6/7/26 : Phillies Minor Leagues : week in review (6/1 - 6/7)

Compiled and written by Steve Potter

This week’s Spotlight : 6/3/26 - Clearwater No-Hitter

On Tuesday in game one of a double-header three Clearwater Threshers pitchers combined to no hit the St Lucie Mets in a 2-0 seven inning victory. Right hander Tanner Gresham retired 15 of the 16 batters he faced allowing just one walk while striking out 8 hitters in his five innings of work. He needed just 58 pitches to do so and threw strikes at a 76% rate! Right hander Marty Gair threw a perfect sixth inning striking out one batter and right hander Gabe Craig struck out the side in the seventh issuing one walk to complete the gem. The three pitchers combined to retire 20 batters in a row after the leadoff batter in the first inning walked and the third batter in seventh inning walked - the final out was a strikeout.

I did a spotlight article on Gresham in spring camp - here’s the link https://www.philliesbaseballfan.com/post/3-15-26-minor-league-spotlight-rhp-tanner-gresham.  He’s an Army veteran who’s been granted the opportunity to pursue a professional baseball career thru the World Class Athlete Program. Tanner has had a very solid start to his baseball career - thru ten games (all starts) he’s posted a 3.53 ERA in 35.2 innings pitched with 44 strikeouts and 19 walks. During the no hitter he generated 13 swings and misses using a five pitch mix (four seamer -92-95 mph, touched 96, cutter, change up, curve and slider).

Gair entered the game coming off his worst outing of the season where he yielded five runs in 1.1 innings pitched - he bounced back great popping his high octane fast ball in the 96-97 mph range using it on six of the seven pitches he threw (the other was a curve ball). Marty has been good at the back end of games this year, in 10 of his 15 appearances he’s yielded no runs - he often touches 100 mph with his fastball and has recorded 28 K’s in 18 IP of work thus far this season.

Gabe Craig has had his ups and downs in his first full pro season, in the no hitter he used his signature slider/sweeper on 15 of his 20 deliveries, producing the final strike with it on all of his strikeouts which were all three swings and misses. When the big fella commands the zone the pitch is a big league weapon that he sets up with a mid nineties fastball - this year he’s punched out 30 batters in 18 games (20 IP to date).

A fine effort by all three - worthy of this week’s spotlight!

International League (AAA) : Lehigh Valley (29-34)

The Iron Pigs went 2-4 for the week against Rochester (Nationals affiliate).

Lehigh Valley has played Rochester 13 times already this season going 4-9 against the Red Wings - against the other opponents they’ve played they have a .500 record. The week featured some good pitching efforts as four hurlers had scoreless outings of three innings or more - that includes RH Drake Fellows who threw five scoreless frames on Tuesday but then yielded four runs in three innings of work on Sunday. RH Levi Stoudt made three appearances totaling five innings giving up just one unearned run (the placed runner in the 11th inning in Sunday’s game).

This week’s standouts :

At Bat :

Bryan De La Cruz - 8 for 20 (.400), 2 doubles, HR, 6 RBIs - .455 OBP - 22 PA’s

Dylan Carlson - .409 OBP in 22 PA’s - 8 hits (3 doubles, HR), 5 walks

Keaton Anthony - 6 for 19 (.316) with 2 doubles, triple

Christian Cairo - .368 OBP in 20 PA’s - 4 hits, 2 walks, 1 HBP

Gabriel Rincones Jr - .364 OBP in 22 PA’s - 5 hits, 3 walks

On The Hill :

RH Ryan Cusick - 4 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 4 K’s

RH Bryse Wilson - 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K’s

RH Chuck King - 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 4 K’s

RH Alan Rangel - 6 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 8 K’s

RH Seth Johnson - two appearances - 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K’s

RH Levi Stoudt - three appearances - 5 IP, 1 unearned R, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K’s

RH Lou Trivino  - two appearances - 2 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K’s

Eastern League (AA) : Reading (24-33)

The Fightin Phils went 1-5 for the week against Binghamton (Mets affiliate).

Braydon Tucker was outstanding on Tuesday going seven shutout innings allowing just two hits in a 3-0 win. He retired the last 13 batters he faced in order - on the season Braydon has made 9 starts - went five or more IP 8 times, 6 IP three times and 7 IP twice (his last two starts) - ERA is now 1.24 in 51 IP.  The top 20th percentile K/9 threshold for starting pitchers is generally anything at or above 7.56 - Braydon is right there career wise and this season at 7.58. He’s leading the Eastern League in ERA amongst qualified players and in fact after his game Tuesday he had the top ERA amongst all minor league pitchers who qualified for innings pitched and was third in the Eastern League in WHIP amongst qualified players.

