Phillies Farm System Report: Randolph Finding his Stroke
Lehigh Valley Ironpigs
Week Record (4-3)
Year Record to Date (37-18)
Recap and Standouts
The big league team and injuries caused a ton of movement at Triple-A this past week. We saw the demotion of a pitcher thought to be part of the rotation moving forward, which led to the promotion of one who had great success in his first start.
There were a few outfield injuries that brought a new face to the Lehigh Valley lineup. He would make an immediate impact. And then we saw an outfielder we all have our fingers crossed for continued strides in the right direction.
When Zach Eflin struggled last Sunday against the Reds, the Phils immediately sent him back to Lehigh Valley. Ben Lively was brought up in his place, and Eflin did not make it through one start without his struggles continuing. After allowing four earned over four innings, the Pigs placed him on the disabled list.
More from That Balls Outta Here
- How Phillies’ Ranger Suárez is set to build on 2022 postseason dominance
- What can Philadelphia Phillies expect from Bryson Stott in 2023?
- 3 Reasons to get excited for Phillies’ Craig Kimbrel signing
- 11 Free-agent deals the Philadelphia Phillies wish fell through
- Phillies-Mets owners’ rivalry grows after shocking Carlos Correa deal
On the other end of the spectrum, Thomas Eshelman’s impressive first lap around Triple-A continued on Wednesday night. The righty cruised to a complete game shutout. He scattered five hits and a walk over the nine while striking out seven. If his control continues to be this strong, the Phillies may find a way to promote him before the end of the season.
Nick Williams continued to stay hot throughout the week, homering three times, which pushed his total to eleven as we hit June. J.P. Crawford put together a couple of multi-hit games, while teammates Jorge Alfaro, Dylan Cozens, and Rhys Hoskins all added similar performances.
Perhaps the coolest stories of the week were recent call-ups from Reading. Jiandido Tromp, an outfielder brought up to replace Roman Quinn who (not so shockingly) is missing time due to injury, had two doubles in his first Triple-A game.
And an exciting bullpen arm, Jesen Therrien, made his Triple-A debut after dominating Double-A for the early part of the season. He threw two innings, allowing two hits, a run, and striking out two in his initial performance at Lehigh Valley.
The IronPigs are the second-winningest team in organized professional baseball right now, only to the Houston Astros. In a season that has been less than stellar at the big-league level, that is something to be excited about at the moment.
Reading Fightins’
Week Record (5-3)
Year Record to Date (28-24)
Recap and Standouts
The Reading team was coming off a 0-7 week, so they were looking for any way to bounce back. A five-win week can absolutely help a team to do that. Led by Scott Kingery, a player who seems to be on his way to a promotion, the Fightins’ put together an impressive week.
The week included a game that the Fightins’ had seven different players with multi-hit games. They won the game 14-6 on the back of Kingery’s 4-4 performance, which included the second baseman’s 17th homer of the season.
They also swept a doubleheader that concluded in a 13th inning walk-off homer off the bat of Andrew Pullin. The left-handed outfielder continues to impress as he ending the week hitting .319/.385/.582 on the year.
The Phils decided it was time to promote Clearwater outfielder, Zach Coppola to replace Tromp. He went 0-4 in his debut in the leadoff spot, but I expect him to adjust quickly. He is not much of a prospect, especially with his lack of power, but it was nice to see some movement in an otherwise stagnant couple of months.
On the pitching end of things, there were truly no dominant performances from any starting pitchers in Reading. They had consistent efforts from Brandon Liebrandt and Drew Anderson. The Phils are high on Anderson, who after a slow start has strung together a bunch of positive outings. As he continues to get healthy, he is a player I will keep my eye on for weekly updates.
In the pen, the Fightins’ lost Therrien but gained Victor Arano off the disabled list. He has the arm for the bullpen and is someone the Phillies believe can be plugged in alongside Therrien, Hector Neris, and Edubray Ramos as early as next season. He threw 2.1 innings this week with one hit and a strikeout along the way.
He and Austin Davis will be two consistent arms to focus on as we enter the month of June in Reading.