Phillies Minor League review, July 20-26
Players of the Week
Player - 1B Brock Stassi, Reading…Stassi, 25, was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Week after batting .444 (12-27) in seven games with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBI. He has hit safely in eight of his last nine games, and in five of those games has recorded multiple hits. Stassi's 66 RBI are most in the league, and he also ranks among the top four in average (.315), on-base percentage (.406), total bases (156) and walks (54). His home run on July 23 was his ninth of the season, which is a new career high. Stassi was selected by the Phillies in the 33rd round of the 2011 draft out of The University of Nevada-Reno, and was signed by Joey Davis.
Pitcher - LHP Ranger Suarez, GCL Phillies…Suarez, a 20-year-old lefthander, started one game last week, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings while allowing only two hits and a walk against the GCL Yankees. He struck out five batters en route to Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week honors. Suarez now has scoreless outings of 6.0 innings or more and three hits or fewer in three of his four starts. He has allowed only two earned runs in 27.2 innings pitched this season (0.65 ERA) and has a 0.69 WHIP (15 hits, four walks), both of which rank in the top four in the league. Suarez was signed as an amateur free agent in April of 2012 by the Phillies and Jesus Mendez.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs - International League North Division…46-56, 4th place…The IronPigs have improved to 5-0-3 in their last eight series after splitting a four-game set with the Toledo Mud Hens and then taking two of three from the Syracuse Chiefs. They have gone 24-14 since June 14 after posting a 22-42 record through that date.
Top hitting performers - OF Aaron Altherr recorded RBIs in five of seven games, including three multi-RBI efforts. He clubbed two home runs, scored four runs and tallied 17 total bases for Lehigh Valley…In his return to the Phillies' farm system, C Erik Kratz batted .500 (7-14) with four runs scored, two doubles, a triple and a pair of RBI.
Top pitching performers - LHP Anthony Vasquez won his third straight decision after tossing 6.0 innings of one-run ball against Toledo on July 21…LHP Jesse Biddle impressed for the second straight start, this time surrendering a run on four hits in 5.2 innings of work. He has allowed one run in his last 12.1 innings…LHP Adam Loewen appeared in four games, all in relief, and struck out five while allowing just three base runners (a hit and two walks) in 4.1 innings. He also converted his lone save opportunity.
Reading Fightin Phils - Eastern League Eastern Division …54-47, T-2nd place…Reading's week began strong with a series win over Bowie, but quickly turned as they won just one game in a four-game series with New Britain. The Fightins sat in first place in the division briefly two weeks ago, but have now lost four of five and sit 1.5 games behind the first-place Binghamton Mets.
Top hitting performers - 1B Brock Stassi was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Week after compiling a .444 average with two homers, eight RBI, a .531 on-base percentage and 1.309 OPS in seven games. He has seven RBI in his last five games and 66 for the season…SS J.P. Crawford doubled three times, homered, scored seven runs and knocked in two more while hitting .308…C Andrew Knapp batted .364 with six RBI and a team-high four doubles in six games. He had multiple hits in three of those games…OF Kelly Dugan went 7-24 (.292) with four runs scored, two doubles and two RBI.
Top pitching performers - RHP Colton Murray had a 2.0-inning relief appearance and a 3.0-inning relief appearance and did not allow a base runner in either. He struck out six batters in those 5.0 innings combined…RHP Edubray Ramos combined for 4.0 innings and one unearned run in his two games out of the bullpen…LHP Tom Windle struck out five in 3.2 innings of work, allowing just one unearned run on two hits.
Clearwater Threshers - Florida State League North Division…20-11, 1st place, 57-44 overall… The first-place Threshers started their week with three straight wins, scoring 20 combined runs in those games. They were unable to carry that momentum, however, as they dropped two of their last three against Jupiter and the series opener with Bradenton to finish 4-3 for the week.
Top hitting performers - 1B Rhys Hoskins recorded 10 hits in 25 at-bats (.400) while reaching base in half of his plate appearances. He scored five runs, walked five times and has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games…OF Carlos Tocci also batted .400, recording three multi-hit games with four doubles, four runs scored and four RBI…C Willians Astudillo is now batting .310 for the season after going 8-24 (.333) with five RBI and three runs scored…OF Andrew Pullin reached double digits with his 10th home run of the season and also drove in a team-high six runs while batting .320 in six games…OF Dylan Cozens may have only played in five games, but he still managed to hit a home run, triple and double while batting .412 with 13 total bases.
