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Pitching prospect Tom Eshelman will remain on disabled list for the IronPigs

The IronPigs righthander is battling back from a strained right hip flexor. He threw a side session Tuesday but felt discomfort.

In 12 starts at Lehigh Valley this season, Tom Eshelman is 7-2 with a 2.14 ERA.
In 12 starts at Lehigh Valley this season, Tom Eshelman is 7-2 with a 2.14 ERA.Read moreCharles Fox

Lehigh Valley righthander Tom Eshelman threw a side session Tuesday but felt discomfort as he battles back from a strained right hip flexor. IronPigs manager Dusty Wathan said Eshelman would remain on the disabled list and skip his next start.

"If he were in the big leagues, he'd probably pitch," Wathan said. "But we want to limit his innings anyway. We don't want him to change his mechanics. It's not worth putting him in that situation."

Eshelman, 23, was placed on the disabled list on July 20 after pitching six innings against Gwinnett three days earler.

In 12 starts at Lehigh Valley this season, Eshelman is 7-2 with a 2.14 ERA after earning a promotion from double-A Reading in May. He has two complete games including a shutout and a 58/10 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Eshelman was part of the Vince Velasquez-Ken Giles trade in 2015. MLB Pipeline recently ranked Eshelman as the Phillies' 30th-best prospect, his first appearance in the rankings.

Alfaro playing through heel injury

Lehigh Valley catcher Jorge Alfaro missed five games last week after suffering a heel bruise on July 17. The injury did not warrant a stint to the disabled list, and Alfaro returned Sunday and hit a double in his first game back.

Wathan kept Alfaro out for five games to prevent any further injury.

"He stepped awkwardly when he hit the base, and it's been bothering him," Wathan said. "He's going to play through it, but he needed a few days. We just wanted to make sure he was healthy enough to where he doesn't change his mechanics in his running and end up hurting something else."

At Lehigh Valley, Alfaro is batting .240 with six home runs and 41 RBIs. July has not been kind to the 24-year old catcher as Alfaro is 8-for-54 this month with 24 strikeouts and one walk. He received a September call-up last season and had 16 at-bats with the Phillies, batting .125.

Extra bases

As a byproduct of the Pat Neshek trade, lefthanded reliever Jeff Singer has been promoted to Reading. Singer, a graduate of Holy Cross High School and a native of Delran, was 5-2 with a 2.34 ERA in 37 appearances at high-A Clearwater. … Reading third baseman Mitch Walding was placed on the disabled list with an ear fracture after colliding with his teammate, catcher Chace Numata, on a pop-up. Walding leads the Eastern League with 23 home runs. … The Phillies signed undrafted free agent Gunnar Buhner last month. The son of longtime Mariners slugger Jay Buhner has begun play in the Gulf Coast League after graduating from Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho.