BlueClaws pitcher Colin Kleven was named Phillies minor league pitcher of the week for the week of May 14-20, it was announced earlier by the Phillies. Lino Martinez won the previous week’s award, the only two BlueClaws to win Phillies minor league pitcher or player of the weeks so far this year.

Kleven gave up just one earned run over two starts (seven innings, one unearned run at Delmarva on May 14 and five innings, one earned run at Greensboro on May 19) and won two games, his second and third wins of the year.

Below, find the full rundown courtesy of Larry Shenk. Read Larry’s blog here.

Players of the Week

**Pitcher: RHP Colin Kleven, Lakewood.  2-0, 0.75 ERA for 2 starts, 12 innings, 9 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), 4 walks, 11 strikeouts. In 4 starts this month, 2-1, 1.96 ERA.  For the season, 3-3, 3.38 ERA, 8 starts.  The 21-year-old was a 33^rd round selection in 2009 out of R. E. Mountain High School in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, and signed by Tim Kissner.

**Player: INF-OF Carlos Alonso, Clearwater.  Led organization with a .545 average for 6 games, 12 hits, 5 runs scored and 10 RBI. He had multi-hits in each of his last 5 games. Raised his average from .299 to .360. Alonso has started at second base, shortstop, third base and left field.  The 24-year-old was selected in the 32^nd round of the 2010 draft out of the University of Delaware and signed by Paul Murphy.

Team reports below:

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This was last night in Reading. Matt Rizzotti, a 2008 BlueClaws first baseman, who was traded to the Twins during spring training, was back in Reading yesterday as a member of the New Britain Rock Cats last night. He brought his bat, taking David Buchanan deep in the game.

It was Rizzotti’s fourth game with New Britain after he hit .246 to start the year with Triple-A Rochester.

Also of note was the left fielder retreating on the ball – 2010 BlueClaws 1B Darin Ruf. Ruf played his first game in left field last night for the R-Phils. We know he can hit – BlueClaws fans saw that in 2010 when he hit .330 in the first month of the season before getting promoted (when Jonathan Singleton joined the BlueClaws). Ruf, obviously blocked by Ryan Howard, is getting a chance to see if he can play left field to go along with his great bat (he’s hitting .359 this year for Reading).

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Steve Susdorf was promoted to Lehigh Valley today, from Reading where he was hitting .297 with a home run and 15 RBIs. Susdorf, drafted in the 19th round in 2008, is Rule-5 eligible after the season and spent all of last year with Reading, hitting .339.

With Lakewood in 2009, with the team needing an offensive boost, Susdorf came aboard on Memorial Day and in three weeks, hit .333 with 2 HRs and 15 RBIs in 21 games. Lakewood won 16 of those and came from 5 games back to clinch the first half title.

Lakewood left-handed pitcher Lino Martinez was named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week, the Phillies announced on Monday.

Martinez, a 19-year old left-hander from Zulia, Venezuela, threw seven shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Greesnboro on Thursday night at FirstEnergy Park, though he did not factor in the decision. He became the first BlueClaws pitcher to throw seven innings in a game this year. He is the youngest player on the BlueClaws roster.

The minor league hitter of the week is Cody Asche, a 4th round pick last year from Nebraska who went 11-25 with Clearwater. He’s hitting .364 on the season. Asche skipped Lakewood, going straight from Williamsport to Clearwater.

Below the fold, the full minor league review.

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On April 28th, Maikel Franco’s game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Brian Pointer and gave the BlueClaws their first walk-off win of the season.

Last night, Maikel Franco’s game-winning double scored Brian Pointer and gave the BlueClaws their second walk-off win of the season, 1-0 over Greenville.

It was a much needed win for Lakewood, who certainly did not want to waste a brilliant outing from Lino Martinez, who tossed seven scoreless innings on three hits to shut down a Greensboro team that had won seven straight games, was 23-8, had three hitters (1-2-3) hitting over .330 and was hitting .297 as a team, 20 points better than anyone else.

“He got a few outs on his changeup,” catcher Bob Stumpo said to Tony Graham of the Asbury Park Press. “If he can command it like he did tonight he can keep guys off balance. He threw a heck of a game.”

The BlueClaws continue their series with Greensboro tonight, sending LHP Ervis Manzanillo to the mound.

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We want to acknowledge Tyler Cloyd’s performance yesterday for Lehigh Valley. the 2009 BlueClaw gave up one run in seven innings for the Pigs yesterday. Between Reading and Lehigh Valley this year, Cloyd is 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA with 37 strikeouts and 7 walks.

Tyler Cloyd, a 2009 BlueClaw who opened the season by throwing six perfect innings for the IronPigs as a fill-in for the suspended Dave Bush, is now headed back to Allentown, this time for real. He was promoted from Reading, where he was 3-0, 1.80, along with Tyson Brummett, a BlueClaw in 2008.

Cloyd was a Sally League All-Star with the BlueClaws in 2009, promoted at the All-Star Break, and went 9-3, 2.41 over 22 starts with Reading.

Here’s more from Jeff Schuler of the Morning Call.

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Drew Naylor, also a 2008 BlueClaw, picked up a win for Reading last night in his first start since 2010. He missed all of last year after having Tommy John Surgery in May.

“I wasn’t nervous to go out there,” Naylor said. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. But it was so great to be back, and in Reading too. It’s been so long.

“Overall I’m happy with the outing. Things got a little hairy in spots, but the arm felt great and we won. That’s all I wanted.”

Here’s more from the Republican & Herald.

Darin Ruf and Tyler Cloyd were named Phillies Minor League Players of the Month for April, the Phillies announced yesterday. The full release is below the fold.

Cloyd is 4-0 in five starts this year between Reading and Lehigh Valley, where he threw six perfect innings on Opening Day filling in for the suspended Dave Bush. He’s allowed a combined five runs in 31 innings with 28 strikeouts. Cloyd was with the BlueClaws in the first half of 2009. He was promoted after appearing in the All-Star Game and went 7-3, 3.05 with the BlueClaws that half.

Ruf was with Lakewood for a month in 2010, promoted on May 13th when Jonathan Singleton joined the BlueClaws. This year, he’s hitting a cool .356 with Reading to go along with 2 home runs and 11 RBIs.

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Cloyd also was Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week for last week, and has won that award 4 times in the last 8 weeks dating back to last year.

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The first of the year, sent over to us from the great Larry Shenk, and headlined by a pair of former BlueClaws.

Players of the Week

**Pitcher: RHP Tyler Cloyd, Lehigh Valley-Reading.  Started 2 games, 1 at each level and was 2-0, 1.50 ERA.  Scheduled to begin the season at Reading, he was called to start the LV season opener on 4/5 because Dave Bush was suspended for a spring training brawl.  Cloyd threw 6 perfect innings, striking out 8, throwing 73 pitches.  He had 5 3-ball counts. He returned to Reading and won his first start there on 4/12, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits in 6 innings. The 24-year-old was an 18^th round selection in 2008 and signed by Jerry Lafferty. It marks the 3^rd time in the last 6 awards that Cloyd has been named pitcher of the week.

**Player: OF Jiwan James, Reading.  Starting in all 3 outfield positions, James hit .364 in 11 games, 12 hits and a club-high 7 runs.  Among his dozen hits were a double, 2 triples and 2 homers.  He stole 6 bases in 7 attempts. His .697 slugging percentage was tops in the organization.  He had a 7-game hitting streak (.444) end on 4/14.  The 23-year-old switch-hitter was a 22^nd round selection in 2007 and signed by Chip Lawrence.  It is the third time in his 4-year minor league career he was won the weekly honors.

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The “Line of the Day” in today’s papers belongs to Jeff Schuler of the Morning Call:

Tyler Cloyd set the bar pretty high for Austin Hyatt.

Cloyd threw six perfect innings in a fill-in start with the IronPigs (for the suspended Dave Bush).

“One minute I’m sitting at home last night talking to my wife, getting ready to throw Game 2 in Reading and the next thing I know I get a call to come up here and start Game 1,” Cloyd said. “It’s unbelievable.”

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Reading swept a double-header from Portland (love the Opening Day doubleheader by the way). Ralph Trout has the story in the Reading Eagle.

We gave you the BlueClaws roster the other day but might as well give you the others – right?

Here is Reading’s Opening Day roster for manger Dusty Wathan.

Notable: They should have an exceptional defensive outfield with Jiwan James, Tyson Gillies, and Leandro Castro. Congrats to 2011 BlueClaws pitchers David Buchanan and Jay Johnson, who both made the Reading Opening Day roster. In Johnson’s case, he joins Vance Worley, Mike Stutes, and BJ Rosenberg who have gone from Lakewood straight to Reading. Of the “Baby Aces,” Jonathan Pettibone, Trevor May, and Julio Rodriguez all will get tested in Double-A for the first time this year.

Here is Lehigh Valley’s Opening Day roster for manager Ryne Sandberg.

Notable: 2009 BlueClaws RHP Austin Hyatt is the lone “homegrown” starter. Jake Diekman, Phillippe Aumont and Michael Schwimmer head what should be a tremendous bullpen. Tuffy Gosewisch gets his first shot at a full-year in Lehigh Valley. Domonic Brown homered in his first two Triple-A spring training games and he heads the outfield.

