Phillies Minor League review for Aug. 28-Sept. 4
Players of the Week
Player - SS Arquimedes Gamboa, Lakewood… Gamboa, 19, batted .368 (7-19) with a double, triple, four RBI, two walks, three stolen bases and a .955 OPS in five games. He finished the season with a 14-game hitting streak dating back to Aug. 19, during which he batted .392 (20-51) and raised his average by 34 points. Gamboa, who has won back-to-back Phillies Minor League Player of the Week honors, was signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent on July 17, 2014.
Pitcher - LHP JoJo Romero, Clearwater… The 20-year-old Romero started two games for Clearwater, striking out seven batters in 5.0 innings on Aug. 29, and tossing 6.0 scoreless innings with just four hits allowed in his last start of the season on Sept. 3. Romero allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight of his 10 starts with the Threshers, finishing with a 2.24 ERA (13 ER, 52.1 IP). Romero was selected by the Phillies in the fourth round of the June 2016 draft.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs - International League North Division…80-62, T-2nd place… After dropping their first two games of the week, Lehigh Valley won six straight contests, vaulting into the playoff picture by clinching the wild card on the last day of the season. Lehigh Valley has made the postseason for the second straight season and third time in franchise history.
Top hitting performers - SS J.P. Crawford had five extra-base hits (3 2B, 2 HR), seven RBI, four walks and four runs scored while batting .290 (9-31). He led the International League with 79 walks in 2017… OF Andrew Pullin batted .296 (8-27) with three doubles, a triple, a home run, two RBI, three walks and two stolen bases… 2B Scott Kingery was 9-for-31 (.290) with a double, three walks and a stolen base… INF Angelo Mora batted .391 (9-23) and hit safely in five of his six games, including a four-hit effort on Aug. 30.
Top pitching performers - RHP Jose Taveras tossed 6.0 shutout innings and allowed only two hits and no walks in his final regular season start. Taveras had a 1.32 ERA (6 ER, 41.0 IP) in seven starts for Lehigh Valley… RHP Thomas Eshelman allowed one unearned run and did not walk a batter in his 7.0-inning start. Eshelman finished second in the International League with a 2.23 ERA (30 ER, 121.0 IP)… RHP Drew Anderson struck out seven batters in his lone start, allowing two runs (1 ER) in 6.2 innings of work.
Reading Fightin Phils - Eastern League Eastern Division…72-68, 3rd place… The Fightins lost three of four to New Hampshire and then split a four-game set with Trenton to end their season. They surrendered just seven runs in their final four games, shutting out the Thunder on Aug. 3.
Top hitting performers - 3B Mitch Walding doubled three times and clubbed two home runs. He finished fourth in the Eastern League with 25 homers… SS Malquin Canelo homered, drove in two runs, walked three times and stole two bases while batting .318 (7-22).
Top pitching performers - In two starts, RHP Jacob Waguespack combined to go 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA (2 ER, 14.0 IP) and 10 strikeouts… LHP Cole Irvin did not walk a batter and allowed only two runs in 7.0 innings in his only start of the week… In 3.0 scoreless innings over three games in relief, RHP Víctor Arano struck out four and allowed only one hit and one walk.
Clearwater Threshers - Florida State League North Division…29-39, 4th place, 67-71 overall… The Threshers went 2-5 in their final seven games of the season, dropping a series to Charlotte and losing three of four in a home-and-home series with Dunedin.
Top hitting performers - 1B Darick Hall doubled twice, hit two home runs, drove in five runs and scored four more. He led all Phillies minor leaguers in RBI (101) this season and was tied for the lead in homers (29). Hall was also named the MVP of the South Atlantic League shortly before his promotion to Clearwater… 1B Wilson Garcia hit safely in six of seven games, batting .346 (9-26) with a double and two RBI… OF Cornelius Randolph tripled, homered and walked twice while batting .286 (4-14).
Top pitching performers - LHP JoJo Romero made two starts, striking out 11 batters in 11.0 innings and yielding only three runs (2 ER) as he earned Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week honors… RHP Harold Arauz struck out 10 batters in a season-high 8.0 innings on Sept. 1, his second double-digit strikeout performance of the season. Arauz did not walk a batter and allowed two runs (1 ER) on just two hits in the start… RHP JD Hammer tossed 3.0 perfect innings over two appearances, striking out six batters.
Lakewood BlueClaws - South Atlantic League Northern Division…33-36, 5th place, 73-66 overall… The BlueClaws went 3-2 last week. They ended their season yesterday with a walk-off victory on Austin Listi's 12th-inning home run against Kannapolis.
Top hitting performers - SS Arquimedes Gamboa batted .368 (7-19) with two extra-base hits (2B, 3B), four RBI, two walks, three stolen bases and a .955 OPS in five games. He was named Phillies Minor League Player of the Week… OF Austin Listi posted a .571 slugging percentage in six games, registering two doubles, one triple and one home run (walk-off homer on 9/4 vs Kannapolis)…
Top pitching performers - LHP Nick Fanti allowed just one hit over 6.0 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts to earn a victory on Sept. 1. He posted the third-best ERA (2.54) in the South Atlantic League this season… RHP Adonis Medina struck out seven and surrendered one hit over 6.0 shutout innings in his no-decision on Sept. 4… RHP Will Hibbs went 1-0 and tossed 4.2 scoreless innings (three relief appearances) with seven strikeouts, converting each of his two save opportunities. He led the South Atlantic League with 20 saves this season… LHP Bailey Falter allowed one unearned run on four hits in 5.1 innings while striking out seven in his start on Aug. 30… RHP Felix Paulino scattered four hits over 7.0 scoreless innings in his win on Sept. 3.
Williamsport Crosscutters - New York-Penn League Pinckney Division…35-36, 4th place… Williamsport has won five of its last nine games and has three regular-season games left this season.
Top hitting performers - OF Yahir Gurrola batted .314 (11-35) with four doubles, two RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base in nine games… SS Nick Maton hit .321 (9-28) with a double, two RBI, three runs scored, three walks, two steals and a .406 on-base percentage in eight games. He leads the club with 10 stolen bases this season.
Top pitching performers - RHP Spencer Howard recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts and allowed one run on two hits over 4.2 innings in his start on Aug. 29… LHP Damon Jones fanned 11 in two relief outings (6.0 IP), allowing one run on three hits while earning a win on Aug. 29… RHP Ramon Rosso logged 6.0 shutout innings, surrendering two hits and recording eight strikeouts in his victory on Sept. 2.
Gulf Coast League Phillies - Gulf Coast League Northwest Division…36-22, 1st place… The GCL Phillies clinched the Northwest Division. They led the Gulf Coast League in team batting average (.267) and posted the second-best team ERA (3.01) in the regular season. Four members of the GCL Phillies - Quincy Nieporte, Ben Pelletier, Manuel Silva and Anton Kuznetsov - were selected to the Gulf Coast League All-Star Team.
Top hitting performers - OF Kevin Markham batted .357 (5-14) with two doubles, a triple, four runs scored, a walk, a steal and a 1.080 OPS in four games… INF Jesus Henriquez hit .455 (5-11) with two RBI in three games… SS Jake Holmes went 4-for-12 (.333) with two RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base in three games.
Top pitching performers - RHP Francisco Morales earned a win on Sept. 2 after tossing 5.0 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts… LHP Anton Kuznetsov recorded a save and struck out two in a scoreless relief appearance (1.0 IP) on Aug. 30.