Minor League Games - Sunday, May 14, 2017

[kikutaro]

Buffalo Bisons (18-15) @ Lehigh Valley IronPigs (22-13) 12:35 pm | Gameday
N/A vs. Tom Eshelman (1-0, 0.00)

Notable

Taylor Featherston 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B, SB
Rhys Hoskins 2-2, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR, BB
Dylan Cozens 1-3, R, 3 RBI, HR, K
Nick Williams 0-3, 2 K
Logan Moore 2-3

Tom Eshelman (W, 2-0), 7.0 IP, 5H, 2R, 0ER, 1BB, 2K, game score: 66

Buffalo Bisons (18-16) @ Lehigh Valley IronPigs (23-13) Game 2 | Gameday
N/A vs. Jake Thompson (1-3, 6.65)

Notable

Rhys Hoskins 0-2, BB, 2 K
Nick Williams 2-3, R, 2B

Jake Thompson (W, 2-3), 5.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 1BB, 4K, game score: 68
Michael Mariot (H, 4), 1.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1K
Pedro Beato (S, 9), 1.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 1K

Portland Sea Dogs (17-14) @ Reading Fightin Phils (19-13) 2:05 pm | Gameday
Kevin McAvoy (1-2, 4.01) vs. Drew Anderson (3-0, 5.53)

Notable

Scott Kingery 1-4, R, RBI, HR
Malquin Canelo 2-4, R, SB, CS
Carlos Tocci 1-2, 2 BB, SB
Andrew Pullin 3-4, RBI, K
Chace Numata 2-4
Kyle Martin 0-3, BB, 2 K
Aaron Brown 0-3, 3 K

Drew Anderson 7.0 IP, 1H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 7K, game score: 78
Jesen Therrien (W, 1-1), 2.0 IP, 1H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K

Clearwater Threshers - Off

Columbia Fireflies (18-16) @ Lakewood BlueClaws (21-15) 1:05 pm | Gameday
N/A vs. Bailey Falter (1-2, 4.50)

Notable

Daniel Brito 2-4, 2B, K
Raul Rivas 0-4, 2 K
Brett Barbier 1-3, R, BB
Luke Williams 2-4, R, RBI, 2 2B, SB
Edgar Cabral 2-4, RBI

Bailey Falter 7.0 IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 0BB, 7K, game score: 62
Zach Morris (L, 2-2), 1.0 IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, 1BB, 0K

(click on the start time for box scores)

[bigegypt0417]

3 run hr for cozens.

[andyb]

Both of the bash brothers with #9.

BTW JP not in the lineup for 3rd game in a row.

[miker]

And one for Hoskins too. Bash Brothers are back? (of course it is Mat Latos pitching).

[phillychuck]

Drew Anderson through 4.

[rkeden]

Kingery hit a dinger and is now only one homer behind Dylan and Rhys. Nice outing by Eshelman too. Hasn't allowed an earned run since moving up to AAA.

[phillychuck]

Drew Anderson through 4.

Through 5.

[bigegypt0417]

Crawford in the line up for game 2

[phillychuck]

Drew Anderson through 4.

Through 5.

Through 6. Adjusted his stride before last outing and has been lights out since.

From Reading:

"Reading's 23-year-old right-hander struggled through most of his first five Double-A starts but an adjustment in his stride made all the difference as he unfurled one of the best performances of his career, striking out a career-high 10 in the Fightin Phils 2-1 Eastern League win over visiting Bowie.
Reading pitching coach Steve Schrenk noticed Anderson wasn't striding far enough in his delivery. The two worked on it in a side session several days ago in Portland, and Anderson made the adjustment look like magic.
He didn't allow a hit through five innings and ended up pitching a career-high seven innings.
"I just felt like myself again," said Anderson, who was so good late last season in his return from Tommy John surgery that the Phillies placed him on their 40-man roster. "That's normally how I pitch; I don't know why I reverted back to a shortened stride.""

Edit--gave up a HR to Rafael Devers (BBA # 18 prospect) in the 7th.

