Phuture Phillies

The Clearwater Threshers have continued to struggle over the last couple of weeks since my last Clearwater report. They have a second half record of 10-18 and are currently 11.5 games out of first. Obviously the biggest news in Clearwater lately was the Phillies trade that sent both Adrian Cardenas and Matt Spencer from the Threshers along with Josh Outman to the A’s for pitcher Joe Blanton.

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This week we will take a quick look at the VSL and DSL teams this summer.  As always, these reports are based on little more than statistics over the Internet, so they are highly subjective.  The key statistic to look for is age-based performance.  In general, the better prospects are the younger ones that get regular playing time.  Prospects over the age of 19 are rarely top prospects.  The Phillies VSL squad last year might have been a slight exception to that rule as 3 20-year-olds (Freddy Ballestas, Yonderman Rodriguez, and Harold Garcia) are all making significant contributions in the U.S. this season.  It remains to be seen if all of them are prospects, however, as each is somewhat old for the league they are playing in.

The VSL Phillies are currently in 3rd place out of 8 teams in the league with a record of 28-24.  Unfortunately the best players on the team have tended to be the older players.  The average age of the team is slightly above the league average this year and many of the younger players have struggled.  This article will take a look at the top players and prospects so far, with a follow-up article after the season ends to rank the top prospects.

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The two short-season teams have been chock full of intriguing stories up to this point. On most nights these two teams are the first stop for me on the minor league scoreboard. Let’s take a look at how these two teams fared over the last week.

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With 3 prospects from my Top 30 traded, it was time for an update. The next update will come after the trading deadline, as I suspect more moves are in the works. Again, a quick thanks to everyone who stopped in for the first time, and for those who continue to check in regularly. The Blanton discussion obviously got heated, but I think its important to remember that we’re all Phillies fans at the end of the day, and we’re all rooting for Big Joe to pitch well. Also, best wishes to Adrian, Josh and Matt in Oakland, and we’ll continue to check in on them and see how they are doing as the season progresses. Have a nice weekend.

An abbreviated week because of the All Star break led to a 2-3 record on the week, leaving Lehigh Valley at 40-59 on the year, 22 games back of division leading Pawtucket. ‘Pig league leaders include Mike Cervenak who is 4th in at bats (356), 9th in runs (55), 3rd in hits (110), 9th in doubles (21), and 2nd in average (.310).  Andy Tracy is 8th in slugging % (.518), 5th in on base % (.393), 3rd in RBI’s (65), 6th in homers (17), and 4th in doubles (24). Pitching leaders include Brian Mazone who is 5th in innings (116.2), 5th in homers allowed (15), and 4th in WHIP (1.16).  Les Walrond is 9th in ERA(3.32).  JA Happ is 8th in ERA (3.31), 10th in IP (108.2), leading the league in strikeouts (116), and 7th in WHIP (1.20).  Matt Childers is 2nd in the league with 15 saves.

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No names released yet, as far as I’ve seen. I’ll update this spot when the names are known. Hold your breath.

Update—> Cardenas, Spencer and Outman.

Wow.

For A’s fans who find the blog, you can find info on these guys here.

Cardenas
Outman
Spencer