Phillies Minor League review, Aug. 17-23
Player - OF Aaron Brown, Clearwater…Brown, a 23-year old in his second professional season, earned Player of the Week Honors after batting .455 (10-22) with a home run, six runs scored, two doubles, two RBI and a walk in six games. He began the week with four straight multi-hit games, including his fourth three-hit game of the season on August 18. He has scored or driven in at least one run in six of his last seven contests. Brown was selected by the Phillies in the third round of the 2014 draft out of Pepperdine University and was signed by Shane Bowers.
Pitcher - RHP Ricardo Pinto, Clearwater…The 21-year-old Pinto made one start for the Threshers, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings with six strikeouts and just three hits allowed as he was named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week. He has allowed just one run in his last 19.2 innings (0.92 ERA), and over that span has surrendered just 11 hits and three walks (0.71 WHIP) while striking out 16 batters. This is the right-hander's second Pitcher of the Week award this season, with the first coming for the week of June 22-28. Pinto was signed by the Phillies and Jesus Mendez as an amateur free agent in December of 2011.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs - International League North Division…57-71, 5th place… The IronPigs ended the week on a strong note with back-to-back wins over Pawtucket as they went 3-2 in a week shortened by an off-day and a postponement. Lehigh Valley's pitching led the way as they allowed two runs or fewer in four of their five games, including a 2-0 shutout of the Red Sox on August 22.
Top hitting performers - OF Brian Bogusevic recorded three multi-hit games, batting .333 for the week with a home run, three RBI and three runs scored…INF Chase d'Arnaud hit his fifth home run of the season, scored three runs and drove in two…OF Kelly Dugan hit his second home run of the year as a member of the IronPigs.
Top pitching performers - RHP Sean O'Sullivan pitched a career-high 8.1 innings and allowed just one unearned run on three hits while striking out nine batters in his start against the RailRiders…RHP Alec Asher made one start, holding Pawtucket scoreless over 7.0 innings while surrendering only five hits…RHP Dustin McGowan converted all three of his save opportunities, combining to throw 2.2 scoreless innings.
Reading Fightin Phils - Eastern League Eastern Division …72-54, 1st place…The start and finish to the week were complete opposites for Reading, who entered the week on a roll and now find themselves with a three-game losing streak. They took three straight from New Hampshire, scoring six runs or more in all of them, but then were swept by New Britain, scoring just seven runs in three games. Despite the mini skid, Reading still holds a 3.5-game lead in the division.
Top hitting performers - 1B Brock Stassi hit safely in all six games, going 7-17 (.412) with a home run, eight runs scored, six RBI, six walks, a .520 on-base percentage and a 1.285 OPS. He now has 83 RBI this season…OF Destin Hood drove in 10 runs in five games thanks to a career-high 6-RBI game on August 19, during which he homered twice and doubled…SS J.P. Crawford hit .308 with a double, triple, four runs scored and three stolen bases.
Top pitching performers - RHP Jake Thompson tossed 6.0 innings, striking out seven while allowing just two runs. He has pitched 6.0 innings or more and allowed two runs or fewer in all four of his starts with Reading…RHP Ethan Martin did not allow a run in his 5.2 frames on August 22 and now has allowed only two runs in his last 17.2 innings (1.02 ERA)…RHP Reinier Roibal made two appearances out of the bullpen, combining to surrender one unearned run on one hit in 4.1 innings.
Clearwater Threshers - Florida State League North Division…35-22, 2nd place, 72-55 overall… The Threshers' offense exploded last week as they combined for 48 runs in seven games on the way to a 5-2 record. They won three straight over Dunedin on the road, took the opener of a three-game set from Brevard County and rebounded from two losses to win game one of an important series with the first -place Daytona Tortugas.
Top hitting performers - OF Aaron Brown was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Week after batting .455 in six games with a home run, two doubles and a couple of RBI…OF Dylan Cozens recorded four multi-hit games, scored seven runs, doubled, tripled and drove in three runs…1B Rhys Hoskins displayed his power, homering twice and driving in 10 runs in seven games. He also recorded four doubles, helping him to a .750 slugging percentage as he was named Florida State League Player of the Week…3B Mitch Walding batted .409 (9-22) with four RBI, three runs scored, two doubles and a stolen base…OF Andrew Pullin leads the Florida State League with 14 home runs after adding two more to his total last week. They both came in the same game-a 4-4, 4 RBI effort on August 23. He batted .348 with seven RBI for the week…C Willians Astudillo had hits in all four of his games, batting an even .400 with three runs scored and two RBI. His .331 average leads the league.