[EDmuch]

Boy there really could be some serious power coming up to the Big Club in the next year or two. I would kind of like to see Hoskins and Cozens remain kind of joined at the hip as they both move up to the Phils together.

[rkeden]

The Sixers need a point guard. The Eagles need a cornerback. I get it! There is always something--a weakness that seems like the proverbial "missing link". For the Phils, you could write a book about the current situation and everyday we here write a chapter.

I don't think that there is anything more important this year for the Phil's future than to somehow enable Franco to start approaching his potential. His upside seems huge, but the downside is also apparent. Matt Stairs is his best friend right now and I can only hope that the chemistry and the mutual respect helps Maikel get the mental and physical elements figured out simultaneously. I gather that he is trying hard. The last few games (small sample) look much better. But we really need a young, powerful, adequate fielding 3rd baseman.

Most other positions have depth. Young, talented kids who I can't wait to see in Philly. The visits daily to the minor league links, in the hundreds, attest to the excitement we all feel about the future. Today is just another day of outstanding performances by the next generation of our next stars. But I can't find a quality third baseman anywhere in the system. Walding looks the part but the numbers are miserable. It seems like a vacuum at this one position.

I know that can be solved by Free Agency but I want home grown talent. I don't want to pay for older, over-paid grizzled veterans on the downside of their productivity. Even, or especially Galvis, would be better than some stranger that becomes our mercenary infielder. Any thoughts on how to turn one of our own into a third-sacker? Help!

[EDmuch]

I could live with Machado as our big ticket UFA.

[allentown]

Too bad Anderson doesn't get the win. The Phillies had 3 singles and a walk in the 6th, but didn't score, due to a CS and not sending the runner from 2nd on a single to the OF. Tocci runs the bases like a slow guy. First to second on an OF single, then second to third on another OF single. Nice to see a single and two more walks for Tocci though.

[Austinfan]

Canelo up to .307, and defensively he's as good as Crawford and Galvis, hitting was the only question.

Kingery with 8 HRs is good/bad, good because he's obviously stronger, bad because little guys can fall in love with the HR, distort their swing and forget that their future success is going to be based on defense and OBP where they can use their speed, the HRs are icing on the cake.

The pitching has been outstanding for the most part, nice to see Thompson back in the Lehigh starting rotation, he's not a RP.

Think the 4 teams are approaching .600 ball, pretty amazing given some of the massive slumps by many players.

[andyb]

Kingery's power is all good. Part of what set him apart from Valentin was his athleticism. The power is a little unexpected and probably a little due to the park, but any time we see mid-level power from a middle infielder it is a good thing and the athleticism certainly gave him a little more power potential. Any time you think power is bad from an infielder you are probably over thinking. He is drawing walks and has a K rate within reason for today's game which is exactly what you want him to do.

I also would not go putting Canelo in the same category as Crawford and Galvis defensively. He is seen as good, but not really as good as those other two (who are different themselves). More offense for him is good though he is likely one of a multitude of candidates for a future middle infield reserve.

[allentown]

I haven't seen reviews of the upper-level AA defense of Canelo, but everything I read while he was in the low minors confirmed that his defense was viewed as exceptional. He looks good by eyeball.

[andyb]

Cozens HR the longest in LHV stadium history (though to be fair, minor league park measuring may not be as accurate as in the majors):

Phillies prospect Dylan Cozens sets Coca-Cola Park record with monster homer

[kmc1019]

A tale of two Dylan Cozens - April and May:

Avg
Apr - 136
May - 370

OPS
Apr - 501
May - 1195

Strikeouts
Apr - 40
May - 9

If he were to meet in the middle, we would still be talking about an exciting corner outfield prospect.

[Squire]

At this point, I am completely ready to send Crawford back to Clearwater to let him have a little success or clear his head or whatever. Promote Canelo to AAA and promote Stankiewicz up from Clearwater to Reading.

[allentown]

Clearwater seems a tad drastic. Reading should suffice, should the Phillies choose to go that route.