It’s the minor leagues and when the big club is doing as well as the Phillies are there’s not a great deal of interest in what’s happening but I’ll tell ya anyway 😄.
This week’s six game sets that begin today for Lehigh Valley (hosting Norfolk), Reading (in New Hampshire), Jersey Shore and Clearwater mark the end of the first half after the initial three games for Jersey Shore and Clearwater and at the conclusion of the entire six games for Lehigh Valley and Reading.
Lehigh Valley and Reading are not in the running for first half playoff slots however both Jersey Shore and Clearwater are in the hunt for their respective first half division titles - they each trail their division leaders by a half game. Jersey Shore will play the Mets affiliate in Brooklyn while the team they are chasing (Greensboro - Pirates affiliate) hosts Hudson Valley (Yankees affiliate). Clearwater has traveled to the East coast of Florida to play Jupiter (Marlins affiliate) who is in their own division race (East) with Palm Beach (Cardinals affiliate) whom they lead by one game. Lakeland (Tigers affiliate) leads Clearwater in the West Division - they play in Bradenton (Pirates affiliate).
The FCL and DSL Phillies continue on with their schedules - the FCL regular season ends on July 25th and the DSL on August 20th. By the way Manager Shawn Williams has a very talented group on the backfields in the FCL with SS Starlyn Caba, C Eduardo Tait, C/1B Guillermo Rosario and 2B/3B Aroon Escobar leading the way. They currently hold first place in their division.
Mitch Neunborn, Jean Cabrera (3-3, 3.54 ERA) and Sam Aldegheri (5-3, 2.67 ERA) are scheduled to start the final first half games for Jersey Shore while Casey Steward (4-2, 3.33 ERA) , Mavis Graves (5-3, 2.87 ERA) and Luke Russo will get the ball to start for Clearwater in their last three first half games.
The Jersey Shore lineup is bolstered by the Phillies first round picks from the last two draft classes CF Justin Crawford (hitting .304 in 236 PA’s) and SS Aidan Miller (.375 OBP in his initial 24 PA’s at High A) while 1B/OF Leandro Pineda (.301 BA in 216 AB’s - 41 RBIs) and 2B William Bergolla (hitting .455 in 44 June AB’s and .291 for the season in 172 AB’s) have been red hot for Manager Greg “Bull” Brodzinski who’s team is trying to win it’s second consecutive half season North division title (they were second half champs last year).
1B Keaton Anthony leads the Clearwater offense (.338 BA in 138 AB’s - he leads the league in OBP at .453 and OPS at .931). OF Jordan Viars is in the top ten in the loop in home runs (8) and RBIs (32). 1B/C Kehden Hettiger has a 18 game on base streak going. The Threshers generally find ways to win for Skipper Marty Malloy exemplifying a warrior like ,never give up, team approach.
While Reading and Lehigh Valley won’t be playing for a playoff position they both look to finish the first half strong. Johan Rojas (wearing uniform number 3) will make his IronPigs debut and Weston Wilson also returns after a stint in the show. Carlos De La Cruz (.327 in 55 June AB’s with 5 home runs,.422 OBP), Marcus Lee Sang (.319 in 47 June AB’s, .411 OBP), Otto Kemp (.423 OBP on his first 26 PA’s at Reading) and Kendall Simmons (17 game on base streak) look to finish the first half on high notes for Reading.
So if ya have some time give the Phillies minor league affiliates some attention - they continue to grind and while contending for division titles doesn’t carry the same weight as in the big leagues they are indeed accomplishments. The young fellas will appreciate the interest!
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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