Minor League Mash-Up: Howard and Stott have big weeks

It was another eventful and successful week down on the Philadelphia Phillies farm, so let’s get to it.

Records

• Lehigh Valley IronPigs: 45-46
• Reading Fightin’ Phils: 55-37 (16-9 in the second half)
• Clearwater Threshers: 50-43 (14-13 in the second half)
• Lakewood Blue Claws: 36-56 (7-15 in the second half)
• Williamsport Crosscutters: 8-21

Notable Performances

• We start as usual with Alec Bohm. On Thursday, Bohm went 2-4 with a home run and two RBIs for Reading. He ended his week with a 2-5 game on Sunday. He doubled, homered and drove in two in that one.
• Bryson Stott makes his first appearance on the mash-up. In his first at-bat for the Rookie Ball squad this week, Stott hit a home run. He added a double and a walk in that one as well. In his next game, Stott went 3-4 with a triple and two RBIs. That was enough for him to get called up to Williamsport, where he hit a two-run home rum in his first at bat there on Sunday.
• Spencer Howard returned to Clearwater this week and went four scoreless innings in his first game back. He allowed only one hit and no walks while striking out seven. Howard then came back on Sunday and pitched five hitless innings, where he also walked a batter and struck out seven again.
• Before being recalled to Philadelphia this weekend, Adam Haseley put in a quality game for Lehigh Valley on Thursday, going 2-4 with a home run.
• JoJo Romero may be starting to bounce back in Reading. On Thursday, he went six innings, allowing a run on four hits and a walk. He added six strikeouts in that start.
• Mickey Moniak went 2-4 for Reading on Friday.The rest of the team produced only three hits as they were shutout by Trenton. Moniak finished his week by going 2-5 with a triple and two RBIs on Sunday.
• Jose Gomez, who was acquired in the 2017 Pat Neshek trade, is starting to produce in Reading. He went 2-4 with a double and two RBIs on Saturday. He added a 3-5 game on Sunday in which he tripled and drove in two.
• Rodolfo Duran went 2-4 with a solo home run for Clearwater on Monday. He backed that up with another 2-4 game on Tuesday. Duran wasn’t done, though,  as he again went 2-4 in game two of Clearwater’s double-header on Thursday.
• Nick Maton had a nice game going 2-5 with a home run and a triple on Tuesday. He added a 2-4 game on Thursday. He went 2-4 again in the night cap of the double-header on Thursday, adding a stolen base in that one. He continued to stay hot by again going 2-4 on Sunday.
• Jhailyn Ortiz had a monster game on Thursday, going 3-5 with a home run, a triple and two RBIs.
• Rafael Marchan continues to hit well – he went 3-4 for Lakewood on Tuesday. He concluded his week by going 2-5 with a double and two RBIs on Sunday.
• Manuel Silva picked up a four-inning save for Lakewood on Tuesday. He didn’t give up  a run and allowed only three baserunners while striking out two.
• Jhordany Mezquita pitched four scoreless innings of relief for Lakewood on Saturday, he gave up only two hits and added two strikeouts.
• Junior Tejada had a good outing for Williamsport on Monday, going four scoreless innings, allowing only one hit while striking out five.
• Taylor Lehman also pitched four scoreless innings for Williamsport this week. He surrendered four hits and had a strikeout.
• Leonel Aponte joined in as well, going four scoreless on Friday. He gave up only two hits and had three strikeouts.

Season Stats

• Alec Bohm has now played in 81 games across three levels this season, that is equivalent to the half way point of the MLB season. He is slashing .324/.392/.542 with 12 home runs, 24 doubles, four triples, 52 RBIs and 36 walks. Multiply those numbers by two and that’s a really good season. Bohm is struggling a bit with his batting average in Reading, though. Considering he’s only played in 19 games there, it fluctuates greatly, but right now he is hitting .267 in Double-A. He does have five home runs in those 19 games after having seven home runs in 62 games between Low-A and High-A.
• Adonis Medina has a 3.90 ERA in 14 starts for Reading this year. Opponents are batting .239 against him and he has a WHIP of 1.28. His strikeout numbers are slightly low with 46 in 67 innings.
• It’s just not Luis Garcia’s year. The 18-year-old has struggled in Low-A, batting .195 with only 15 extra-base hits in 84 games.
• Spencer Howard is on a tear in Clearwater. In six starts, he has a 1.55 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 29 innings. He’s allowed only five walks, which helps give him a .76 WHIP. It’s not out of the question to think he could join Reading for their playoff push. If that happens, that team could become must-see TV.
• JoJo Romero has his ERA in Double-A down to 5.55. His last three outings have been better. On June 27, he went five innings, allowing one earned run. He followed that up with six innings of three-run ball in his next start. And then in his last start, he allowed a run in six innings.
• Francisco Morales got roughed up in his last appearance, but his numbers are still good. He has a 3.90 ERA with 87 strikeouts in 62.1 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .219 against him.
• Mickey Moniak is hitting .267 on the season. He has 21 doubles, 10 triples, four home runs and nine stolen bases. Outside of April, where he hit .195, Moniak’s numbers have been good. He hit .290 in May, .294 in June, and is currently hitting .294 in July as well. Moniak is doing well in clutch situations too. He’s hitting .316 with runners on and .424 with runners in scoring position. Take away April, and this is a pretty good year for the 21-year-old.
• Jhailyn Ortiz’s power is showing up with 15 long balls in 76 games. The rest of his game is a step behind, though, as he’s batting .226 with 100 strikeouts. He has 50 RBIs, which would put his on pace for over 100 over the course of 162 games.
• Rafael Marchan is batting .285 with a .353 OBP. He has 14 doubles in 53 games, but is yet to record a home run this season. He has great discipline with only 25 strikeouts on the year. You have to think the power will come eventually, but he already has the other tools to become a special hitter.
• Nick Maton is hitting .288 with a .365 OBP. He has 18 extra-base hits, 11 stolen bases and 32 walks in 75 games.
• David Parkinson has been roughed up a little lately, but his ERA is still 3.54 which is fine considering he pitches in Reading. He has a WHIP of 1.22 and has  allowed only five home runs in his 15 starts.
• Deivy Grullon is back from injury. The Lehigh Valley catcher is hitting .306 with 12 home runs, 16 doubles and 50 RBIs. We could possibly see him in Philadelphia in September, but he should battle for the back-up catcher’s position next Spring Training.
• Damon Jones has been one of the best stories in the Phillies system this season. He’s gone from High-A to Triple-A in a matter of 16 starts. He has a 1.47 ERA in those 16 starts, with a 1.00 WHIP and 125 strikeouts in 85.2 innings. He made his Triple-A debut on Sunday, going 5.1 innings allowing two runs on two hits and four walks. He struck out six.

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