The Phillies have promoted three pitchers from their Dominican Academy to the Clearwater complex to continue their development as part of the Player Development Center (PDC) roster. Here are some notes on the recent promotions.
LHP Kleyderve Andrade - 21 years old - signed 5/7/22 from Valencia, Venezuela - Stats : had an outstanding season in 2023 for the DSL White team posting a 1.76 ERA in 15 games (30.2 IP) with 44 strikeouts and 12 walks. He saved three games in three chances and opponents hit just .209 against him. It was his second year playing in the DSL. My notes from last season reflect pitching coordinator Travis Hergert’s comparison to current Reading lefty reliever Jordi Martinez in regards to similar delivery and build. He features a good fastball that was up to 94 mph last summer and became a “go-to” reliever.
RHP Josbel Garcia - 20 years old - signed 10/21/21 from Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela - Stats : appeared in 14 regular season DSL games last summer posting a 1.69 ERA in 32 IP with 15 K’s and 6 walks. He saved one game in his only chance. Josbel also appeared in one post-season game for the DSL White team pitching 2.1 innings. My notes from last season from Travis Hergert show that his fastball was up to 95 mph and that he also had been a main reliever. Garcia played more of a bulk role with his slider being an effective pitch.
RHP Luis Gonzalez - 18 years old - signed 1/15/22 from Barquisimeto, Venezuela - Stats :- went 4-1 in 11 appearances (9 starts) in the DSL last season posting a 1.99 ERA in 49.2 IP with 38 K’s and 9 walks. He also made two appearances in the post-season pitching 11 innings and recording a 1.64 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 8 K’s and 2 walks. Was named to the league national league all-star roster. Over two seasons in the DSL has made 22 appearances (20 starts) with a 2.86 ERA in 100.2 IP with 68 K’s and only 14 walks. He’s a strike thrower with pitch-ability skills - fast ball presently sits lower 90’s and has a good change up and curve.
As I have it the Clearwater PDC roster presently consists of the following players plus interspersed rehab appearances by those on the IL.
Pitchers : 13
Juan Amarante (LH)
Kleyderve Andrade (LH)
Luis Avila
Wilmer Blanco
Alexis De La Cruz
Josbel Garcia
Luis Gonzalez
Maxwell Hernandez
Adilson Peralta
Danyony Pulido
Pedro Reyes
Benyony Robles (LH)
Enrique Segura
Catchers : 4
Jorge Mendez
Ricardo Perez
Guillermo Rosario
Eduardo Tait
Infielders : 7
Nolan Beltran
Starlyn Caba
Aroon Escobar
Jarol Martinez
Leonardo Rondon
Yemil Rosario
Juan Villavicencio
Outfielders : 5
Ezra Farmer
Yemal Flores
Manolfi Jimenez
Junior Marin
Jerffson Pena
Players on the IL (Injured List) working with Rehab group at the Complex :
LHP Erubiel Armenta - 60 day IL
RHP Marty Gair - 60 day IL
C Angel Mata - 60 day IL
RHP Jonh Henriquez - 60 day IL
RHP Alex McFarlane - 60 day IL
RHP Andrew Painter - 60 day IL
RHP Wen Hui Pan - 60 day IL
RHP Dominic Pipkin - 60 day IL
RHP Guissepe Velasquez - 60 day IL
OF Jorge Garcia - 60 day IL
C Rafael Marchan - Major League 10 Day IL
RHP Michael Rucker - Major League 15 Day IL
RHP Josh Bortka - 7 day IL
RHP Dylan Covey - Major League 15 Day IL
LHP Jordan Fowler - 60 day IL
RHP Alex Garbrick - 60 day IL
INF Kendall Simmons - 7 day IL
RHP Andrew Schultz - 7 day IL
C Jared Thomas - 7 day IL
OF Ethan Wilson - 7 day IL
Extended spring training continues thru early May. The official Florida Complex League season opens on May 4th. The Phillies will play the Blue Jays, Yankees and Tigers in their division - a scheduled 59 games. The FCL regular season is slated to end on 7/25/24 with the semi-final one game playoff round (three division winners and one wild card) scheduled for 7/27 and the best of three championship series slated for 7/28 to 7/30.
Extended Spring Game Action :
In yesterday’s extended spring training game action the Yankees defeated the Phillies 3-0. Danyony Pulido started for the Phillies and pitched well going three innings allowing one run on one hit, two walks and a hit batter, he struck out two, his fastball touched 97 mph. Juan Amarante pitched three innings - two runs allowed on six hits and a walk, two strikeouts. Adilson Peralta finished - two innings - no runs on one hit and two walks with one strikeout.
Leonardo Rondon and Guillermo Rosario each doubled for the Phillies while Starlyn Caba, Jared Thomas and Yemal Flores singled. Caba stole two bases. Center fielder Manolfi Jimenez made a great diving catch in the second inning on a sinking liner. The Yankees had a couple upper level players in the contest on rehab assignment including major league utility player Jon Berti. Catcher Jared Thomas and Outfielder Ethan Wilson made rehab appearances in the game for the Phillies.
The Phillies released IF/OF Lou Helmig before yesterday’s contest, we wish Lou well in his future endeavors.
The Phillies PDC group travels to Dunedin today for a 1 PM game against the Blue Jays.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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