Minor League Rundown: Gillies, Orr, Tolbert & More
It’s another weekly rundown of the Phillies’ minor leagues with loads of details on some recent noteworthy performers…
Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs-
Outfielder Tyson Gillies is batting .306 with four doubles, a homer and three steals in 10 August games. Overall with the IronPigs this season, the 24-year-old Canadian is batting .217 with a .604 OPS in 55 games. Gillies was originally acquired from Seattle in the 2009 Cliff Lee trade.
Infielder Pete Orr has posted a .392 batting average with six RBI and three stolen bases in 12 August games. In 84 games this season, the 34-year-old sports a .255 average with four home runs and 27 RBI.
In 12 August games, first baseman Cody Overbeck is batting .370 with three homers and nine RBI. The 27-year-old, who was the Phils’ 9th round draft choice in 2008, has a .268 overall average along with 19 home runs and 62 RBI in 108 games.
Second baseman/center fielder Cesar Hernandez, who missed nearly three weeks of action with a reported wrist ailment, went 0-for-1 in the IronPigs’ game on Sunday. In 88 games at Lehigh Valley this year, the switch-hitting 23-year-old is batting .310 with two homers and 31 RBI.
Double-A Reading Fightins-
In 11 games since the All-Star break, righty reliever Mike Nesseth has tallied a 0.71 ERA. Overall in 32 contests with Reading, the Phillies’ 17th round draft pick from 2010 has a 1-3 record with eight saves and a 1.56 ERA. Nesseth, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln product, underwent Tommy John surgery in his draft year and his spot in that draft fell because of it.
Former big league infielder Matt Tolbert is batting .318 in eight games with Reading. The 31-year-old was signed as a minor league free agent back in January but has missed considerable time this year with hamstring issues. Combined with his time in Lehigh Valley, Clearwater, the Gulf Coast League as well as Reading, Tolbert has a .340 average in 29 games.
Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers-
After batting .337 in 51 games prior to the Florida State League All-Star Game, outfielder Cameron Perkins has posted a .223 average in 34 games since the break. The 22-year-old was the Phils’ 6th round draft choice last year out of Purdue University. Overall with the Threshers, the righty batting youngster is batting .292 with five home runs and 47 RBI in 85 games.
Righty starter Severino Gonzalez has a 1.08 ERA in his last four starts with the Threshers. Combined with his time in Lakewood, the Panama native has a 5-4 record along with a 1.83 ERA and a 10.52 K/9 mark in 21 outings (10 starts) this season.
Class A Lakewood BlueClaws-
Third baseman Mitch Walding, who began the season with a .277 batting average in 23 April games, has tallied a .206 average in 85 games since that time. Overall, the 20-year-old is batting .222 with a homer and 42 RBI in 108 games. Walding was the Phils’ 5th round pick in 2010.
Third baseman/first baseman/designated hitter Willie Carmona has 23 mulit-hit games in his last 52 contests. The Phils’ 11th round draft selection last year out of Stony Brook University is hitting .303 with five home runs and 46 RBI in 102 games this season. Carmona, 22, is a New York resident, but was born in the Dominican Republic.
Short season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters-
Third baseman Zach Green leads the NY-Penn League in home runs with 10. The 19-year-old, who was the Phillies’ 3rd round draft pick last year, also sports a .267 average with 31 RBI in 52 games this season.
Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies-
This year’s first round pick J.P. Crawford‘s .376 average is tops in the GCL as is his .469 on-base percentage. The 18-year-old California native told me last week that his lone goal for the remainder of the season is to maintain that lead and lock down the batting title.
Outfielder Wilmer Oberto leads the GCL in RBI with 40. In 35 games, the 20-year-old lefty batting Venezuelan is batting .331 with six home runs.