Top pitching performers - LHP Brandon Leibrandt threw 7.0 strong frames, yielding just two runs on three hits to Jupiter. He has 11 quality starts in 15 total starts this season…RHP Victor Arano allowed two runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings during his lone start of the week.
Lakewood BlueClaws - South Atlantic League Northern Division…19-11, 2nd place, 52-46 overall…Lakewood sits just a game back in the division after a dominant 5-1 week which included a series win over first-place West Virginia. The Blue Claws will finish their series with Kannapolis before heading to West Virginia to try to gain more ground on the Power in a four-game series.
Top hitting performers - 2B Scott Kingery hit .346 with a home run, four RBI and four runs scored in six games. He has eight hits in last 17 at-bats (.471 average)…1B Kyle Martin continues his torrid season after batting .348 with four extra-base hits (two doubles, a triple, and a home run). Martin set a career-high with four hits on July 25, and is batting .372 this season…OF Jiandido Tromp went 7-21 (.333) with three doubles and two RBI.
Top pitching performers - RHP Ranfi Casimiro has now won four straight decisions after throwing 7.2 shutout innings with six strikeouts against the West Virginia Power on July 22…RHP Will Morris lasted 7.0 innings for the second straight start, allowing three runs in his win over Kannapolis…RHP Tyler Viza tossed 7.0 scoreless frames and scattered six hits in his lone start…LHP Elniery Garcia tied his season-best with just three hits allowed in a 6.0-inning scoreless start on July 24…RHP Matt Hocknberry appeared in three games, combining for 4.0 scoreless innings and two saves in as many chances.
Williamsport Crosscutters - New York-Penn League Pinckney Division…24-12, 1st place…The Crosscutters rebounded nicely from an 0-3 start to the week to win three of their last four games by a combined score of 19-10. They allowed three runs or fewer in each of their three wins and remain four games ahead in the division.
Top hitting performers - OF Zachary Coppola hit safely in his first six games of the week, finishing with a .357 average and five runs scored to go along with a .400 on-base percentage…2B Josh Tobias hit .345 with two doubles, a triple, a home run and three multi-hit games…OF Jose Pujols went 8-27 (.296) with five runs scored, two driven in and a double. He is tied for the league lead with 11 doubles this season…OF Mark Laird batted .318 with four RBI and hit safely in all but one of his six games played…1B Brendon Hayden reached base at a .435 mark thanks to six hits (three doubles) and a team-high four walks.
Top pitching performers - RHP Mitch Gueller held Aberdeen to two runs (one earned) in 6.2 innings on the mound on July 24. He has allowed one earned run or fewer in four of his six starts…LHP Tyler Gilbert did not allow a run and surrendered only three hits in 5.0 innings of work during his one start…RHP Anthony Sequiera had outings of 2.1 innings and 2.0 innings, both of which were scoreless. He nailed down his only save opportunity, and now has five straight outings of at least 2.0 innings pitched.
GCL Phillies - Gulf Coast League, Northwest Division…20-8, 1st place… Bad weather held the Phillies to just five games last week, as they had three contests, including a doubleheader, postponed due to rain. They took their first two games of the week against the Yankees by scores of 7-5 and 3-0, but then dropped three straight to the GCL Blue Jays on Wednesday and Thursday.
Top hitting performers - OF Juan Luis raised his average 48 points in three games after going 6-9 with a home run, three RBI and four runs scored…3B Lucas Williams batted .556 (5-9) in three games and now has a seven-game hit streak…SS Jonathan Arauz hit .364 with a walk in three games.
Top pitching performers - LHP Ranger Suarez's ERA sits at 0.65 after yet another scoreless outing. He pitched 6.0 innings and allowed two hits, giving him three starts of 6.0 innings, no runs and three hits or fewer this season. His dominant start earned him Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week…RHP Edgar Garcia made his first start of the season, yielding two runs (one earned) in 4.1 innings of work while striking out four…RHP Kevin Walsh did not allow a run in his season-high 3.1 innings of relief on July 23.