Archive for the ‘Gavin Floyd’ Category

« Older Entries

Countdown 2010: BlueClaws Moments in the Bigs

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

Welcome back to Countdown 2010, a weekly look at some of the greatest parts of BlueClaws history through the lens of a top ten list. This week, we look at some of the best moments by former BlueClaws in the big leagues. (Click here for list of former ‘Claws that made the majors)

Previously: Photos, Entertainers, Concerts/Events, Bobblehead Dolls, Celebrity Guests

Without further adieu…

10. A BlueClaw Makes the World Series…But it wasn’t Ryan Howard or Cole Hamels. It was Ezequiel Astacio. The right-handed pitcher was here in 2002 (with Howard and Gavin Floyd), and was sent to Houston in the Billy Wagner trade and pitched for Houston in the 2005 World Series. He gave up the game-winning home run to Geoff Blum in game three.

9. Zagurski’s Debut…While relatively uneventful in the big picture, Mike Zagurski reaching the big leagues as fast as he did goes into the list. Remember, he was a BlueClaws pitcher (in Lo-A) when the 2006 season ended. Then on May 25th, 2007 (basically two months of baseball later), he’s in the big leagues. I would guess that we will never see a player go from Lakewood to Philadelphia faster than Mike did.

(more…)

Posted in Carlos Carrasco, Carlos Ruiz, Cole Hamels, Countdown 2010, Gavin Floyd, Josh Outman, Matt Maloney, Michael Bourn, Mike Zagurski, Past BlueClaws, Phillies, Ryan Howard | 1 Comment »

Former Claws at Other Camps

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

10springtraining1We’ve already looked at (here) the 16 former BlueClaws in Phillies big league camp, but there are 20 other former BlueClaws in 12 big league camps around baseball.

The most heavily populated team with former ‘Claws? No surprise, the Toronto Blue Jays.

  • Travis d’Arnaud (2009): starting catcher on the 2009 SAL champion BlueClaws (.255-13-71), and was sent to the Blue Jays as part of the Roy Halladay trade. A non-roster invitee for the 21 year old who had never been above Lo-A is significant and impressive.
  • Kyle Drabek (2007): more on Drabek here, but the 2007 BlueClaws pitcher is considered one of the top 20 prospects in the sport. He could debut in Toronto later this summer or early 2011. He is another non-roster invitee.
  • Jesus Merchan (2005): Now in his 6th organization, Merchan played 25 games with the BlueClaws in 2005 and is a non-roster invitee here. Hit .339 with Arizona in AAA durign the 2008 season.
  • Randy Ruiz (2004): Hit 27 home runs with the BlueClaws, debuted with the Twins in 2008 and is now on the Jays 40-man roster. He homered in Yankee Stadium last year.

(more…)

Posted in Adrian Cardenas, Carlos Carrasco, Gavin Floyd, General Baseball, Jason Donald, Josh Outman, Kyle Drabek, Lou Marson, Matt Maloney, Michael Bourn, Michael Taylor, Past BlueClaws, Travis d'Arnaud | 1 Comment »

Today in BlueClaws History + a Look Back

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

gavinfloydbaseballamericaJanuary 6, 2003…Gavin Floyd becomes the first current or former player to grace the cover of Baseball America.

Floyd, remember, was the “prospect star” on the 2002 BlueClaws team, not his now-more-well-known teammate Ryan Howard. He went 11-10 on the 2002 BlueClaws with a 2.77 ERA and 140 Ks in 166 innings pitched.

His presence on the cover in this issue was because Baseball America was unveiling their 2003 Phillies top ten prospect list, as follows:

  1. Floyd
  2. Chase Utley
  3. Marlon Byrd
  4. Taylor Buchholz
  5. Cole Hamels
  6. Ryan Madson
  7. Anderson Machado
  8. Ryan Howard
  9. Elizardo Ramirez
  10. Zach Segovia

Utley was drafted in 2000 and would have been an original BlueClaw, but because he was polished as a college player, he was one of the few guys to skip Lakewood and went straight to Clearwater in 2001.

Byrd and Madson were on Piedmont (in Kannapolis) in 2000, the year before the BlueClaws existed. With Brett Myers, they made the playoffs and Madson and Myers lost games two and three 1-0 to Delmarva in the first round under manager Greg Legg. Legger said last year that was the toughest playoff exit for him, 1-0 with two big leaguers in his rotation.

Buchholz was with Lakewood in 2001, and threw the first pitch in BlueClaws history.

Hamels went 6-1, 0.84 in 13 starts with Lakewood in 2003 before a promotion to Clearwater.

