Skip to content
Phillies
Link copied to clipboard

Phillies minor-league report

The Phillies will almost certainly need another IronPigs pitcher to fit into the rotation before the season is over and that pitcher could be Phil Klein. The righthander - who made a spot start for the Phillies on Aug. 3 - struck out 11 batters last Sunda

The Phillies will almost certainly need another IronPigs pitcher to fit into the rotation before the season is over and that pitcher could be Phil Klein. The righthander - who made a spot start for the Phillies on Aug. 3 - struck out 11 batters last Sunday over eight shutout innings. It was Klein's second straight start with 10 or more strikeouts. He has a 1.69 ERA in his five starts at triple A. The Phillies claimed him off waivers in June. . . . Brock Stassi entered Friday batting .262 with a .365 on-base percentage. The 27-year-old first baseman cooled off this season after batting .300 last season and winning the Eastern League's MVP award. . . . Jesmuel Valentin entered Friday batting .186 with a .262 on-base percentage in his first 21 games since being promoted from double A. The 22-year-old second baseman batted .276 with a.346 on-base percentage at Reading ... Cody Asche played third base Thursday night for the second straight game. He entered Friday with a hit in his first six games since being optioned to triple A. . . . Darin Ruf played right field Thursday for the second time this month. He homered Tuesday and Wednesday, giving him 17 this season in 82 games at triple A.

Rhys Hoskins remains locked in a dead heat with teammate Dylan Cozens as the pair chase Reading's single-season home run mark. Hoskins, a first baseman, and Cozens, an outfielder, both have 35 homers, three shy of Darin Ruf's total in 2012. Almost as impressive as Hoskins' homers has been his growth at first base. "He still has some errors and there's still some things to work on," manager Dusty Wathan said. "But from day one to where he is now, I think his defense has come a long way. He's worked hard on it. It's a good thing." Hoskins, 23, has made 14 errors this season, which he said may because he is able to get to more balls this season than he has in the past. "I'm getting better laterally, moving side to side," Hoskins said. "Dusty and I worked a lot on picking baseballs and being more fluent with my hands. Softening my hands. It's something that we do once or twice a homestand. It's just repetition and getting more comfortable. I think I've improved tremendously." Hoskins entered Friday batting .278 with 104 RBIs and a .370 on-base percentage.

Kyle Martin homered Wednesday night for his third home run in four games as he inches closer to a franchise milestone. The first baseman has 17 homers and could become just the fourth Clearwater player to ever hit 20 homers. Ryan Howard, who hit 23 in 2003, is the last to do so. Martin, whom the Phillies drafted in the fourth round in 2015, is batting .243 with a .319 on-base percentage and .420 slugging percentage. He could start next season in Reading and take aim at matching the success that Dylan Cozens and Rhys Hoskins had this season. . . . Matt Hockenberry has a 1.14 ERA in his last 15 appearances. The 24-year-old righthander from Temple has struck out 51 batters in 541/3 innings with Clearwater. He has worked mostly as the closer. . . . Chace Numata, a 24-year-old catcher from Hawaii, entered Friday batting a team-high .315 with a .388 on-base percentage in 81 games.

Jose Pujols enters the final two weeks of the season with a three-homer lead for the South Atlantic League's home run title. The 20-year-old rightfielder homered last Friday for his 22nd of the season. He is batting .241 in 112 games, but is having a strong finish to his first season in Lakewood. Pujols, who was signed out of the Dominican Republic, is batting .324 with a .387 on-base percentage, and .544 slugging percentage in 18 games this month. Chris Gittens, a Yankees minor-leaguer, has 19 homers. . . . Zach Morris, a lefthanded reliever, has a 1.00 ERA in his last 45 innings. Morris, 23, has 48 strikeouts and 21 walks this season in 602/3 innings. The Phillies drafted him out of college in the 24th round in 2015. . . . Jose Taveras posted back-to-back seven-inning shutouts. He struck out seven batters Tuesday night, walked one, and allowed two hits. The 22-year-old righthander had a 2.56 ERA in his last nine starts. . . . Harold Arauz, a 21-year-old righthander from Panama, has allowed just two runs in 152/3 innings since returning from a stint in the Gulf Coast League.

Bailey Falter, drafted in the fifth round in 2015, has had a strong season in his first full year of professional baseball. The 19-year-old lefthander has a 3.28 ERA in 10 starts. He has struck out 45 batters and walked just 12 in 462/3 innings. . . . Ranger Suarez had a 6.06 ERA in his three starts since tossing a seven-inning no-hitter July 26. The 20-year-old lefthander was named to this week's All-Star Game, but did not pitch.