Phillies Minor League Review: June 25-July 1
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Players of the Week
Player - C Rodolfo Duran, Lakewood… Duran, 20, posted a .643/.737/1.357 slash line, going 9-for-14 with one double, three home runs, four RBI, five runs scored and five walks in five games. He homered in three consecutive games from June 27-29 and was also selected as the South Atlantic League Player of the Week. He finished June with 14 extra-base hits and a 1.298 OPS in 20 games. The Dominican Republic native was signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent on Nov. 5, 2014.
Pitcher - RHP Spencer Howard, Lakewood… The 21-year-old struck out a season-high 10 batters over 6.0 scoreless innings in his start on June 29 against Hagerstown. He was also named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week for his performance and is averaging 11.66 SO/9.0 IP (76 SO, 58.2 IP) this season. Howard was selected by the Phillies in the second round of the June 2017 draft.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs - International League North Division… 47-35, 1st place… The IronPigs split a four-game set against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre before taking two of three at Rochester to end their week. They finished June with a record of 18-10.
Top hitting performers - 1B Joey Meneses batted .333 (9-27) with five doubles, one home run, five RBI and four runs scored in seven games. He entered play today leading the International League in total bases (151) and tied for first in home runs (15) this season… INF Trevor Plouffe posted a .353/.542/.882 slash line, going 6-for-17 with three doubles, two home runs, six RBI and seven walks over six contests.
Top pitching performers - LHP Ranger Suárez debuted with Lehigh Valley on June 29 at Rochester, striking out six and allowing one run over 4.2 innings… RHP Enyel De Los Santos allowed four runs in 12.0 innings across two starts. He has logged a quality start in 10 of his 15 outings this season and leads the league with a 1.81 ERA… LHP Cole Irvin struck out 12 batters over 11.1 innings, while not allowing a walk in his two starts.
Reading Fightin Phils - Eastern League Eastern Division… 36-46, 5th place… Reading went 3-4 last week, which included two wins in their last three games against Hartford. Offensively, they continue to lead the league in home runs (83) this season.
Top hitting performers - OF Austin Listi went 11-for-26 (.423) with one double, three home runs, 10 RBI and posted a 1.259 OPS in seven games. He entered play today tied for seventh in RBI (62) across Minor League Baseball in 2018… INF Zach Green, who was recently selected as an Eastern League All-Star, batted .476 (10-21), doubled twice and scored five runs over six games. He collected a season-high tying four hits on June 28 vs Erie… OF Jan Hernandez doubled, homered twice, drove in three runs and scored six runs, while batting .300 (6-20). He was chosen as an Eastern League All-Star.
Top pitching performers - LHP JoJo Romero recorded 13 strikeouts over two starts (11.0 IP), while allowing three runs. He has struck out 28 batters in his last four starts (25.0 IP)… RHP Jacob Waguespack earned a win in his lone start, allowing one run with eight strikeouts over 5.2 innings… LHP Jeff Singer tossed 3.0 scoreless innings of relief (2 games) and converted his only save opportunity. He has posted a 1.04 ERA and 0.98 WHIP in 11 relief appearances with Reading this season.
Clearwater Threshers - Florida State League North Division… 8-3, 2nd place, 40-39 overall… The Threshers took two of three at Daytona to begin their week but later dropped two of three against St. Lucie. Clearwater's offense leads the league with 731 hits this season.
Top hitting performers - OF Jose Pujols posted a .364/.462/.545 slash line, going 8-for-22 with a double, home run and four walks in six games… OF Adam Haseley went 6-for-22 (.273) with a triple and five walks. He is batting .333 (59-177) with a .393 on-base percentage over his last 43 games since May 10… OF Grenny Cumana homered, drove in three runs and hit .300 (6-20).
Top pitching performers - RHP Ramon Rosso struck out nine and surrendered just two hits over 6.0 scoreless innings in his first start with Clearwater on July 1 vs St. Lucie… LHP McKenzie Mills yielded two hits and one unearned run in 6.0 innings during his only start. He has not allowed an earned run over his last 13.0 innings (since June 18)… RHP Alejandro Requena logged a quality start, allowing one run over 6.0 innings with seven strikeouts and no walks.
Lakewood BlueClaws - South Atlantic League Northern Division… 8-3, 1st place, 49-31 overall… The BlueClaws went 5-2, including a three-game sweep over Hagerstown. Lakewood also added two shutout victories to its league-leading total of 18 shutouts in 2018. (The next closest team has 10.)
Top hitting performers - C Rodolfo Duran, the Phillies Minor League Player of the Week, batted .643 (9-14) with one double, three home runs, four RBI, five runs scored, five walks and posted a 2.094 OPS in five games… INF Jose Antequera doubled, homered, scored five runs and batted .389 (7-18)… INF Jake Scheiner doubled, drove in three runs and walked seven times, while going 7-for-22 (.318). He drew a career-high four walks on June 30 vs Delmarva.
Top pitching performers - RHP Spencer Howard, the Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week, recorded his first double-digit strikeout start of the season on June 29 against Hagerstown. He struck out 10 batters over 6.0 scoreless innings… LHP David Parkinson allowed one run over 5.0 innings and fanned seven batters in his only start. He owns the second-highest SO/9.0 IP ratio (10.80) among qualifying South Atlantic League starting pitchers in 2018… LHP Zach Warren retired all seven batters he faced, striking out five of them over two relief appearances (2.1 IP). He also converted both of his save chances… LHP Kyle Young earned a win after allowing two unearned runs over 7.0 innings in his one start.
Williamsport Crosscutters - New York-Penn League Pinckney Division… 7-9, T-3rd place… Williamsport dropped five of its six games last week.
Top hitting performers - SS Jonathan Guzman went 6-for-20 (.300) with three doubles, one triple, one home run, four RBI, five runs scored and posted a 1.018 OPS in six games… OF Matt Vierling doubled twice, homered and posted a .364 on-base percentage in five games. He slugged his first professional home run on June 29 at State College… OF Ben Pelletier collected two doubles, three RBI and slashed .412/.444/.529 (7-17) over five contests.
Top pitching performers - LHP Jhordany Mezquita allowed one run on two hits in 5.0 innings, while recording five strikeouts in his lone start… LHP Ethan Lindow made one start in which he surrendered just one run over 5.0 innings.
Gulf Coast League Phillies East - Gulf Coast League Northeast Division… 4-5, 3rd place.
Top hitting performers - 3B Jake Holmes, 1B Jack Zoellner, C Juan Aparicio and SS Jose Mercado all homered. It was the first professional home run for Zoellner and Mercado.
Top pitching performers - RHP Bailey Cummings struck out three over 2.0 hitless innings in his lone relief appearance… RHP Dominic Pipkin (2.0 IP, BB, 3 SO) and RHP Tyler McKay (2.0 IP, H) both made starts in their professional debut.
Gulf Coast League Phillies West - Gulf Coast League Northwest Division… 7-4, 2nd place.
Top hitting performers - OF Trent Bowles went 5-for-16 (.313) with two doubles, five runs scored and two steals… C Abrahan Gutierrez collected a double, four RBI and hit .375 (6-16)… OF Corbin Williams batted .438 (7-16) with three RBI and two stolen bases… C Logan O'Hoppe went 4-for-8 (.500) with a double and two RBI.
Top pitching performers - RHP Ben Brown struck out six over 5.0 innings, while allowing one unearned run on two hits in his only start… RHP Rafi Gonell earned a win in his lone start, striking out five and surrendering one earned run in 5.0 innings… RHP Leonel Aponte tossed 3.0 scoreless innings of relief (2 games) and notched a save.