Minor League Mash-Up: Pitching prospects off to hot start in 2019

Welcome to our first minor league mash-up for the 2019 season. The Philadelphia Phillies farmhands are off to a hot start, so lets dig in.

Records

Lehigh Valley IronPigs: 8-2

Reading Fightin’ Phils: 5-3

Clearwater Threshers: 2-9

Lakewood BlueClaws: 3-8

Notable Performances

• We’ll start with a wild one that happened this past weekend. The IronPigs defeated Rochester 20-18 on Saturday. Long-time Phillies farm hand Dylan Cozens led the charge with two homers and three RBIs. Andrew Romine added four hits and four RBIs as well.
• Sticking with Lehigh Valley, No. 6 prospect Enyel De Los Santos spun a gem on Friday. He went seven innings, allowing no runs on two hits and two walks, adding in nine strikeouts.
• Fellow Lehigh Valley ace Cole Irvin tossed six strong innings on Wednesday. He allowed one run, but it was not earned. He had only one strikeout, but he only walked one batter.
• Mickey Moniak got going for Reading on Wednesday. The No. 9 prospect went 2-4 with a home run and two RBIs, although Reading would fall to New Hampshire 5-4.
• No. 2 prospect Adonis Medina had a nice outing in his first start at Double-A. Medina allowed one run over five innings, while striking out four and walking none.
• No. 17 prospect Kyle Young went off on Saturday for Clearwater. He went six innings, allowing one run on four hits. He didn’t allow a free pass and struck out 10. He did suffer the loss, though, as Clearwater’s lineup continues to struggle.
• No. 5 prospect Spencer Howard had a dandy of a start on Wednesday for Clearwater. He went six innings, while allowing no runs on three hits and one walk. Howard struck out five.
• No. 21 prospect David Parkinson is picking up where he left off last year. In his first start of the season, he allowed just one run over five innings. While Parkinson walked three batters, struck out 10.
• Top prospect Alec Bohm had his first professional home run on Sunday for Lakewood. He went 2-3 with a home run and three RBIs.
• No. 24 prospect Kevin Gowdy is back on the mound, and looking awesome. He went four innings of no hit, no run ball on Saturday. Gowdy walked three and struck out seven. No. 4 prospect Luis Garcia added two hits in that game as well.

Notable Season Stats

• Top prospect Alec Bohm is slashing .297/.391/.459 in 37 at bats. He’s added a home run, three doubles and seven walks.
• Top pitching prospect Adonis Medina has a 3.60 ERA after two starts. His WHIP is a bit high at 1.30, but he’s only walked one batter in 10 innings.
• Adam Haseley is off to a rough start, as he’s hitting .143 after seven games with only one extra base hit and eight strikeouts.
• Luis Garcia is also having a rough start with a .211 average after 10 games. He also only has one extra base hit and has 11 strikeouts compared to one walk.
• Spencer Howard is showing off his elite stuff with a 2.61 ERA after two starts. He’s struck out 12 in 10.1 innings and has a 0.97 WHIP.
• Enyel De Los Santos is giving the Phillies something to think about. He has a 0.75 ERA after two outings and has struck out 19 batters in 12 innings. His control has been elite too, with a 0.67 WHIP.
• Mickey Moniak has been fair so far with Reading. He’s hitting .250 with two home runs (both on the road) and eight RBIs. The Phillies would like to see him cut down on the strikeouts as he has 10 in eight games.
• No. 14 prospect Rafael Marchan is off to a nice start to the 2019 season, as he’s slashing .294/.478/.471 with three doubles in six games. He’s also walked six times already.
• No. 15 prospect Mauricio Llovera went four scoreless innings in his only start this year, so his ERA in a perfect 0.00. He will get another start early this week.
• Cole Irvin looks good with his 1.64 ERA after two starts. He has given up two home runs in 11 innings, seemingly his only blemish of note.
• Kyle Young looks sharp with a 2.70 ERA after two starts. He’s struck out 13 in 10 innings of work. He’s yet to get a win, though, as there hasn’t been much run support for him.
• It’s been a rough start for No. 19 prospect Rodolfo Duran, as he’s hitting .125 with no extra base hits and eight strikeouts so far this season.
• No. 22 prospect Kyle Dohy has looked strong so far out of the Reading bullpen. He has a 1.80 ERA after five innings of work. He’s struck out 10 in that short time. Has walked three, though, so he still needs some fine-tuning on his control.
• Clearwater outfielder Matt Vierling is hitting .333 so far. He’s added three stolen bases, five runs and four RBIs.

Injury Report

• Reading outfielder Jose Pujols will miss the season after getting surgery on an injured Achilles in early April.
• Roman Quinn continues his rehab with Lehigh Valley. Quinn is hitting .400 in 15 at bats so far. He’s already scored five runs as well. It’s unclear if or when Quinn will get recalled to Philadelphia.

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