Howard didn’t really blow up as a prospect until he hit .304 with 23 home runs in the Florida State League in 2003.

Machado and Ramirez never played with Lakewood.

Posted in Baseball America, Chase Utley, Cole Hamels, Gavin Floyd, Past BlueClaws, Ryan Howard | No Comments »

Drabek to Play in All-Star Futures Game

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Former Lakewood BlueClaws pitcher Kyle Drabek has been named to the team representing the United States in the 2009 All-Star Futures game, a game that showcases the minor league talent in and pits a US-based team against a team of future stars from around the world.

The Futures game was started in 1999 as a way to highlight the future talent may one day shine in the Major Leagues. Currently the series is split, with the US team winning five games and the World winning five games. Past MVPs of the Futures Game have included Alfonso Soriano, Jose Reyes and Grady Sizemore.

Drabek joins a host of other former BlueClaws to be featured in the game.

Adrian Cardinas - 2007
Carlos Carrasco -  06-08
Jason Donald - 2008
Gavin Floyd - 03-04
Greg Golson - 2008
Ryan Howard - 2003
Scott Mathieson - 2005

Virtually every star in the Major Leagues has played in the game, and six of the seven BlueClaws players to play in the game have made it to the Show.

Drabek earns his entry into the game by how well he has pitched this season. With Single-A Clearwater, Drabek went 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA and struck out 74 in 62.1 innings. Since his promotion to Double-A Reading, the results have been largely the same, 4-0 with a 2.43 ERA and 26 Ks in 33 innings. Drabek spent 2007 with the BlueClaws and went 5-1 with a 4.33 ERA. He missed almost a full year from Tommy John’s Surgery.

The Phillies are also represented on the World team as Yohan Flande was selected to participate as well. Flande played with the GCL Phillies and earned a trip directly to Clearwater where he has been dominant. This season, Flande is 7-1 with a 2.52 ERA in 82 innings.

Posted in Adrian Cardenas, Around the Farm, Clearwater Threshers, Gavin Floyd, Jason Donald, Kyle Drabek, Lou Marson, Past BlueClaws, Reading Phillies, Ryan Howard, Yohan Flande | No Comments »

Pitcher’s Paradise

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

Of late, former BlueClaws pitchers have had an amazing run of success, making Lakewood a Pitcher’s Paradise. Here are a list of former BlueClaws pitchers and the results just from their last start!:

Kyle Drabek (First start in AA-Reading): 7ip, 0r, 3h, win
JA Happ (MLB-Phillies): 7ip, 0r, 4h, win
Josh Outman (right) (MLB-Oakland): 6.2ip, 2ER, win
Gavin Floyd (MLB-Chiacgo WS): 7ip, 4h, 2ER, 8k
Matt Maloney (AAA-Louisville): 9ip, 0r, 3h, 10ks, win
Antonio Bastardo (MLB Debut-Phillies): 6ip, 4h, 1ER, win
Carlos Carrasco (AAA-Lehigh Valley): 7ip, 6h, 2r, 6k
Kyle Kendrick (AAA-Lehigh Valley): 7ip, 5h, 2r

Congratulations to all these former Claws, making strides to and in the Big Leagues.

Posted in Antonio Bastardo, Carlos Carrasco, Gavin Floyd, JA Happ, Josh Outman, Kyle Drabek, Kyle Kendrick, Matt Maloney | 1 Comment »

Former BlueClaws in Fantasy Baseball

Monday, March 30th, 2009

Over their eight seasons of BlueClaws baseball, the BlueClaws have sent 25 players to the major leagues. With fantasy baseball drafts heating up, with the season less than a week away, here are how the former BlueClaws stack up and where to pick them.

Ryan Howard (Late 1st round, Early 2nd) - The former MVP and Rookie of the year is the top rated former Lakewood BlueClaws player in terms of fantasy baseball. Over the past three years, Howard has dominated opposing pitchers with his power and is an asset in fantasy baseball. He’s not going to help your team in the average category, Howard projects to hit in the .260 range, but he can be a top player in runs, RBI and home runs. With a hot spring, Howard has 8 home runs, he could begin the season strong unlike he did last year. Expect another 45-50 home runs for Howard and for him to top 100 runs and 135 RBI.

