Scott Mathieson (Lehigh Valley) - You have to wonder why Mathieson didn't get a longer look
in spring training and why he hasn't been one of the options that the Phillies
have turned to for help in their bullpen. Mathieson is on the 40 man roster and
wouldn't require any moves to fit him in and he has certainly proven that he's
healthy after undergoing not one, but two Tommy John surgeries. After taking
over as Lehigh Valley's closer early this season, Mathieson has been impressive
and has converted 11 of 12 save opportunities. He's really only had one bad
outing, when Toledo rocked him for two earned runs to beat Lehigh Valley in
walk-off fashion and Mathieson wasn't able to record even one out against the
Mud Hens. Without that blow-up, Mathieson's 1.29 ERA would fall all the way to
0.64 on the season.
Scott Mathieson's season stats
| Year |
Team |
W |
L |
ERA |
G |
GF |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
HR |
BB |
SO |
WHIP |
| 2010 |
Lehigh
Valley |
2 |
1 |
1.29 |
23 |
20 |
11 |
28.0 |
17 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
10 |
32 |
0.964 |
Domonic Brown (Reading) - The question isn't if he'll make his
Triple-A debut this season, but when. Brown is doing everything that the
Phillies could have wanted him to do this season at Double-A Reading, hitting
.309 with ten home runs and 33 RBI. Last season, Brown and Michael Taylor each
moved up mid-season and it's likely that Brown is going to make the same sort of
move again this season. Right now, the Lehigh Valley outfield is pretty full,
but the Phillies won't let that hamper Brown's upward mobility. One of the
veterans - Rich Thompson, Chris Duffy and Willy Taveras - could be jettisoned
and it's always possible that John Mayberry Jr. will wind up either in
Philadelphia or sent elsewhere in a trade package that would clear a spot for
the best hitter that the Phillies minor league organization has to offer. So,
will Brown be in Philly at any time this season. It's not out of the question,
but the Phillies are determined that they won't bring Brown into the major
league fray until they are absolutely certain that he's ready.
Domonic Brown's season stats
| Year |
Team |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
BB |
SO |
OBP |
SLG |
| 2010 |
Reading |
10 |
33 |
.309 |
52 |
188 |
36 |
58 |
13 |
3 |
22 |
42 |
.376 |
.569 |
Michael Schwimer (Reading) - Like Brown, Schwimer doesn't have a
much more work to do at the Double-A level after arriving in Reading during the
2009 season. He's now appeared in 27 games with Reading and has pitched 35 1/3
innings. Right now, it doesn't appear that the IronPigs bullpen, which has a
3.29 ERA on the season, needs much help, but if and when they do, Schwimer would
be a nice addition. Schwimer has developed his slider into one of the best in
the organization and he has all the makings of a potential closer of the future
at the major league level.
Michael Schwimer's season stats
| Year |
Team |
W |
L |
ERA |
G |
GF |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
HR |
BB |
SO |
WHIP |
| 2010 |
Reading |
3 |
2 |
2.64 |
22 |
18 |
5 |
30.2 |
24 |
9 |
9 |
3 |
12 |
42 |
1.174 |
Cody Overbeck (Clearwater) - In his second season with the
Threshers, Overbeck now has over 500 at-bats in the Florida State League.
Overbeck has almost matched his run production from all of last year in
Clearwater and is starting to look like a true run-producing hitter for the
Threshers. Another noticeable improvement from last season is in Overbeck's
defensive play, where he has improved nicely over his .915 fielding percentage
from last season. Reading third baseman Brandon Pinckney isn't exactly tearing
up the Eastern League with his .219 average.
Cody Overbeck's season stats
| Year |
Team |
HR |
RBI |
AVG |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2B |
3B |
BB |
SO |
OBP |
SLG |
| 2010 |
Clearwater |
11 |
41 |
.302 |
58 |
215 |
31 |
65 |
19 |
1 |
27 |
51 |
.380 |
.553 |
Since this article was posted, Overbeck was promoted to Double-A Reading and is set to debut with the R-Phils on Tuesday, June 15.
Justin De Fratus (Clearwater) - Yes, De Fratus has just 28 1/3
innings under his belt at Clearwater, but he's been very impressive out of the
Threshers bullpen with ten saves in 11 opportunities and an ERA of just 1.91 in
21 appearances. De Fratus has taken to his role as a reliever since heading to
the bullpen last season. In his time as a reliever, De Fratus has an ERA of
2.24, which jumps to 4.05 when he was working as a starter in his minor league
career.
Justin De Fratus' season stats
| Year |
Team |
W |
L |
ERA |
G |
GF |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
HR |
BB |
SO |
WHIP |
| 2010 |
Clearwater |
1 |
0 |
1.91 |
21 |
20 |
10 |
28.1 |
18 |
6 |
6 |
0 |
10 |
33 |
0.988 |
Jarred Cosart (Lakewood) - Even though he made the jump from the
Gulf Coast League to Lakewood this season, Cosart has shown that he's got enough
talent and a strong enough repertoire that he should be just fine with moving up
the ladder to Clearwater in the near future. After getting past injuries that
slowed the start of his career, Cosart is showing that he's already among the
better pitching prospects in the minors, and in the next couple of seasons,
could position himself as one of the absolute best in the minors. Cosart just
turned 20 years-old in late May and scouts rave about how good he already is and
the fact that he's showing signs of getting even better. If the Phillies were
going to fast-track a pitcher, Cosart would be an excellent choice.
Jarred Cosart's season stats
| Year |
Tm |
W |
L |
ERA |
G |
GS |
CG |
SHO |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
HR |
BB |
SO |
WHIP |
| 2010 |
Lakewood |
7 |
1 |
3.34 |
11 |
11 |
1 |
1 |
56.2 |
43 |
24 |
21 |
2 |
12 |
67 |
0.971 |
Luke Wertz (Lakewood) - Unless you're a die-hard fan, you might
not have heard about Luke Wertz or at least not know just how good he has been
at Lakewood this season. Wertz was a 13th round pick of the Phillies in 2007 and
missed the entire 2008 season after undergoing right shoulder surgery. Since
then, Wertz has shown no ill effects from the injury and pitched primarily at
Williamsport last season before pitching 2 2/3 innings for Lakewood during their
playoff run toward the South Atlantic League title last season. The Phillies
started the 24 year-old back at Lakewood to start 2010 and he has been almost
unhittable, allowing just one earned run all season and he has currently gone 17
2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. If Wertz isn't going to be moved up
a level, then the other option would be to let him start closing some games for
Lakewood, although current closer Jordan Ellis [2-2-4, 2.81] has been doing a
good job for the BlueClaws.
Luke Wertz' season stats
| Year |
Team |
W |
L |
ERA |
G |
GF |
SV |
IP |
H |
R |
ER |
HR |
BB |
SO |
WHIP |
| 2010 |
Lakewood |
1 |
1 |
0.39 |
10 |
2 |
1 |
23.0 |
9 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
16 |
0.565 |
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