Minor League Mash-Up: Bohm comes up clutch

It was another weekend to forget for the Philadelphia Phillies, so it’s time to lift your spirits with some good news from the farm system.

Records

• Lehigh Valley IronPigs: 53-58
• Reading Fightin’ Phils: 67-46 (28-18 in the second half)
• Clearwater Threshers: 56-56 (20-26 in the second half)
• Lakewood BlueClaws: 47-64 (18-23 in the second half)
• Williamsport Crosscutters: 19-29

Notable Performances

• Alec Bohm had been in the middle of a slump, but he broke out of that this past weekend. On Saturday, he went 3-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Bohm closed out his week with a two-run walk-off homer in the 10th inning of Sunday’s game for Reading.
• Adonis Medina also broke out of his slump this week. On Sunday, he went six innings, allowing one run on two hits and three walks. He struck out eight batters.
• It was not a bad week for Mickey Moniak either. He went 2-5 with a run scored on Tuesday. He ended his week in fashion by going 3-5 with a triple and a stolen base.
• Austin Listi continues to hit well in Triple-A, going 2-5 on Monday.
• Kyle Dohy finally had a strong relief appearance on Monday, going two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Dohy came in on Thursday, and was even better. He went two scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out five.
• Shortstop Malquin Canelo had a strong game on Wednesday for the IronPigs, going 3-5 with two RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base.
• Deivy Grullon got back on track Friday, going 2-5 with a double. Grullon then provided the bulk of the Lehigh Valley offense on Sunday, going 2-4 with a home run and four RBIs.
• JoJo Romero continues to improve, which is great news. In his start on Saturday, Romero pitched six innings, allowing two runs on six hits and three walks. He did only record one strike out.
• Simon Muzziotti went 3-4 with a double for Clearwater on Thursday. He then went 2-4 with a stolen base on Friday. The outfielder finished his week by going 2-4 again on Sunday.
• Luis Garcia went 2-5 on Monday for Lakewood. Garcia went 2-4 on Thursday with a run scored. He added another multi-hit game on Saturday, going 2-5. This was an encouraging week in what’s been a largely disappointing season for the 18-year-old.
• Chris Micheles had a nice outing for Williamsport on Thursday, going four scoreless innings with a couple strikeouts.
• 2019 first-round pick Bryson Stott went 2-4 on Friday for Williamsport. Stott added a hit and two RBIs on Sunday.

Season Stats

• In 100 games in 2019, Phillies top prospect Alec Bohm is hitting .307 with a .374 OBP and an OPS of .900. He has 17 home runs, 25 doubles and 67 RBIs. Bohm has been struggling to hit for average in Double-A, but his power has increased with 10 home runs in 38 games with Reading. Bohm’s numbers are impressive across the board. His home and away splits are good, with him actually hitting higher on the road (.317), than at home(.297). There was concern that the hitter-friendly park that Reading has would skew his numbers, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. He has nine home runs at home and eight on the road. Bohm is also coming up big when it matters – he’s hitting .362 with four home runs and 27 RBIs with two outs and runners in scoring position. Bohm has mashed pitchers younger than him, hitting .340 against them. He’s done well against older pitchers as well, hitting .288 with 13 of his 17 home runs having come against older picthers.
• Adonis Medina has a 4.36 ERA in 18 starts for Reading. His opponent’s batting average is average at .246 and his 1.29 WHIP would be considered a tad high. His strikeouts per nine innings is also way down; after averaging 10 in both 2017 and 2018, Medina is only averaging 6.8 this year. Some of Medina’s struggles can be blamed on the hitter-friendly park in Reading. In 10 home starts, Medina has a 5.05 ERA with six home runs allowed. In eight road starts, he has a 3.57 ERA with only two home runs allowed.
• Bryson Stott still hasn’t had the success we hoped for with Williamsport. He’s hitting .209 with a .661 OPS. He also only has five extra-base hits. ABohm also struggled in Williamsport – although he dealt with an injury – so don’t get too concerned here.
• Spencer Howard has a 2.05 ERA in 11 starts across three levels. He has struck out 70 batters in 48.1 innings and has only walked 10. That’s good for a 7-1 strikeout to walk ratio. His 0.83 WHIP is highly impressive, as is his opponent’s batting average of .179. He did  only last 3.1 innings in his most recent start because of a high pitch count, so he’ll have to work on that.
• On the surface, Luis Garcia’s numbers this year are not good at all. He’s slashing .198/.276/.278 with an OPS of .554. After some deeper research, though, you come to see that some struggles were expected. Garcia is three-and-a-half years younger than the average player in Low-A and he also hasn’t faced a pitcher younger than him this year. Garcia is an 18-year-old, who was signed when he was 16. The majority of his competition are pitchers who played college ball in conferences like the SEC, PAC 12 and ACC. You could argue those leagues could be just as competitive as Low-A Ball. He may have to repeat Low-A to start 2020, but this is a valuable learning experience for him.
• Francisco Morales has a 4.19 ERA in 21 appearances this season. His 97 strikeouts in 73 innings is the biggest stat for, though, and opponents are hitting just .215 against him. Morales has faced 313 batters this season, and only 13 of them have been younger than the 19-year-old. His dominant stuff is impressive.
• Enyel De Los Santos has a 3.63 ERA in 15 starts for Lehigh Valley. In 72 innings, he’s struck out 68 batters and has a 1.17 WHIP. He has given up 14 home runs in that time, which can be seen as a little high.
• Mickey Moniak is hitting .264, but his other numbers are impressive. In 98 games, Moniak has seven home runs, 11 triples, 24 doubles, 15 stolen bases and 51 RBIs. Moniak is hitting .304 over the past week and has only faced a younger pitcher five times in Double-A this year. Moniak’s fielding is also impressive, with a .982 fielding percentage this year.
• Erik Miller has looked good in his appearances this year. In 15 innings of work, he has a 1.80 ERA with a 1.13 WHIP and 21 strikeouts. The Phillies have had him start and work in relief, but they may be better served to make him a reliever full time and trying to fast-track the 21-year-old.
• In JoJo Romero’s last five starts between Reading and Lehigh Valley, he has a 1.73 ERA with a 1.07 WHIP and 22 strikeouts in 26 innings. His numbers in July were stellar, with a 2.08 ERA in five starts to go along with a 0.96 WHIP and nine strikeouts per nine innings. That’s the JoJo Romero we’ve come to known, not the one who has struggled mightily for much of the 2019 season.
• Simon Muzziotti is slashing .284/.337/.367 with 18 doubles and 19 stolen bases in 87 games. The 20-year-old probably will never be a serious home run threat, but he definitely has a future in a major league lineup. He’s also an above-average fielder.
• David Parkinson continues his under-the-radar season. In 18 starts, he has a 3.33 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP. Parkinson may also be better than his overall numbers suggest. Like Medina, Parkinson has had some struggles at Reading’s hitter-friendly park. In 10 home starts, he has a 4.27 ERA with five home runs allowed. On the road, he has a 2.22 ERA with one home run allowed in eight starts. His strikeouts-per-nine are also higher on the road as well.
• Deivy Grullon has cooled off from his insanely-hot start to 2019, but his overall numbers remain strong. He’s slashing .290/.353/.488 with 15 home runs, 21 doubles and 65 RBIs. He could compete for the backup catcher’s position next Spring, but he’ll have to work on his defense, and cut down on his strikeouts.
• Connor Seabold has looked good early since coming back from injury. In seven games, he has 2.22 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 24.1 innings pitched. The 23-year-old will finish the year with Reading, where he has been great in his first two outings.

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