Minor League Mash-Up: De Los Santos still superb

It’s time for the weekly look at how things are going down on the farm.

Records

• Lehigh Valley IronPigs: 28-20
• Reading Fightin’ Phils: 19-28
• Clearwater Threshers: 19-27
• Lakewood Blue Claws: 28-21

Notable Performances 

• Top-prospect Sixto Sanchez dazzled in his start on Friday. He went six innings and allowed only one run on three hits. Sanchez recorded 10 punch-outs while not allowing a free pass.
• No. 3 prospect Adam Haseley went off in game two of Clearwater’s double header on Tuesday. Haseley went 4-for-5 with a double, home run, five RBI and two runs scored.
• No. 16 prospect Dylan Cozens put on another power show on Saturday. Cozens launched two homers for Lehigh Valley and drove in three.
• Enyel De Los Santos continues to dazzle. On Sunday, he went six strong innings allowing one run on one hit. He struck out eight but also walked five.
• No. 7 prospect Franklyn Kilome had his first solid outing of the year. The Reading pitcher went 6.2 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits. Kilome struck out four and walked two.
• No. 5 prospect Jhailyn Ortiz is back from injury, and on Sunday he went 2-for-3 with a homer as he looks to get going in 2018.
• No. 2 prospect Adonis Medina had a promising start this week. He went five innings, allowing one run and three hits. He walked only one while striking out five.

Having a Good Year

• Sanchez is now settled in and heating up. For the season he has a 2.95 ERA in 39.2 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 40-9 and he has a WHIP of 1.16. In his last 18.2 innings, Sanchez has only allowed two runs.
• Haseley got his average up to .275, and he’s starting to drive in runs too, as he now has 28 RBI. Haseley has 13 extra base hits, three of them being homers. Haseley does need to continue to work on plate discipline, as he has struck out 34 times compared to eight walks.
• No. 12 prospect De Los Santos still hasn’t slowed down. His ERA is 1.40 in 51.1 innings. Opponents are hitting .194 off of him and his WHIP is 1.07.

Still Not There

• No. 4 prospect Mickey Moniak still isn’t there yet this year. He’s hitting .226 with no home runs. He has struck out 45 times while only walking four times.
• Adonis Medina did have a good start, but overall he’s still having a rough go. His ERA is 5.97 in 34.2 innings. Opponents are hitting .275 against him and his WHIP is 1.53. He has struck out 28 compared to 15 walks, meaning his K/BB ratio isn’t even 2-1.
• No. 13 prospect Tom Eshelman is having a rough year. His ERA is 5.73 in 48.2 innings. The most stunning stat is that opponents are hitting .330 against him. His WHIP is also a brutal 1.66.
• No. 15 Cornelius Randolph has been struggling at the plate. He’s hitting .207 with only one homer.

Catching Depth

The Phillies have a mixed bag of talent at the catcher position. Neither of the top-level catchers are top prospects, but if an injury does occur, they will be counted on. Lehigh Valley’s catcher Nick Rickles, 28, is hitting .297 with four homers and 13 RBI. Reading’s Deivi Grullon, 22, is hitting .298 with eight homers and 23 RBI. Grullon may find himself as Jorge Alfaro’s backup in a year or two if he keeps this up.