Phillies Minor League review, Aug. 24-30
Players of the Week
Player - 1B/3B Damek Tomscha, Lakewood...Tomscha, 24, batted .381 (8-for-21) with three home runs, seven RBI, two doubles, three walks and a team-high nine runs scored, earning him Phillies Minor League Player of the Week honors. His three home runs were more than the rest of the team hit combined during the week. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound infielder hit safely in all but one of his seven games, recording multiple hits and multiple RBI three times each. His three RBI and three runs scored on August 30 both tied season highs. Tomscha was selected by the Phillies in the 17th round of the 2014 draft out of Auburn University and was signed by Mike Stauffer.
Pitcher - RHP John Richy, Clearwater…Richy was named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week after an impressive Threshers debut, during which he tossed 7.0 scoreless innings and held Daytona to just four hits (all singles) and a walk while striking out three batters. The 23-year-old has walked one batter or fewer in nine of his last 12 outings dating back to June 16 with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. Richy was acquired by the Phillies along with Darnell Sweeney in the August 19 trade that sent Chase Utley to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was originally selected by the Dodgers in the third round of the 2014 draft out the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs - International League North Division…61-75, T-4th place…The IronPigs finished a jam-packed week with a 4-4 record as they fight for the fourth spot in the division with the season drawing to a close. Lehigh Valley won two of three against Buffalo, dropped three of four to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and split the first two games of a series with Syracuse.
Top hitting performers - INF Chase d'Arnaud recorded five multi-hit games, batting .362 with a team-high 12 hits, four runs scored, three walks, two stolen bases and a .432 on-base percentage…1B Tommy Joseph played in eight games, going 9-for-28 (.321) with a pair of doubles and 5 RBI…OF Brian Bogusevic reached base at a .500 clip after walking seven times and batting .348 with a homer. He scored six runs and batted in three.
Top pitching performers - RHP Sean O'Sullivan made two starts for the IronPigs, going 2-0 with four earned runs allowed in 13.0 total innings pitched (2.77 ERA). He struck out twelve batters and allowed just nine hits…RHP Colton Murray appeared in four games in relief, striking out five in 6.0 innings while surrendering just one run on one hit. It was the only run he allowed in the month of August (0.57 ERA in 15.2 innings).
Reading Fightin Phils - Eastern League Eastern Division …77-56,1st place…Reading's offense powered them to a 5-2 week, during which they scored at least eight runs in all five victories. Two Fightins were recognized with league honors last week, as manager Dusty Wathan was named Eastern League Manager of the Year and first baseman Brock Stassi was named the MVP of the Eastern League.
Top hitting performers - SS J.P. Crawford had multiple hits in four of his six games, batting a lofty .391 with a .533 on-base percentage. He doubled twice, tripled and scored seven runs…OF Destin Hood homered twice and drove in seven runs in six games. He hit a double, triple and scored six runs…1B Brock Stassi scored a team-high 10 runs, hit two home runs, knocked in five, hit two doubles and slugged .640 for the week. He was also named the Eastern League Most Valuable Player…C Andrew Knapp hit safely in five of his six games played, tying a team high with seven RBI while homering and scoring three runs…In his first three career games at the triple-A level, OF Dylan Cozens went 5-for-11 (.455) with a home run, six RBI and three runs scored.
Top pitching performers - RHP Zach Eflin made two starts for the Fightins, combining to allow five runs in 12.0 innings with no walks. In his first start, he tossed 7.0 shutout innings against Altoona and struck out five…RHP Jake Thompson struck out seven in 6.0 innings in his lone start, yielding only one run to the Curve. He has not allowed more than two earned runs in any start this season for Reading…RHP Jimmy Cordero appeared out of the bullpen in three games, striking out three in 3.2 scoreless frames.
Clearwater Threshers - Florida State League North Division…38-23, 1st place, 75-56 overall…It was an abbreviated week for the Threshers, who played just four games due to problematic weather. Their August 27 game was postponed, their contest on August 29 ended in a tie after five innings due to rain and they were also rained out the following day. Clearwater won three of four games, two of which came by shutout. They allowed just three runs in those four games.
Top hitting performers - 1B Rhys Hoskins went 7-for-17 (.412) with three RBI, two runs and two doubles. He posted a 1.003 OPS in five games…SS Malquin Canelo had hits in four of five games, posting a .571 on-base percentage with three runs scored and two walks…2B Jesmuel Valentin had hits in all five games, batting .467 with five runs scored.
