Archive for the ‘Clearwater Threshers’ Category
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
Earlier we told you that Mark Parent is the new manager of the BlueClaws, taking over for Clearwater-bound Dusty Wathan. You can read the Q&A with Parent here. But there are a lot more coaches around the entire organization. Here’s the list.
Lakewood
- Manager: Mark Parent (1st season)
- Pitching Coach: Steve Schrenk…was with the BlueClaws in 2005 and 2006. He spent last year with Double-A Reading.
- Hitting Coach: Greg Legg…the popular “Legger” returns for a 4th season in Lakewood (he was the manager in 2001 and the hitting coach the last two years), his third straight as hitting coach.
Lehigh Valley
- Mananger: Dave Huppert…the only manager in IronPigs history is back. He managed the BlueClaws to a 2006 Championship with Schrenk as his pitching coach.
- Pitching Coach: Rod Nichols…his 5th straight year in AAA with the Phils, he was Lakewood’s original pitching coach in 2001.
- Hitting Coach: Greg Gross…the 1973 NL Rookie of the Year completes a coaching staff identical to the 2009 version.
Reading
- Manager: Steve Roadcap…Lakewood’s manager in 2007 and 2008 begins his 5th year in the system, and second in BaseballTown.
- Pitching Coach: Bob Milacki…He flips places with Schrenk, and starts his second year in Double-A. He spent one year with Altoona while with the Pirates.
- Hitting Coach: Frank Caccitore…His third year with Reading and in the organization.
Clearwater
- Manager: Dusty Wathan…Lakewood’s manager during the Championship season of 2009, Wathan begins his third season as a Phillies manager after retiring from playing.
- Pitching Coach…Dave Lundquist…With the BlueClaws in 2008, Lundquist begins his second year with Clearwater.
- Hitting Coach…Kevin Jordan…the former Phillie begins his fourth season as a coach in the organization, and his 3rd with Clearwater.
Williamsport
- Manager: Chris Truby…thought he might be coming to Lakewood this year but he’ll return to Williamsport for a second season…Spent four years in the big leagues, this is his second as a manager.
- Pitching Coach…Lance Carter, former big league reliever in his first season as a coach.
- Hitting Coach: Jorge Velandia…utility player spent part of last year with Lehigh Valley…this is his first season as a coach.
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Two other notes
- Our buddy Ben Hill from MiLB.com (and this blog) tweeted over to us today the following: I once attended a Phils-Marlins DH in which both games went 12 innings. Mark Parent was behind the plate the entire time.
- Mark Parent spent one year as a manager in the Mariners system when Dusty Wathan played for the Mariners organization in 1999.
Posted in 2010 BlueClaws, Around the Farm, Clearwater Threshers, Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Mark Parent, Reading Phillies, Williamsport Crosscutters | 1 Comment »
Friday, November 6th, 2009
It’s that time of year, prospect season. Baseball America releases their top ten Phillies prospects on Monday and we’ll have everything covered right here on BlueClaws Blog. Later this weekend, we will give you our picks, but first, let’s look back at a survey the Reading Eagle did at the end of the minor league season.
They asked members of the media and team broadcasters who cover the organization’s minor league clubs to rank, 1-20, members of the Phillies pharm system.
Here’s how the rankings came out (our comments)
- 1. Kyle Drabek, P, off TJ surgery, jumped from Clearwater to Reading easily
- 2. Michael Taylor, OF, has hit at four different levels since Lakewood early 08
- 3. Domonic Brown, OF, just turned 22, playing well in AFL
- 4. Anthony Gose, OF, speedster led MiLB in stolen bases w/ 76
- 5. Travis d’Arnaud, C, had great 2nd half after struggling in first half, top catcher in system after trade of Lou Marson
- 6. Mike Stutes, P, he and Worley first in 10 years to open first full season in Reading
- 7. Freddy Galvis, SS, slick fielder got taste of Double-A at end of season
- 8. Antonio Bastardo, P, became 30th former BlueClaw to reach bigs this year, active for all three rounds of playoffs
- 9. BJ Rosenberg, P, unknown at beginning of the year, he double-jumped to Reading
- 10. Joe Savery, P, former 1st round pick won 15 games between Reading and Lehigh Valley
- (continued below)
(more…)
Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Anthony Gose, Antonio Bastardo, Arizona Fall League, Around the Farm, Clearwater Threshers, Domonic Brown, Freddy Galvis, Kyle Drabek, Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Michael Stutes, Michael Taylor, Past BlueClaws, Phillies, Quintin Berry, Reading Phillies, Sebastian Valle, Sergio Escalona, Travis d'Arnaud, Trevor May, Vance Worley | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
Baseball America continues to rank prospects by league and today’s list dealt with the Florida State League. Three former BlueClaws were on the list, which you can see in full here.
