Phillies Minor League review, Aug. 10-16
Players of the Week
Player - 1B Luis Encarnacion, Gulf Coast League Phillies…The 18-year-old Encarnacion was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Week after batting a lofty .478 (11-23) with a pair of doubles, three RBI, three runs scored, and a stolen base. He reached base at a .520 mark and posted a 1.085 OPS in his six games played. On August 10, Encarnacion had a career-high five hits, going 5-5 with a double, two runs and two RBI against the GCL Tigers. He is currently riding a 10-game hit streak, during which he has raised his average from .259 to an even .300. His 30 RBI lead the Gulf Coast League while his 64 total bases are tied for third. Encarnacion was signed by the Phillies and Koby Perez as an amateur free agent in August of 2013.
Pitcher - RHP Stephen Shackleford, Reading…Shackleford, 26, earned Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week honors by converting four saves in four chances for the Fightins, combining to pitch 4.0 scoreless innings with just two walks and one hit allowed. On August 11, he recorded his 25th save of the season, breaking the team record for most saves in a single season with almost a month still to play. He has converted 28 saves in 30 chances overall, holding opponents to a .196 average over his 48.2 innings of work. The 6-foot-2 right-hander leads the league in saves and games finished (41) while ranking second in overall games (46). Shackleford was signed by the Phillies as a minor league free agent in December of 2014, and was originally selected by the San Francisco Giants in the 30th round of the 2010 draft.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs - International League North Division…54-69, T-4th place…It was a tough week for Lehigh Valley, as they went 1-6 against Syracuse and Pawtucket-the two teams beneath them in the standings. Their lone win came on August 15, in a slim 6-5 victory over the Red Sox.
Top hitting performers - INF Tyler Pastornicky was acquired in a trade last week, and promptly recorded three straight multi-hit games for Lehigh Valley, finishing the week with a .417 average and .500 on-base percentage. He doubled three times and walked four…OF Aaron Altherr went 8-26 (.308) with four doubles and a couple of runs scored…OF Jordan Danks clubbed his fourth home run of the season, drove in five runs and hit three doubles while batting .348.
Top pitching performers - RHP Alec Asher made his only start of the week against The Pawtucket Red Sox, holding them to three runs (two earned) over 6.0 frames…RHP Severino Gonzalez surrendered a run on four hits and did not walk a batter in his 5.0-inning start on August 14…RHP Jerad Eickhoff struck out eight batters in 7.2 innings of work in his only start.
Reading Fightin Phils - Eastern League Eastern Division …69-51, 1st place…The red-hot Fightins have now won 12 of their last 13 games after going 5-1 last week. Their winning streaked reached 10 games before it was snapped in a narrow 2-1 loss to Trenton. Reading is now 3.5 games ahead in the division with 22 games left to play.
Top hitting performers - OF Nick Williams continued his impressive start with Reading, batting .308 with a home run, triple, double , a team-high six RBI and a stolen base in six games. He is batting .377 with the Fightins…C Andrew Knapp's batting average is still over .400 after a week in which he hit .389 with a home run and two RBI. He has a 14-game hit streak, during which he has batted .536 (30-56), and has hit safely in all but three of his 39 games with Reading…INF Angelo Mora went 7-18 (.389) over five games with a home run, double, triple and three RBI…SS J.P. Crawford hit his fifth home run of the season for Reading and also added a triple, two runs, two RBI and a stolen base last week.
Top pitching performers - RHP Zach Eflin threw 7.0 shutout innings and scattered six hits in his start on August 14. It was his longest scoreless start since he went 8.0 innings on April 19…RHP Stephen Shackleford recorded four saves in four attempts, combining to throw 4.0 innings with just one hit allowed. His save on August 11 was his 25th of the season, breaking Reading's all-time single season save record. He now has 28 saves in 30 opportunities, and was named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week for his efforts…RHP Ethan Martin had a 2.0-inning relief appearance followed by a 5.0-inning scoreless start. He allowed only four hits in those 7.0 innings…RHP Jake Thompson struck out five batters in 6.0 innings and allowed two runs on two hits in his one start. He has allowed two runs or fewer in his first three starts with Reading…RHP Nick Pivetta tossed 5.2 scoreless frames and struck out eight batters, giving him 15 strikeouts in his last 10.2 innings pitched.
Clearwater Threshers - Florida State League North Division…30-20, 2nd place, 67-53 overall…A strong start set the Threshers up for a successful week in which they won four of six games and continued to apply pressure to the first-place Tortugas. The four wins came in their first four games, as they swept Lakeland and took the first game of a series against Tampa before finishing the week with two losses.
