and was signed by Mike Stauffer.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs -- International League North Division ... 9-22, sixth place ... The past week yielded some positive results for the Phillies' top affiliate, as Lehigh Valley went 3-3 and put together its first three-game winning streak of the year. After dropping their game against Columbus on May 4, the IronPigs stormed to three consecutive victories, outscoring opponents 21-7 in those games. Two of those three wins came against Louisville, helping Lehigh Valley to their second series win of the season.
Top hitting performers -- OF Brian Bogusevic hit .423 with four doubles, a home run, nine runs scored and six RBIs. He hit safely in his first five games of the week, extending his hitting streak to 12 games before going hitless on May 10. On May 5, Bogusevic went 4-for-6 with a double, a home run, four RBIs and three runs. ... 3B Maikel Franco continues to impress after going 11-or-25 (.440) with a pair of home runs, six RBIs, two doubles, a .760 slugging average and a 1.183 OPS. He is now hitting .336 and leads the league in total bases with 65, and doubles with 12. ... OF Domonic Brown had the best week of his season, batting .320 with a .370 OBP and four RBIs. He had two multi-hit games in his first three games of the week, and hit safely in all but one.
Top pitching performers -- LHP Adam Morgan turned in one of his finest performances of the season on Saturday, holding the Gwinnett Braves to three runs (two earned) on three hits over 7 1/3 innings of work. ... RHP Phillippe Aumont also dominated Gwinnett, tossing six scoreless frames with just two hits allowed in his third start of the season on Friday. He is now 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA in those three starts (1.73 ERA for the season).
Reading Fightin Phils -- Eastern League Eastern Division ... 16-12, third place ... Reading's story this season has been pitching, but this past week, it was the offense that kept the Fightin Phils just a game back of second place in the division. They exploded for 38 runs in six games (6.3 per game), led by the powerful bats of Charles and Aaron Altherr.
Top hitting performers -- Charles slugged his way to a career week last week, crushing four home runs, including three in a two-game span. His batting average was .632 (12-for-19), and his four homers helped him to a 1.474 slugging average and a 2.140 OPS during the week. Charles' performance earned him Phillies Minor League Player of the Week and Eastern League Player of the Week honors. ... Altherr's power was also on display, as the 24-year-old outfielder hit a pair of home runs and drove in eight runs while batting a lofty .346. ... OF Roman Quinn produced in a different way for Reading, stealing a couple of bases and scoring six runs in six games for the Fightins. He is leading the league with 12 stolen bases and is tied for first with 25 runs scored. ... OF Cam Perkins was 7-for-21 (.333) with his first home run of the year, two doubles and four driven in. ... 3B Gustavo Pierre hit safely in all five of his games, extending his hitting streak to eight and raising his average to .295.
Top pitching performers -- Nola made two starts last week, combining to go 15 innings with 11 strikeouts while allowing just two earned runs on nine hits. Nola's last five starts have all been quality starts, and he has a 2.04 ERA in 35 innings this year. Nola was selected as the Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week from May 4-10 ... RHP Stephen Shackleford recorded two more saves in two chances, making him 6-for-7 on the season.
Clearwater Threshers -- Florida State League North Division ... 15-15, third place ... The Threshers ended their week on a strong note, winning three of their last four, including two of three over the Daytona Tortugas for a series win. Clearwater scored 14 runs to Daytona's four, and they are now second in the Florida State League with a .264 team average.
Top hitting performers -- One day after OF Andrew Pullin's seven-game hit streak ended, he began a new streak, recording 11 hits in five games (four straight multi-hit games) from May 5-10. He hit .407 for the week, with six RBIs and a pair of doubles, and now is second in the league in two-base hits (9) and tied for second in hits (36) with teammate Willians Astudillo. ... Despite being sidelined for nearly a month to start the season, SS J.P. Crawford didn't miss a beat in his first week back. He homered and drove in three in his first game, and proceeded to record multiple hits in his next three, for a .533 average, five RBI and four runs in his first four games. … C Andrew Knapp hit .333 and got on base at a .448 clip, thanks in part to eight hits and four walks in 29 plate appearances.
Top pitching performers -- RHP Mark Leiter earned his second win of the season after a 6 2/3-inning, no-run start on May 9 against Daytona. In two starts this week, he was 1-0 with a 1.54 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings. Over Leiter's last seven appearances (29 2/3 innings), he has allowed only three earned runs and struck out 29. … Fresh off an April Minor League Pitcher of the Month award, LHP Brandon Leibrandt has not let up in May. In his lone start last week, he pitched a season-high eight innings, surrendering just two runs on five hits while striking out seven batters. Leibrandt leads the league with 39 innings pitched. … RHP David Whitehead went 1-0, striking out seven in six innings on May 6 against Brevard County. … RHP Edubray Ramos appeared in three games out of the bullpen, combining to allow just a run on one hit in five innings.
Lakewood BlueClaws -- South Atlantic League North Division … 13-16, sixth place … Lakewood's tough week consisted of five losses and an energy-sapping 17-inning affair on May 8 against Augusta, which ended up being suspended after the top of 17th due to fog. Because the two teams do not play again, all of the stats from the game will not count until after the first half of the season concludes.
Top hitting performers - SS Malquin Canelo had eight hits in 25 at bats for a .320 average. On May 7, he had a season-high four hits against Augusta -- his 10th multihit game of the season.
Top pitching performers - LHP Elniery Garcia put forward his third quality start of the season, limiting Asheville to a run on just three hits in seven innings on May 10 … RHP Jesen Therrien worked four innings in relief, and did not allow a run. He has allowed only one earned run in 15 1/3 innings this year -- good for a 0.53 ERA … RHP Matt Hockenberry lowered his season ERA to 0.60 after three scoreless innings in relief last week. He is also a perfect 6-for-6 in saves.