Taylor and Bastardo Phillies Minor League Players of Month
Former BlueClaws Michael Taylor (2008) and Antonio Bastardo (2007) have been named Phillies Minor League Players of the Month by the team for the month of May. For Taylor, it’s the third straight for him (August 08 and April 09), and for Bastardo, it’s his third in three years. From the Phillies…
A fifth-round selection two years ago out of Stanford University, Taylor hit .330 in 27 games last month. Among his 31 hits were five doubles, two triples and six homers. He led the organization in homers, RBI (23) and slugging percentage (.617). Also had first 5-hit game of his career on May 29.
His month included a 14-game hitting streak (.407) during which he drove in a run in 12 games. Taylor hit safely in 22 of 27 games and drove in a run in 20 games.
“First of all, I think we should change the name of the award,” chuckled Reading manager Steve Roadcap. “He is a very consistent offensive player who continues to get better. He’s the guy you want up with runners on base. He seems to thrive in RBI situations.”
Bastardo, also 23, was 2-1 in four starts at Reading and 1-0 in a pair of starts with the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs last month. Combined, he had a 2-2 record and a 2.31 ERA. In 35 innings, he gave up 26 hits, nine runs and nine walks. He struck out an organization-high 40.
Looking to add bullpen depth with left-handed relievers, Bastardo started out 2009 in Roadcap’s bullpen. In four appearances, he was 1-0, two saves and a 1.23 ERA. The organization then decided to return him to the staring rotation.
“He was on a 60-pitch count in his first start and he gave us five no-hit, shutout innings on 60 pitches,” recalled Roadcap. “Like Michael, Antonio has shown consistency and improvement. He continued to work hard at improving his breaking pitches and made progress in that area.”
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