Phillies Minor League review, Aug. 3-9
Players of the Week
Player - C Andrew Knapp, Reading…Knapp, 23, was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Week for the second straight week after continuing his torrid pace at the plate. He batted .600 (15-25) with four home runs (one walk-off home run), 13 RBI, two doubles, a triple, a 1.240 slugging percentage and 1.985 OPS in six games played. He currently has a nine-game hitting streak, during which he has eight multi-hit games (six three-hit games, two two-hit games), and his recent surge has pushed his batting average from .323 on July 30 to .403. In his two weeks as Player of the Week, he is hitting .519 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 13 games. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound switch-hitter was also named Eastern League Player of the Week after his impressive showing.
Knapp was selected by the Phillies in the second round of the 2013 draft out of the University of California at Berkely, and was signed by Joey Davis.
Pitcher - RHP Jerad Eickhoff, Lehigh Valley…The 25-year-old Eickhoff has had no trouble adjusting to the Phillies organization, as he combined to go 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA (one earned run in 14.0 innings) with 11 hits allowed, two walks and 11 strikeouts over his first two starts for Lehigh Valley. In his IronPigs debut against Toledo he struck out seven in 6.0 innings and surrendered just one run, and followed that up with 8.0 shutout innings against Columbus on August 9. It was his longest scoreless outing of the season at any level, and helped him to earn International League Pitcher of the Week honors as well. Eickhoff was acquired by the Phillies in the July trade that sent Cole Hamels to the Rangers, and he was originally selected by Texas in the 15th round of the 2011 draft out of Olney Central College.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs - International League North Division…53-63, 4th place…Lehigh Valley won a couple of road series last week, taking three of four from Toledo before winning two of their three games with Columbus. The IronPigs scored nine runs or more four times, while holding opponents to one run or fewer on four occasions as well.
Top hitting performers - C Erik Kratz put his power on full display as he belted three home runs (two in one game on August 3) and drove in seven while batting .600 with a 1.500 slugging percentage in four games played…OF Brian Bogusevic tallied six extra-base hits (three doubles, a triple and two home runs) in seven games played. He hit .419, recorded 24 total bases, knocked in seven runs and scored five more…OF Aaron Altherr clubbed two home runs, drove in a team-high nine runs, doubled twice, tripled and slugged .600 for the week.
Top pitching performers - RHP Jerad Eickhoff went 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA in his first two starts for Lehigh Valley. He combined to allow just one run on 11 hits in his first 14.0 innings pitched, earning him Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week and International League Pitcher of the Week honors…RHP Alec Asher made two solid starts for Lehigh Valley, combining for four earned runs in 13.0 innings (2.77 ERA). He threw 7.0 shutout innings in his second start en route to his first win as an IronPig…LHP Anthony Vasquez tossed a complete game against Toledo, allowing one run on four hits while striking out a season-high nine batters in 8.0 innings of work.
Reading Fightin Phils - Eastern League Eastern Division …64-50, 1st place…A couple of key additions to an already potent Reading lineup has helped the team win seven straight games, the last six of which came this past week. Less than seven days ago Reading sat in third place in the division, and now they hold a 1.5 game lead over second-place Binghamton. The Fightins will continue their homestand with three games against Harrisburg as they look to put some distance between themselves and the Mets.
Top hitting performers - C Andrew Knapp was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Week and Eastern League Player of the Week after batting .600 (15-25) with four home runs, 13 RBI a 1.240 slugging percentage and 1.895 OPS. He has hits in nine straight and is batting .403 in 34 games for Reading…CF Nick Williams, acquired in the Cole Hamels trade with Texas, has multiple hits in four of his first six games with the Fightins. He batted .444 with two home runs and nine runs scored-five of which came on August 5, setting a career high…1B Brock Stassi went 9-27 (.333) with a home run, six RBI and seven runs scored in six games…INF Harold Martinez hit .350, homered, scored three runs and drove in three more.Video: Top Prospects: Jake Thompson, RHP, Phillies
Top pitching performers - RHP Jake Thompson lasted 7.0 innings and surrendered just one run in eachof his two starts with Reading. He allowed only nine hits in those 14.0 innings…RHP Ben Lively won his eighth game of the season on August 5 after holding Trenton to one run on three hits over 6.0 strong innings on the hill…LHP Joely Rodriguez shut out Trenton over 5.0 innings on August 6, allowing only one hit…RHP Stephen Shackleford appeared in three games, combining for 4.0 scoreless frames of work. He earned his 24th save of the season, tying Reading's single-season record…RHP Nick Pivetta struck out seven in 5.0 innings and allowed just two runs in his only start.
