Minor League Notes: the Hot, the Cold, the Injured and the Departed

In the latest rundown of developmental notes, we’ll take a glance at some top performers, several guys who aren’t doing too well, a couple sidelined prospects and a group of former Phillies minor leaguers…

The Hot List- 

Lakewood righty Nic Hanson has not been scored upon in two outings (11 total innings) since moving from the BlueClaws’ bullpen to their starting rotation. A 16th round pick in last year’s draft out of Golden West College, Hanson, 21, has a 1-0 record with a save and a 3.38 ERA in eight games.

Class A Advanced Clearwater outfielder Cameron Perkins has been performing extremely well this month.  In 10 games, the 22-year-old has posted a .385 average with six doubles, a triple, a homer and six RBI.  Perkins was selected in the 6th round of the 2012 draft out of Purdue University.

Dominican hurler Gabriel Arias has looked great for the Clearwater Threshers, going 4-1 with a 1.25 ERA through nine outings (four starts).  The 23-year-old has regularly had his fastball clocked at 95 MPH over the past year.

Double-A Reading catcher Cameron Rupp, whose batting average had been as low as .211 this past week, decided to shave his goatee for a change of luck.  Since going bald faced, the 24-year-old has gone 5-for-12 with three home runs and five RBI in three contests.  Rupp was drafted out of the University of Texas in the 3rd round in 2010.

With the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, righty reliever Michael Stutes has produced six straight scoreless outings, a stretch of 9 2/3 innings during which he has allowed four hits and two walks while striking out nine.  Overall, the 26-year-old has a 1-2 record with a save and a 3.80 ERA in 15 games.

The Cold List-

Lakewood third baseman Mitch Walding, who had been one of the team’s best offensive performers through the opening month of the season, has cooled off quite a bit recently.  In his past nine games, the 20-year-old has gone 5-for-35 (.143 avg).  Prior to the slump, the Phils’ 5th round pick from 2011 was sporting a .277 average.

In three starts since he tossed five shut out innings against Savannah on April 21st, last year’s 1st round pick Shane Watson has gone 0-2 with an 11.70 ERA for Lakewood.  Watson, a 19-year-old, has had his fastball clocked steadily at 93 MPH this season.

Clearwater designated hitter and occasional corner infielder Harold Martinez is batting .154 over his last 10 games.  The 23-year-old prospect was the Phils’ 2nd round draft choice out of the University of Miami in 2011.  Overall in 23 games, Martinez is batting .191 with a home run and five RBI.

Triple-A Lehigh Valley infielder/outfielder Michael Martinez is batting .118 over his past nine games.  Overall in 25 games, the 30-year-old has tallied a .224 average along with three doubles and 10 RBI.

The Injured-

Reading left-hander Austin Wright, sidelined with a strained throwing shoulder, has been rehabbing the ailment in Florida.  The 23-year-old threw two innings with the Phillies’ extended spring training team this past week and has his next start scheduled with them on Tuesday. Wright was drafted in the 8th round in 2011 out of the University of Mississippi.

Clearwater reliever Kenny Giles, who began the season with a strained oblique on his right side returned in late April to appear in two games, but has returned to the disabled list with an oblique strain on the opposite side.  A source with the Phillies jokingly describes Giles, whose fastball reached triple digits with Clearwater last year, as a bad patient.  The 7th round draft pick from 2011 is said to be anxious to return to the mound and doesn’t like missing game action.

The Departed-

Outfielder Domingo Santana, who was traded as the player to be named later in the 2011 Hunter Pence deal, had the first three-homer game of his career on Friday for Double-A Corpus Christi. Through 24 contests this year, the 20-year-old Dominican was batting .264 with seven home runs and 17 RBI.

Righty hurler Trevor May, who was dealt last off-season in the Ben Revere trade, threw his second seven-inning complete game shutout of the season for Double-A New Britain on Friday. In seven starts, the 23-year-old is 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA. The Washington state native has had two tough outings against Harrisburg this season, including a four-inning outing on April 29th during which he allowed eight earned runs. In his five starts not against Harrisburg this year, May has a 1.15 ERA.

With Triple-A Oklahoma City, right-hander Jarred Cosart is 4-0 with a 2.18 ERA along with 39 strike outs and 14 walks through 33 innings pitched. The Texas native who turns 23 later this month seems to have dominated the tough-on-pitchers Pacific Coast League, but he has not thrown six innings or greater in any of his seven appearances this season.  Cosart was also part of the package sent to Houston for Pence.

Righty pitcher Lisalverto Bonilla, who was traded to Texas in the deal to acquire Michael Young, has a 2-1 record along with a 7.50 ERA in 12 relief outings for the Triple-A Round Rock Express.  The 22-year-old has struck out 26 and walked 11 in 18 innings.