Top pitching performers - RHP John Richy pitched 7.0 scoreless innings with just four hits and a walk allowed in his Threshers debut, helping him to a Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week award…RHP Mark Leiter combined to surrender three runs in nine innings over two starts. He has a 2.26 ERA this season for Clearwater…RHP Ricardo Pinto made his only start of the week on August 28 against Brevard County, tossing 5.0 innings of one-run ball…RHP David Whitehead collected the win in his 5.0-inning scoreless start on August 28.
Lakewood BlueClaws - South Atlantic League Northern Division…35-27, 2nd place, 68-62 overall…The BlueClaws put together one of their best weeks of the season, as they went 5-1 and held on to second place in the division. Lakewood took three of four from Hagerstown before winning the first two games of a four-game series with Greensboro.
Top hitting performers - 1B/3B Damek Tomscha displayed his power with three home runs, seven RBI, a .905 slugging percentage and 1.405 OPS in six games. He also scored nine runs and doubled twice, helping him reach a team-high 19 total bases and a Phillies Minor League Player of the Week award…C Deivi Grullon batted an even .500 (9-for-18) in six games last week. He homered, drove in seven runs, scored four and slugged .667…2B Drew Stankiewicz scored four runs and hit .333 with a pair doubles…OF Jiandido Tromp batted .348, recording multiple hits in three straight games last week. He scored four runs and walked three times…OF Herlis Rodriguez hit safely in all but one of his games, batting .304 with five runs scored.
Top pitching performers - RHP Will Morris has not allowed an earned run in his last three starts after tossing 7.0 innings with one unearned run allowed in his start against Hagerstown. His ERA has gone from 2.01 to 1.41 since his last earned run…RHP Tyler Viza allowed an earned run and struck out six batters over 7.0 innings on August 29…RHP Matt Hockenberry went 3-for-3 in saves, combining to throw 3.0 perfect innings with four strikeouts.
Williamsport Crosscutters - New York-Penn League Pinckney Division…43-25, 1st place… Williamsport's first part of the week looked very different from the second part, as they swept the Spikes but then dropped three of their next four. The Crosscutters allowed just six runs in their three games with State College but were shut out two times in the four games that followed. However, they still held a seven-game lead in the division as the week came to a close.
Top hitting performers - 1B Brendon Hayden tallied four extra-base hits (three doubles and a home run), drove in six runs and scored four more…INF Dylan Bosheers played in four games, batting .462 (6-for-13) with two RBI and two walks…2B Josh Tobias hit .318 with six runs scored, four walks, a double, a triple and two RBI.
Top pitching performers - RHP Luke Leftwich made two starts, going 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA (two earned runs in 10.0 innings pitched). He has allowed three earned runs or fewer in all eight of his starts…LHP Tyler Gilbert allowed a run on four hits and struck out six during his 6.0-inning performance on August 25…RHP Robert Tasin recorded saves in both of his chances, posting scoreless innings in both.
GCL Phillies - Gulf Coast League, Northwest Division…36-24, 2nd place…The Phillies finished their season with a busy schedule, as they played eight games last week in just six days, including back-to-back doubleheaders on August 24 and 25. They went 4-4 in those eight games, starting the week with a 5-0 shutout over the Yankees and finishing the week and season with a 4-0 win over the Blue Jays. All four of the Phillies' wins last week came in the form of a shutout.
Top hitting performers - 3B Lucas Williams had multiple hits in four of his six games, batting .381 with three runs scored. His season average rounds out at .288 with an impressive .400 on-base percentage…OF Cornelius Randolph went 6-for-17 (.353) with three walks, three runs and an RBI. He finished his first professional season with a .302 batting average to go along with 34 runs scored and 24 RBI in 53 games…SS Jonathan Arauz scored three runs and drove in one more in six games while batting .273…1B Luis Encarnacion drove in four runs and scored three more.
Top pitching performers - RHP Carlos Indriago did not allow a run in his 6.0 innings of work, striking out four while walking just one batter. He walked just eight batters in 41.0 innings and finished with a 2.20 ERA in 12 games…RHP Luis Morales made his first start for the GCL Phillies, lasting 6.0 scoreless frames while surrendering just three hits. He allowed one earned run in 13.0 innings this season (0.69 ERA)…LHP Will Stewart made two relief appearances, tossing a season-high 3.0 innings in the first followed by 2.1 innings in the second. He struck out eight batters in those 5.1 innings and finished the season with 20 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched…LHP Bailey Falter struck out three and surrendered just three hits as he lasted 5.0 scoreless innings in his start against the GCL Pirates on August 26.