Phillies Minor League Review, June 8-14
Player - 3B Mitch Walding, Clearwater...Walding, 22, was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Week after hitting .409 (9-for-22) with a home run, five RBI, four runs scored, a double and a 1.026 OPS in seven games with for Threshers. The left-handed hitting third baseman had multiple hits in four of those games, which helped raise his batting average by more than 20 points. In Clearwater's three game series against Brevard County, he went 5-for-10 with a home run, four runs scored and four RBI. Walding was selected by the Phillies in the 5th round of the 2011 MLB Draft, and was signed by Joey Davis
Pitcher - RHP Edubray Ramos, Clearwater...The 22-year-old right-hander was dominant in three relief outings, allowing just three hits and striking out 10 batters while walking none and holding opponents scoreless over 7.0 innings of work. All three of his outings were at least 2.0 innings, culminating with a perfect 3.0-inning save on June 14 during which he posted a career-high six strikeouts. He currently leads the league with an average of 0.70 walks per 9.0 innings pitched and would rank fifth with a 1.86 ERA if he had enough innings to qualify. Ramos was signed by the Phillies as a minor league free agent in November, 2012 and was originally signed as an amateur free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals and Carlos Salas.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs - International League North Division…23-42, 5th place…Lehigh Valley struggled on the mound early in the week in a three-game series against Durham as they were swept and allowed seven runs or more in each game. But the pitching rebounded in the next series to hold the Norfolk Tides to just nine total runs in four games-including a pair of shutouts-as the IronPigs capped the week with a series split.
Top hitting performers - OF Russ Canzler clubbed two home runs, drove in eight runs, scored another four and batted .344 in seven games for Lehigh Valley. He recorded multiple hits in three of his last five games, including two three-hit games…OF Domonic Brown hit his first two home runs of the season and batted a lofty .364 with a .727 slugging average. In the IronPigs' three game set against Durham, he went 8-for-14 with seven runs, four extra-base hits and three RBI…OF Brian Bogusevic was the third Lehigh Valley outfielder to find his power stroke, as he also hit two home runs in addition to driving in five runs and recording 16 total bases.
Top pitching performers - RHP Phillippe Aumont made two starts last week, and combined to allow three earned runs in 11.1 innings (2.38 ERA) while striking out 16 batters. Aumont has made 10 starts this season and has not allowed more than three earned runs in any of them…LHP Adam Morgan tossed 6.0 shutout innings on June 12 against Norfolk, scattering six hits for his first scoreless start of the season…RHP Hector Neris appeared in three games out of the bullpen, and combined to allow just two hits in 6.0 scoreless frames while striking out four…LHP Jake Diekman struck out four in 4.0 innings of work and did not allow a run. He has yet to allow a run in five games so far with Lehigh Valley.
Reading Fightin Phils - Eastern League Eastern Division …33-29, 3rd place… The Fightin Phils took two of three from the Altoona Curve early in the week to win their third straight series, but the series win did not come easily. In the finale on May 11, the two teams played an 18-inning, 5:07 game that eventually was taken by Reading on a walk-off walk. They were unable to build on the victory, however, as they were then swept for the first time since May 11-13, dropping three straight to Akron.
Top hitting performers - OF Aaron Altherr reached base 16 times in six games, as he led the team with 10 hits and six walks last week for a .471 on-base percentage. He also homered, hit three doubles and knocked in a pair of runs…1B Brock Stassi brought his RBI total up to 49 for the season after knocking in six more runs in six games last week. He had two games with two RBI, giving him 12 multi-RBI games in just 58 games overall…CF Roman Quinn showed his versatility by hitting .353 with a home run, three runs scored, two stolen bases and a .421 on-base percentage. His 29 stolen bases are most in the league.
Top pitching performers - RHP Zach Eflin made one start, striking out a season-high six batters while holding Altoona scoreless over 5.0 innings of work…RHP Colton Murray had three separate 2.0-inning relief appearances over a span of five days and allowed only one run while recording 10 total strikeouts…1B Brock Stassi made his 2015 pitching debut in Reading's 18-inning affair on June 11. He tossed 3.0 innings with three strikeouts and was perfect aside from a walk as he earned the first win of his career (five total games as a pitcher).
Clearwater Threshers - Florida State League North Division…32-31, 2nd place…Clearwater was able to climb above .500 with a strong 5-2 week that included series wins over both Bradenton and Brevard County. The Threshers' pitching set the tone all week, yielding two runs or fewer in four of the team's seven games.
Top hitting performers - 3B Mitch Walding built upon a strong start to June, leading all Threshers' players last week with a .409 batting average in seven games. He hit a home run, knocked in five runs and scored four more, earning Phillies Minor League Player of the Week honors…OF Dylan Cozens recorded a team-high 10 hits-six of which went for extra bases (five doubles and a home run). He hit .357 with a .643 slugging percentage…C Andrew Knapp collected seven hits, walked five times and scored five runs while hitting .333 in his six games played.
Top pitching performers - RHP Edubray Ramos struck out 10 batters in 7.0 innings in relief last week. He surrendered only three total hits, did not walk a batter and was named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week for his efforts…RHP Colin Kleven let in just one unearned run over 7.0 innings in his start last week, marking the 10th consecutive start in which he allowed three runs or fewer…RHP David Whitehead went 6.0 scoreless innings on June 8 against Bradenton, and followed that up with a 5.0-inning, two-run performance against Brevard County later in the week. He struck out nine in those 11.0 innings…LHP Matt Imhof made his first start since April 14 and picked up right where he left off, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits over 5.0 innings on June 11…RHP Mark Leiter Jr. made two starts for Clearwater, combining for four earned runs allowed in 12.0 innings (3.00 ERA) while striking out seven.
Lakewood BlueClaws - South Atlantic League North Division…31-28, 3rd place…The BlueClaws also had a productive week, as they vaulted into third place after taking two of three from Lexington and then their first two games against Harrisburg over the weekend. They finished the week with six wins in the last eight games and three straight victories.
Top hitting performers - SS Malquin Canelo went 9-for-22 (.409) with two home runs, a double, a triple, seven RBI and a 1.277 OPS. He has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games …CF Carlos Tocci also hit .409 for the BlueClaws, adding a home run, four runs scored and two more driven in. He is currently fourth in the league in batting with a .321 average…SS Grenny Cumana had six hits in 18 at bats, scored three runs, drove in three runs and stole a base…1B Rhys Hoskins displayed his power yet again with three home runs, eight RBI and a .727 slugging average in just five games played last week. He has driven in at least one run in 10 of his last 13 games and has 49 RBI this season.
Top pitching performers - LHP Josh Taylor had his best start of the season on June 9, limiting Lexington to a just four hits and no runs over 7.0 innings. It was his second straight game of 7.0 innings or more after having just one such game in his first eight outings…RHP Tyler Viza struck out seven in 7.0 innings during his lone start of the week. He yielded just four hits and one run, giving him a 0.86 ERA over his last three starts (two earned runs in 21.0 innings)…LHP Elniery Garcia scattered eight hits and allowed just one run in 6.0 innings against Hagerstown.