Top hitting performers - 1B Rhys Hoskins racked up a team-high 13 total bases thanks to a home run, double and triple to go along with five RBI and four runs scored…C Willians Astudillo batted .462 with a .563 on-base percentage and 1.024 OPS in four games for Clearwater…SS Malquin Canelo drove in four runs, scored two more and stole a base in his six games played.
Top pitching performers - RHP Ricardo Pinto earned his third straight victory after holding Lakeland to a run on three hits in 7.0 innings of work. He has allowed just three hits in three of his last five starts…RHP Alexis Rivero had a scoreless 2.2-inning relief appearance on August 12 and followed that with another scoreless outing of 2.1 innings on August 16. He has four straight appearances of 2.0 innings or more…RHP Alberto Tirado pitched 3.0 innings over two relief outings, combining to allow three hits and no runs while striking out two.
Lakewood BlueClaws - South Atlantic League Northern Division…28-21, 2nd place, 61-56 overall…Lakewood swept its three-game series with Greensboro before dropping two of three to Delmarva to finish the week at 4-2. Lakewood will play the Shorebirds for another three-game set, making it six in a row against them before they head to West Virginia for a four-game series.
Top hitting performers -OF Herlis Rodriguez collected nine hits in 26 at-bats (.346), hit a home run, tripled, drove in five runs, scored two runs and stole two bases…2B Scott Kingery hit safely in all but one game, batting .348 with three stolen bases, a pair of RBI and three multi-hit games…INF Drew Stankiewicz had three doubles, three runs and an RBI while batting .304 in five games.
Top pitching performers - RHP Ranfi Casimiro struck out a season-high seven batters and held Greensboro to two runs on four hits in 7.0 innings on the mound…RHP Will Morris shut out Delmarva for 7.0 innings on August 15, and now has not allowed more than three runs in any of his 11 games (six starts) with Lakewood…LHP Austin Davis threw 6.0 innings, striking out six batters while yielding one run on six hits. His season ERA dropped to 3.03 in 74.1 innings…LHP Elniery Garcia allowed one run on three hits over 6.0 frames on August 12. He has allowed five hits or fewer in four straight starts.
Williamsport Crosscutters - New York-Penn League Pinckney Division…35-21, 1st place…The Crosscutters put more distance between them and the second-place State College Spikes, taking five in a row from West Virginia and Staten Island to start the week. They allowed three runs or fewer in all but one of those games. Williamsport did drop their last two contests, but they still hold the best record in the league as they head into a two-game set with State College.
Top hitting performers - 1B/C Jesus Posso hit two home runs, drove in five runs and scored six while batting .321. He had two three-hit games after having none all season and recorded at least one RBI in four of his seven games played…C Austin Bossart hit an even .400 with four RBI in six games. His 18-game hit streak, which began on July 6, came to an end on August 15…2B Josh Tobias hit safely in six of seven games, batting .290 with a home run and a team-high seven RBI….OF Venn Biter recorded three multi-hit games, batting .321 with six runs scored, three doubles and three stolen bases.
Top pitching performers - RHP Mitch Gueller scattered five hits, let in one run and earned his seventh victory in just nine games pitched on August 12 against Staten Island…RHP Alejandro Arteaga is now 4-1 with a 2.75 ERA after holding Mahoning Valley to two runs (one earned) in 6.0 innings of work on August 15…RHP Robert Tasin nailed down both of his save opportunities, striking out six batters in his 4.0 innings. He has converted 11 of 12 save opportunities this season.
GCL Phillies - Gulf Coast League, Northwest Division…26-13, 1st place…The GCL Phillies opened the week by extending their winning streak to five games after defeating the Yankees 9-7. However, they lost four of the next five, falling back into second place behind the GCL Blue Jays.
Top hitting performers - 1B Luis Encarnacion had 11 hits in just 23 at-bats, which included a career-best five-hit game on August 10. He slugged .565 with a 1.085 OPS, drove in three runs and scored three more in six games played, earning Phillies Minor League Player of the Week honors…OF Cornelius Randolph pulled his season average over .300 after batting .381 with seven runs scored, four stolen bases, three doubles, two RBI and a triple.
Top pitching performers - RHP Adonis Medina made two starts, tossing 5.0 innings and allowing two runs in the first, and then lasting 5.0 shutout innings with five strikeouts in the second. He walked just two batters and gave up 10 hits…RHP Carlos Indriago pitched 5.0 innings in his start on August 12 and did not allow a run while surrendering just three hits. In his three games as a starter, he has pitched 16.0 innings and has a 0.56 ERA (one run allowed) and 0.56 WHIP (six hits, three walks).