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That Balls Outta Here

Phillies minor-league system: 2017 season in review

By John Town

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 05: J.P. Crawford #2 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks out onto the field before a game against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 5, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Crawford is making his major league debut. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 05: J.P. Crawford #2 of the Philadelphia Phillies looks out onto the field before a game against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 5, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Crawford is making his major league debut. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 15: Rhys Hoskins #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies stands at first base with his glove on his head before a game against the Oakland Athletics at Citizens Bank Park on September 15, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /

Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs were able to squeak their way into the playoffs with six wins down the stretch, finishing the year with an 80-62 record and a wildcard spot. They lost in the first round to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate and the top team in the International League.

Lehigh Valley had a strong start to the season with Rhys Hoskins and Nick Williams powering their offense. Hoskins hit 29 home runs with a .966 OPS in 115 games before being called up to the majors. Williams had 15 home runs of his own along with a .280/.328/.511 line in 78 games before his promotion.

Scott Kingery performed fairly well after a midseason promotion, hitting eight home runs while posting a .294/.337/.449 line in 63 games. J.P. Crawford struggled to start the year, but he surged after a June groin injury with 13 home runs and a .904 OPS since June 20. That second-half resurgence gave the Phillies enough confidence to promote Crawford to the majors when the minor-league season ended.

Dylan Cozens hit 27 home runs by season’s end, but he hit just .210 and racked up 194 strikeouts in 476 at-bats.

Roman Quinn had a decent start to the year, but yet another injury limited the outfield prospect to just 45 games. Jesmuel Valentin suffered a season-ending dislocated shoulder after playing just 29 games this year.

Injuries to the major-league rotation led to a revolving door in the IronPigs’ rotation. Thomas Eshelman and Jake Thompson led the team with 121 and 118.1 innings pitched, respectively. Eshelman finished the year with a 2.23 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in Triple-A, being named the recipient of the Paul Owens award. Thompson was not nearly as effective with a 5.25 ERA.

Nick Pivetta and Ben Lively had strong stints in Lehigh Valley but have since become a part of the major-league rotation. Jose Taveras finished the year with in Triple-A after starting in Clearwater, logging 41 innings with a 1.32 ERA but a 4.22 fielding-independent pitching.

Mark Appel struggled yet again, posting a 5.27 ERA and 1.30 WHIP before another injury cut his season short.

Jesen Therrien was the team’s best reliever with a 1.57 ERA in 28.2 innings before making his major-league debut, but a UCL injury puts his future in question. Pat Venditte logged the most innings of any full-time reliever and had a 3.36 ERA. Hoby Milne and Pedro Beato were both effective relief options as well.

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