3. Domonic Brown, OF: It raised some eyebrows when Baseball America had him #1 in the Phillies system at the beginning of the year, but not now. He had a great year, hitting .301-11-44 and acquitting himself well (.279-3-20) in 37 games with Reading. He just turned 22 in September and might well be ready for Lehigh Valley when the 2010 season opens. Like the man behind him and Michael Taylor (who will be at or near the top of the Eastern League list), he’s probably among the top 25 or 30 prospects in all of baseball. Was a BlueClaw for the duration of 2008.
5. Kyle Drabek, RHP: Recovering from Tommy John surgery always raises questions, but Drabek answered them all with ease this year. He had a 2.48 ERA and 10.8 Ks/9 with Clearwater and 8-2, 3.64, with 7.8 Ks/9 with Reading. Drabek made the Futures Game this year, was shut down at the end of the year, and didn’t pitch in the Reading post-season. But the year was a smashing success for the 21 year old, who will likely debut at some point in 2010. He was with Lakewood in 2007.
19. Freddy Galvis, SS: He was one of the youngest regulars in the SAL last year, and the 19 year old was one of the youngest in the FSL this year, where he hit .247, up nine points from his BlueClaws season in 2008. The slick fielder hit his first home run with Reading in his first game with the club, where he played briefly at the end of the season. He can field, the question is how fast the bat will come around. But he is a special defensive player. Next year will be interesting for Galvis, playing every day in one of the toughest leagues in the game at just 20 years old, but it won’t be something he hasn’t gone through before.
Previously: South Atlantic League, NY-Penn League, Gulf Cost League
Posted in Around the Farm, Baseball America, Clearwater Threshers, Domonic Brown, Freddy Galvis, Kyle Drabek, Past BlueClaws | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Eight Phillies farmhands will represent the organization in the upcoming Arizona Fall League, and seven are current or former BlueClaws.
Pitchers
RHP Michael Cisco: 0-3, 6.33 w/ Reading after 7-3, 3.31 w/ Clearwater…South Carolina product pitched in eight games with the 2008 BlueClaws.
RHP Scott Mathieson: After missing 2008 with Tommy John Surgery, Mathieson has allowed just two earned runs in 22 innings between the GCL, Clearwater, and Reading this year. He was with Lakewood in 2004.
RHP Michael Schwimer: The only one here who is not a former BlueClaw, Schwimer was drafted last year out of Virginia, skipped Lakewood out of the spring, and has 17 saves for Clearwater.
LHP Mike Zagurski: A reliever on the 2006 SAL Champion BlueClaws, Zagurski, recovering from Tommy John Surgery, is 3-4, 4.36 this season with Reading.
Position Players
C Tuffy Gosewisch: A 2007 BlueClaw, the catcher was recently promoted from Reading to Lehigh Valley
SS Troy Hanzawa*: Lakewood’s current shortstop, Hanzawa is one of the best defensive players this year in the SAL…Can only be active Wednesdays and Saturdays.
OF Dominic Brown: A (if not the) Phillies top prospect, Brown is hitting .308-14-58 this year between Clearwater and Reading. He’ll turn 22 on September 3rd.
OF Steve Susdorf: Hit .333 with Lakewood from Memorial Day to the All-Star Break, than .371 with Clearwater over 151 at bats before a deserved promotion to Reading, where he is 12-49.
* - taxi squad
Current BlueClaws pitching coach Bob Milacki will be the pitching coach for Scottsdale, which also has players from the Arizona, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, and Colorado organizations.
Here are full rosters. We’ll have a lot more on the AFL leading into the games and during the league itself.
Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Arizona Fall League, Around the Farm, Clearwater Threshers, Domonic Brown, Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Mike Zagurski, Past BlueClaws, Reading Phillies, Steve Susdorf, Troy Hanzawa, Tuffy Gosewisch | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
Here on BlueClaws Blog, Greg Giombarrese has already taken a visit back to the top ten prospects within the Phillies organization as they stood before the season began in April. Now, with the trade deadline having passed, and the bulk of the games played in 2009, its a good time to see how the list of prospects stack up now within the Phillies organization. Here is a reminder of how the top ten looked in April with the year they played in Lakewood.