Clearwater’s roster hasn’t been released yet but it appears that SPs Perci Garner (2nd rd, 2010) and Adam Morgan (3rd rd, 2011) will skip Lakewood and head there as they obviously aren’t on Lakewood’s roster.

We’ll have some stuff here and there in the coming weeks on some of your favorite former BlueClaws as spring training nears and continues. Pitchers and catchers are set to report in less than two weeks and we’ve stumbled across some Freddy Galvis news and notes that are worth sharing here.

Last Year: Galvis split the season between Reading (where he played in 2010) and Lehigh Valley, hitting .273 in 104 games with the R-Phils and .298 in 33 games with the IronPigs, easily his best offensive seasons. In fact, it’s the only time he hit above .238 in any stop except for an 8-29 rehab stint with the GCL Phillies in 2009.

Baseball America: He was ranked 6th in the system, his highest ranking, and they note what everyone has always said – he is a defensive wizard.

In the Media: Todd Zolecki of MLB.com noted the following in a recent mailbag about Galvis.

Well, the good news for the Phillies is they don’t have to do anything with Galvis other than play him at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Galvis had a nice season last year, hitting a combined .278 with Double-A Reading and Lehigh Valley. But that’s also the first season he hit better than .240.

Galvis is far from a finished product, so more seasoning in the Minors should serve him well. And because Philadelphia traded Wilson Valdez to Cincinnati, Galvis could get an extended look in the big leagues this season should something happen to Rollins.

Trade Influence: The Phillies traded utility IF Wilson Valdez to the Reds the day of the Winter Tour stop in Lakewood and Ruben Amaro said the following:

“We’re keeping our minds and eyes and ears open,” Amaro said. “Freddy, we view him as a guy who will start off in Triple A and if we have any injury issues or things that will happen during the course of the year, we feel very comfortable that Freddy can come in and do a good job as a backup or a stopgap at this stage of his career.”

Sandberg Says: Sandberg will manage the 22 year old in Lehigh Valley this year.

“Freddy made a great stride last year. He turned out to be the best regular player we had on the whole field. He’s a very heads up player, he’s right there with the manager, thinking the game of baseball,” Sandberg said. “He does all the little things. That’s drag bunting, checking the defense, taking what the defense gives you, gap to gap hitting. He really stepped in and like I said, was probably our best regular player the last month of the season and into the playoffs. I think he’ll really get a serious look from the major league club.”

That’s number one. We’ll have more of these roundups as we go forward.

This is always one of the books I am most eager-to-open each year – the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, which you can order online through Baseball America. They release their top ten prospects each year and in the fall we did a Q&A with Matt Forman, who handed the Phillies list. Today, however, we go from 1-10, all the way up to 30.

11-20: 11 – Roman Quinn, SS (2nd round pick in 2011); 12 – Lisalberto Bonilla, RHP (2011 BlueClaw); 13 – Carlos Tocci, OF (16 year old signed with Phillies on August 23rd, his birthday); 14 – Cesar Hernandez, 2B (Played last year with Clearwater after skipping Lakewood); 15 – Aaron Altherr, OF (split last year between Lakewood and Williamsport and could be back with the BlueClaws); 16 – Ervis Manzanillo, LHP (2011 BlueClaw); 17 – Julio Rodriguez, RHP (2010 BlueClaw heads to Reading this year); 18 – Kyrell Hudson (3rd round pick in 2009 could open with Lakewood this year); 19 – Harold Garcia, 2B (2009 BlueClaw missed most of last year with torn ACL but could open this year with Lehigh Valley); 20 – Larry Greene, OF (Phillies supplemental first-round pick in 2011).

21-30: 21 – Perci Garner, RHP (2nd round pick in 2010 likely joins Lakewood this year); 22 – Austin Hyatt, RHP (2009 BlueClaw heads to Lehigh Valley this year); 23 – Mitchell Walding, SS (Phillies 5th round pick in 2011); 24 – Leandro Castro, OF (2009-10 BlueClaw); 25 – Joe Savery, LHP (made Phillies debut in September, never played here); 26 – Austin Wright, LHP (2011 8th round pick went 1-2, 2.67 in seven BlueClaws starts); 27 – Zach Collier, OF (played here in 2009 and 11); 28 – JC Ramirez, RHP (acquired in Cliff Lee trade from Seattle); 29 – Adam Morgan, LHP (3rd round pick in 2011 from Alabama went 3-3, 2.01 with Williamsport); 30 – Michael Schwimer, RHP (made Phillies debut in September).

(Yes, my desk is a little messy. Yes, that’s my Atlantic-10 Tournament pamphlet – Go Fordham! Yes, that’s my Big Brown bobblehead doll).