Clearwater Threshers - Florida State League North Division…26-18, 2nd place, 63-51 overall… The Threshers played .500 baseball, going 3-3 with a series win over Lakeland followed by a series loss to Tampa. All three of their wins came in shutout fashion. Clearwater's game on August 7 was postponed due to an obstruction beyond the batter's eye, marking the fourth postponement since July 24.
Top hitting performers - C Willians Astudillo collected nine hits in just 13 at-bats (.692 average), scoring three runs and knocking in two more…1B Rhys Hoskins scored a team-high five runs and batted .286 with a double in his six games played…OF Dylan Cozens doubled twice, drove in four runs and scored three while batting .278.
Top pitching performers - LHP Matt Imhof held Lakeland to three hits over 6.0 shutout innings and now has allowed just one earned run in his last three games (13.2 innings)…RHP Mark Leiter did not allow a run in 6.0 innings of work against Tampa, extending his streak of games with three earned runs or less to 15…RHP Ricardo Pinto tossed 6.0 scoreless frames and struck out six in his start on August 5…RHP Miguel Nunez made two appearances out of the bullpen, allowing just one hit and striking out three over 2.0 scoreless innings.
Lakewood BlueClaws - South Atlantic League Northern Division…24-19, T-2nd place, 57-54 overall… Lakewood won two of three in their set with Greensboro before splitting a low-scoring series the Crawdads that featured only 14 combined runs in four games. Lakewood is currently five games out of first in the division.
Top hitting performers -1B/3B Damek Tomscha tallied a team-high four extra-base hits (three doubles and a triple), hitting .333 with a .500 slugging percentage…OF Herlis Rodriguez hit his ninth home run of the season and drove in four runs. He had nine hits in 27 at-bats (.333)…SS Emmanuel Marrero pulled his average up by 37 points after batting .348 with three multi-hit games last week…OF Cord Sandberg drove in three runs, scored two and crushed his third home run of the season-a walk-off shot in the 18th inning to give Lakewood the win on August 8 over Hickory.
Top pitching performers - RHP Tyler Viza combined to surrender four runs on eight hits while striking out 10 in 14.0 innings pitched over his two starts last week…RHP Will Morris' ERA with Lakewood sits at 2.01 after a season-high 8.0-inning performance during which he allowed just one run on four hits…RHP Ranfi Casimiro made his lone start on August 4, yielding a run on three hits over 6.0 innings…RHP Shane Watson tossed 6.0 innings of one-run ball on August 7, marking his third start in six overall that he has allowed just one earned run…RHP Matt Hockenberry converted both of his save opportunities and did not allow a run in 3.0 total innings on the mound.
Williamsport Crosscutters - New York-Penn League Pinckney Division…30-19, 1st place…The Crosscutters held onto their division lead for another week, but it is down to five games as they dropped four of their last seven contests. Despite the subpar stretch, Williamsport's torrid start to the season has helped them to become the first team in the New York-Penn League with 30 wins this season.
Top hitting performers - SS Dylan Bosheers played in five games, posting a .474 batting average with three runs scored, two RBI and two walks…2B Josh Tobias tallied three three-hit games and batted .379. He recorded four doubles, six RBI, five runs scored and a pair of stolen bases…OF Mark Laird reached base at a .433 mark due to five walks and eight hits in his six games played.
Top pitching performers - RHP Mitch Gueller did not allow a run and surrendered just three hits in 6.0 innings during his start against Auburn on August 6…LHP Tyler Gilbert struck out a season-high seven batters, scattering seven hits and allowing one run in his lone start of the week.
GCL Phillies - Gulf Coast League, Northwest Division…26-13, 1st place… The GCL Phillies pulled back into first place after going 5-1 against the Braves, Blue Jays and Yankees. Both the offense and pitching contributed to the successful week, as the Phillies outscored opponents 36-14, holding them to three runs or less in all five of their victories. They hold a slim one-game lead with just about a third of the season left to play.
Top hitting performers - SS Jose Antiquera stole five bases for the Phillies and now has 13 in his first 29 games, He also batted .379 with 10 runs in just five games played…3B Lucas Williams hit .438 with three runs scored, two doubles, two RBI and three stolen bases…INF Arquimedes Gamboa batted .280 (7-25) with a double, triple, four runs scored and an RBI.
Top pitching performers - RHP Lewis Alezones made one start and appeared in one game out of the bullpen, combining to go 6.0 innings with one run allowed on two hits. He did not allow a hit or run in his 4.0-inning start…RHP Carlos Indriago's ERA is at 1.11 after he held the Yankees to a run on two hits in 6.0 innings…RHP Felix Paulino tied a season with nine strikeouts as he pitched 5.0 shutout innings against the Blue Jays on August 7…LHP Bailey Falter pitched 4.0 innings in his one start, did not allow a run and surrendered only two hits.