Top pitching performers - RHP Ricardo Pinto was named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week after holding Dunedin scoreless over 6.2 strong innings on the hill. He struck out six batters and allowed only three hits…RHP Yacksel Rios also had a strong outing during which he surrendered just three hits over 6.0 shutout innings…RHP Alexis Rivero struck out eight batters in 5.0 innings, nailing down two saves in as many chances. His five strikeouts and 3.0 innings on August 19 were both season highs…RHP Alberto Tirado struck out six batters and did not allow a hit over 5.0 innings in relief (two games).
Lakewood BlueClaws - South Atlantic League Northern Division…30-26,T-2nd place, 63-61 overall…Lakewood fell 9.0 games out of first place after winning only two of their seven games last week. Their wins came consecutively-the finale of a series against Delmarva and opener of a series against West Virginia-and they finished the week with three straight losses.
Top hitting performers -OF Jiandido Tromp recorded a team-high 10 hits as he batted .400 with a home run and five RBI and a stolen base…1B/3B Damek Tomscha had hits in all but one of his six games, driving in five runs and scoring four more while hitting .350…2B Scott Kingery went 7-24 (.292) and led the team with six runs scored and three stolen bases…C Deivi Grullon hit two home runs-they came in consecutive games-and drove in five runs.
Top pitching performers - For the second time in three starts, RHP Tyler Viza threw 8.0 innings and allowed one unearned run as he lowered his season ERA to 3.38…LHP Elniery Garcia yielded five hits over 6.0 frames, with just one run crossing the plate…RHP Manny Martinez had two relief outings of 3.0 innings, allowing no hits with four strikeouts in the first and one hit with two strikeouts in the second…RHP Will Morris tossed 5.0 scoreless innings in his lone start and now has back-to-back scoreless outings. His ERA is 1.59 through his first 12 games.
Williamsport Crosscutters - New York-Penn League Pinckney Division…39-22, 1st place…The Crosscutters had an abbreviated week of action as the New York-Penn League All-Star Break took place from August 17-18. They returned from the break as hot as they were entering it, winning four of five including a three-game sweep over Auburn. They held a 5.5-game lead in the division with 15 games to play as of Monday.
Top hitting performers - CF Carlos Duran had multiple hits in three of his four games played, batting .500 (7-14) with an RBI, run and stolen base…2B Josh Tobias batted .333, drove in four runs, scored three and stole a couple of bases for Williamsport…OF Mark Laird had six hits in 18 at-bats (.333) with three RBI and three runs scored. He had three straight two-hit games to finish the week…C Austin Bossart hit safely in three of his four games (.333, 5-15) and has now hit safely in 25 of 28 with the Crosscutters.
Top pitching performers - RHP Alejandro Arteaga has now allowed only one earned run in three straight starts after tossing 6.0 innings of one-run ball on August 22 against Auburn…RHP Franklyn Kilome tied a season-high 6.0 innings pitched on August 21, allowing just one run…RHP Robert Tasin now has 13 saves in 14 chances this season after securing two saves in two chances last week.
GCL Phillies - Gulf Coast League, Northwest Division…32-20,2nd place…The Phillies Gulf Coast League affiliates sit 2.5 games out of first after a 3-3 showing last week. They had a chance to gain some ground on the Blue Jays with a two-game sweep, but they split the home-home series, ending the week with a 3-1 loss on Saturday.
Top hitting performers - C Edgar Cabral is batting .294 this season after hitting .308 with three runs last week…OF Juan Luis had four runs scored, three walks and a pair of triples in six games played.
Top pitching performers - RHP Felix Paulino picked up the win on August 20 after allowing one run on five hits in 6.0 innings of work…RHP Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez made two starts, firing 2.0 scoreless innings with three strikeouts in the first and 3.0 shutout frames in the second…RHP Adonis Medina started one game, shutting out the GCL Blue Jays for 5.0 innings while surrendering only three hits…LHP Zach Morris came out of the bullpen for two games, combining to throw 4.1 innings with no runs allowed, one hit and seven strikeouts.