The Phillies announced the coaching staffs today for their minor league affiliates and Lakewood will have a new manager in 2012: Mickey Morandini.

Morandini managed Williamsport last year to a 45-33 record in his first year in the system. Lakewood’s manager from 2011, Chris Truby, will head to Clearwater.

Below is the full release.

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LAKEWOOD, NJ – Former Phillies second baseman Mickey Morandini will manage the BlueClaws in 2012, it was announced by the Phillies on Monday. Morandini is joined on the staff by hitting coach Greg Legg and pitching coach Les Lancaster.

Morandini hit .268 over 11 big league seasons, nine of them with Philadelphia. He was the starting second baseman on the club that advanced to the 1993 World Series and an All-Star in 1995.

Most recently, Morandini managed Williamsport in 2011, leading the Crosscutters to a record of 43-33 with a number of players that should be with the BlueClaws in 2012. Morandini had been an instructor at spring training the two previous years and served as the head baseball coach at Valparaiso High School in Indiana.

He becomes the 10th manager in BlueClaws history, replacing Chris Truby, who will move up to manage Hi-A Clearwater in 2012.

Legg returns for his sixth season with Lakewood and fifth consecutive after serving as the first manager in team history in 2001. Legg has been Lakewood’s hitting coach since 2008. Last year, he was the winner of the John Vukovich Award, presented by the Phillies in honor of his 30 years of service to the Philadelphia organization.

Lancaster went 41-28 over seven Major League seasons, five with the Cubs, from 1987-1993. He served as a pitching coach for the Gulf Coast League Phillies in 2011, his first season in the organization.

Ryne Sandberg returns for his second season with Triple- A Leghigh Valley.

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The Morning Call and the Reading Eagle do a wonderful job covering the upper levels in the Phillies system as the Asbury Park Press does here in Lakewood.

With Lehigh having lost last night, 6-2 to Columbus, to put the Clippers one game from the title, we’ll take a look the MC this morning.

Here’s Jeff Schuler’s game story which starts out with a zinger:

The IronPigs made Joe Martinez look like Pedro Martinez Thursday night, and the Columbus right-hander put Lehigh Valley on the brink of elimination in the Governors’ Cup finals.

And this…Steve Degler of Service Electric Cable is a great guy, and has come down here to do a feature on some BlueClaws players each of the last two summers. He does games on tv for Lehigh Valley, but if there is a deciding game five tomorrow night, he won’t be there, as he’ll be doing the Lehigh University (who thumped our buddies up at Monmouth on September 3rd 49-24) game.

Having been in the Coca-Cola Park booth for three seasons now after serving as the radio voice of the Reading Phillies, Degler can appreciate how far the IronPigs have come.

“It has really been great to watch the change, not only on the field but to see how the fans have reacted,” Degler said. “The atmosphere for the first two playoff games against Pawtucket was unbelievable. Those fans were into the game from the first pitch all the way until the end.

He’ll have that phone on MiLB.com all night.

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs, born in 2008, did not have a winning record at any point in franchise history, until Opening Day 2011, when they defeated Scranton 7-2.

Tonight, five months and 145 games later, they open the Governors Cup (International League Championship Series) looking to bring home a title for the Phillies organization for the 6th straight year (06 – Lakewood, 07 – Clearwater, 08 – Phillies, GCL Phillies, 09 – Lakewood, 10 – Lakewood, GCL Phillies).

Jeff Schuler of the Morning Call has a story today on Rod Nichols, the IronPigs pitching coach and the first pitching coach in BlueClaws history (2001). That year, Greg Legg was the manager and Jeff Manto, the team’s second manager, was the hitting coach.

Nichols tutored four future big league pitchers that year: Yoel Hernandez, Taylor Buchholz, Robinson Tejeda and Eude Brito.

“He’s by far the favorite pitching coach I’ve ever had the chance to play for, and 90 percent of the guys would probably say the same thing about him,” said Scott Mathieson, who will start Tuesday night’s opener at Huntington Park. “Rod’s the guy. He’ll never say anything about it, but he’s helped a lot of guys succeed. I know he helped Madson out a lot, working on him being a closer, and Myers wanted to come down here and work with him a few years ago when things weren’t going too well.”

Nichols has a knack for staying positive no matter how things are going on the field, for boosting the confidence of his pupils.

“Confidence is a big part of pitching, and Rod has a good rapport with his guys,” Sandberg said. “The conversations work both ways with him. … He provides a lot of positive reinforcement.”

Columbus hosts games 1 and 2 tonight and tomorrow while Lehigh Valley will host games 3-4-5 beginning Thursday night (obviously four and five are if necessary).

Here is a preview courtesy of our buddies Matt Provence and Jon Schaeffer with the Pigs.

Let’s Go Pigs!