01. Dominic Brown (2008)
02. Carlos Carrasco (2006) - Traded to Cleveland
03. Lou Marson (2006) - Traded to Cleveland
04. Jason Donald (2007) - Traded to Cleveland
05. Kyle Drabek (2007) - (Pictured)
06. Michael Taylor (2008)
07. Travis D’Arnaud (2008)
08. Zach Collier (2009)
09. JA Happ (2005) - No longer at “prospect” status
10. Jason Knapp (2009) - Traded to Cleveland
(more…)
Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Anthony Gose, Antonio Bastardo, Around the Farm, BJ Rosenberg, Baseball America, Carlos Carrasco, Clearwater Threshers, Domonic Brown, Kyle Drabek, Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Live Blogs, Lou Marson, Matthew Way, Michael Stutes, Past BlueClaws, Quintin Berry, Reading Phillies, Sebastian Valle, Steve Susdorf, Travis d'Arnaud, Trevor May, Tyler Cloyd, Vance Worley, Yohan Flande | No Comments »
Saturday, August 8th, 2009
Congrats to former BlueClaw Steve Susdorf, who has been promoted to Double-A Reading. There, he takes the roster spot of another former BlueClaw, Jeremy Slayden, who has retired.
Susdorf, 23, began the year in extended spring training after offseason hip surgery, but was sent to Lakewood on Memorial Day. He finished the half with the BlueClaws, hitting .333 with 15 RBIs in 21 games. Sent to Clearwater at the break, he hit .373 for the Threshers.
Dusty Wathan was very excited when Susdorf joined the BlueClaws, calling him a “professional hitter.” Susdorf hit a grand slam in his first professional at bat last year after being drafted out of Fresno State.
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Slayden, meanwhile, just turned 27 and retires after spending the last two months at Reading. He began the year at Lehigh Valley and was sent to Reading, where he played last year. Slayden was a starter on the 2006 BlueClaws championship team.
Good luck to both players.
Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Around the Farm, Clearwater Threshers, Past BlueClaws, Reading Phillies, Steve Susdorf | 2 Comments »
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
The BlueClaws have endured a few changes within the past week…With the departure of Jason Knapp and Harold Garcia to the DL with a hand injury, the BlueClaws will welcome one new player and one familiar face.
Matthew Way: Way, a fifth round selection in this year’s draft will be the second player drafted in 2009 to play for the Lakewood BlueClaws (Lafrenz). A college teammate of first baseman Jim Murphy at Washington State University, Way starred there for four seasons, and in his final year, was 8-4 with a 2.43 ERA. He struck out 124 in 107.1 innings.
After being dratfed, Way went to Williamsport and made eight starts with the Crosscutters. He went 2-3 with a 1.67 ERA. In 37.2 innings, way struck out 43 and walked just eight. He is a 6-1 lefty from Alaska and the BlueClaws welcome Matthew Way to the Jersey shore, his hometown is 3,828 miles from Lakewood,NJ. Click here for directions.
Jesus Villegas: Villegas began the season with the Lakewood BlueClaws and despite being the back-up infielder, hit 20-for-46, or .435 in his time in Lakewood. Upon Freddy Galvis getting injured, Villegas went up to HI-A Clearwater where he hit .232 in 50 games and 168 at-bats. With the injury to Harold Garcia, Villegas could step into the role of second baseman where he succeeded at early in the season.
Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Clearwater Threshers, Lakewood BlueClaws, Matthew Way, Williamsport Crosscutters | 1 Comment »
Saturday, August 1st, 2009
Along with the number of roster changes the trade for Cliff Lee caused, the Phillies have also promoted former BlueClaws outfielder Dominic Brown to AA-Reading.
The Phillies showed Brown how much he means to the organization by keeping him and not trading him to Cleveland for Lee or Toronto for Roy Halladay, and they show him some more love by bumping him up to Double-A. The Phillies also recently promoted Michael Taylor to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Joe Savery to Triple-A.
For the BlueClaws just last season, Brown hit .291 in 114 games. He had 54 RBI and 77 runs scored. This season with HI-A Clearwater, Brown hit .303 with 11 home runs in just 66 games.
Posted in Around the Farm, Clearwater Threshers, Domonic Brown, Past BlueClaws, Reading Phillies | No Comments »