Cole Hamels (4th round) - Despite his arm problems, the World Series and NLCS MVP is a strong candidate for his first Cy Young award. Hamels, 25, is entering his third full season in the Phillies rotation. He has gotten progressively better the past two years.  A 15 game winner last season, Hamels numbers were hampered by low run support numbers. He pitched 227 innings last season, think more around 180 this season, and fanned 196 hitters. If healthy, Hamels can be a 4th to 5th round steal because of how many batters he strikes out, the team he’s on and his stinginess to let people on base. If healthy, Hamels will win 18-22 games, maintain an ERA right around 3, a WHIP close to or below 1.10 and nearly one strikeout per inning.Gavin Floyd

Gavin Floyd (16th - 20th round) - The only Lakewood BlueClaws player to throw a no-hitter and lose, Floyd has value in deeper fantasy leagues as a starting pitcher. In 2008, Floyd began to realize some of the potential we all saw in 2002. He won 17 games last season with a 3.84 ERA. He also flirted twice with no-hitters, going deep into two games within the same month without allowing a hit. With a new four-year deal in place the White Sox are reliant upon Floyd building on his stellar 2008. A generous expectation has Floyd equaling his numbers from last season, however more realistically you can expect 15 wins and an ERA around 4.

Michael Bourn (20th round+) - A speedster, Bourn will be entering his second full season in the Major Leagues. Bourn stole 41 bases last season and was caught only 10 times. His value stopped there last season as he only hit .229 with 29 RBIs. Depending on his playing time, Bourn could steal more than 50 bases, but if he continues to hit for a poor average, he could be on the pine, instead of the bases.

Others for consideration:

JA Happ and Carlos Carrasco (Free Agents) - If Happ is named the 5th starter, the lefty has value in deep leagues and in NL-Only leagues. He showed strong stuff last season and is a highly rated Phillies prospect. On the other hand, Carrasco will probably make his long-awaited Phillies debut this season, eventually, and could be the next top-of-the-line starter. Keep an eye on how both progress as they could have some value as the season goes along.

Posted in Carlos Carrasco, Cole Hamels, Gavin Floyd, Lakewood BlueClaws, Michael Bourn, Past BlueClaws, Ryan Howard | No Comments »

70 in 70: Number 25

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

Just 25 days to go now until the Lakewood’s April 9th opener against Delmarva. Today’s 70 in 70 entry looks back at the former BlueClaws with Major League experience, those who have reached the highest level of professional baseball. We’re going to sort these by the year they made their debut in the big leagues. The year that follows each player is the year(s) that the player was with the BlueClaws.

2004: Ryan Howard (02), Gavin Floyd (02)

2005: Ezequiel Astacio (02), Robinson Tejeda (01, 03), Eude Brito (01, 02)

2006: Taylor Buchholz (01), Carlos Ruiz (01), Cole Hamels (03), Chris Roberson (03), Scott Mathieson (04), Michael Bourn (04)

2007: Joe Bisenius (05), Zach Segovia (03), Yoel Hernandez (01), Mike Zagurski (06), Kyle Kendrick (04-06), JA Happ (05)

2008: Brad Harman (05), Bobby Korecky (05), RJ Swindle (07), Randy Ruiz (04), Josh Outman (06), Greg Golson (05, 06), Alfredo Simon-Cabrera (03), Lou Marson (06)

Posted in 70 in 70, Cole Hamels, Gavin Floyd, JA Happ, Josh Outman, Kyle Kendrick, Lou Marson, Michael Bourn, Past BlueClaws, Ryan Howard | No Comments »

70 in 70: Number 40

Saturday, February 28th, 2009

Just 40 days to go until Opening Day, and fortunately in baseball, we have a great designation. It’s called the 40-man roster.

From Wikipedia: The 40-man roster comprises all of the players on the 25-man roster, plus anyone who is on the 15-day disabled list, and contracted players on “optional assignment” in the minor leagues.

The important difference between the 25-man roster and 40-man roster is obviously that the 25-man roster members are the active players on gameday. The others are either in the minors or on the disabled list.

But what then is the importance of the 40-man roster? It comes later in the calendar year. Players, after being drafted, have three or four years of exemption (depending on if they were drafted out of college or high school / signed as a free agent). After that period, if they are not on the 40-man roster, they are eligible to be selected in the Rule-5 Draft at the Winter Meetings. It was through this process the Phillies acquired Shane Victorino.

The BlueClaws have several former players (13) on the 40-man roster of the Phillies, including recent additions Joel Naughton, Sergio Escalona and Drew Naylor. Ex-BlueClaws on other rosters include Gavin Floyd (White Sox), Matt Maloney (Reds) and Josh Outman (A’s).

Posted in 70 in 70, Gavin Floyd, General Baseball, Joel Naughton, Josh Outman, Matt Maloney, Past BlueClaws, Phillies, Sergio Escalona | No Comments »

« Older Entries