This week’s standouts :

At Bat :

Bryson Ware - .476 OBP in 21 PA’s - 4 hits, 6 walks, HR

Kehden Hettiger - .438 OBP in 16 PA’s - 3 hits, 4 walks

Austin Murr - 2 for 5 - went on IL 6/4 - fracture in hand

On The Hill :

RH Braydon Tucker - 7 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K’s

RH Gage Wood - 4 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 1 HB, 0 BB, 4 K’s

RH Luke Russo - 5 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 K’s

RH Aaron Combs - two appearances - 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K’s

RH Jack Dallas - two appearances - 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 5 K’s

RH Evan Gates  - two appearances - 4 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 2 K’s

RH Alex McFarlane  - two appearances - 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K’s

RH Christian McGowan  - two appearances - 2.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 5 K’s

RH Estibenzon Jimenez - 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K’s

South Atlantic League  (High A) : Jersey Shore (22-34)

The BlueClaws went 1-5 for the week against Brooklyn (Mets affiliate)

Catcher Luis Caicuto had a good week going 5 for 14 (.357) with a home run and in fact has been solid all season posting a .368 OBP and .808 OPS in 29 games (115 PA’s) with 6 doubles, 4 home runs and 17 RBIs. The 23 year old was selected by the Phillies in the 2023 minor league rule 5 draft from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He’s from Venezuela and is a pleasant young man who speaks fluent English. Is a good defender as well, this season he’s thrown out 7 of 27 base stealers (26%).

This week’s standouts :

At Bat :

Luis Caicuto - 5 for 14 (.357) with HR, 2 BB, 1 HBP - .471 OBP - 17 PA’s

Pedro Leon - rehab assignment - 6 for 16 (.375), 3 doubles, triple, HR, 4 RBIs

Nick Biddison  - .421 OBP in 19 PA’s - 3 hits, 5 walks, 2 doubles

Tyler Pettorini - .368 OBP in 20 PA’s - 3 hits, 3 walks, 1 HBP

On The Hill :

RH Wen-Hui Pan - two appearances - 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 HB, 1 BB, 4 K’s

LH Camron Hill - two appearances - 2.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 HB, 2 BB, 4 K’s

RH Jose Peña Jr - two appearances - 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K’s

Florida State League (Low A) : Clearwater (36-21)

The Threshers went 5-1 for the week against St Lucie (Mets affiliate)

Clearwater had a terrific week on the East Coast of Florida - it started with a no hitter on Wednesday (see above) followed by a series win. They hold a three game lead in the Florida State League West Division standings for the first half title with nine games left to play with a magic number of six. Besides the strong pitching four hitters had on base percentages of .400 or better for the week and Nathan Humphreys hit two home runs tallying five RBIs on Sunday.

This week’s standouts :

At Bat :

Griffin Burkholder - 3 hits including a double, 3 BB, 3 HBP - .474 OBP - 19 PA’s

Robert Phelps - 5 hits including two doubles, 4 BB, 1 HBP - .435 OBP - 23 PA’s

Mathew Ferrara - 2 hits, 4 BB, 1 HBP - .400 OBP - 15 PA’s

Jonathan Hogart - 5 hits including HR, 7 BB, 7 runs - .400 OBP - 25 PA’s

Juan Villavicencio - 4 hits including double, HR, 2 BB- .353 OBP - 17 PA’s

On The Hill :

RH Tanner Gresham - 5 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 8 K’s

RH Cody Bowker - 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 6 K’s

RH Marty Gair - two appearances - 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K’s

RH Gabe Craig - two appearances - 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 5 K’s

RH Tyler Bowen - two appearances - 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K’s

RH MT Morrissey - two appearances - 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K’s

LH Cade Obermueller - 3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 6 K’s

RH Ramon Marquez - 5.1 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 1 HB, 1 BB, 9 K’s

RH Brad Pacheco - 5 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 6 K’s

Florida Complex League Phillies (8-18)

The Phillies went 2-4 for the week against the Blue Jays (0-2), Yankees (1-0) and Tigers (1-2).

Twenty year old RHP Mathew Fisher had a good outing on Thursday (see stats below), his third consecutive decent performance as he learns the regimen of being a full time pitcher as his profession. In his last 8.1 innings he’s struck out 11 batters while walking three and allowing just four hits. It’s a gradual progression as he continues to add strength and velocity. Good stuff!

This week’s standouts :

At Bat :

Guillermo Rosario - 4 for 11 (.364) with HR, 3 RBIs, 5 walks - .563 OBP, 1.199 OPSv

Anderson Araujo - 5 for 16 (.313) with double, 4 walks - .450 OBP

On The Hill :

RH Mathew Fisher - 3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K’s

LH Yordanis Guerra - 3.1 IP, 2 R - 1 earned, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K’s

RH Gerardo Lopez - 2.2 perfect IP, 3 K’s

RH Anderson Navas - two appearances - 1.2v IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Dominican Summer League Phillies (4-1)

The Phillies went 4-1 for the week against the Marlins (1-0), Rockies (0-1) and Yankees (2-0) and Miami (1-0)

Francisco Renteria, Deivas Velasquez and Juan Parra got off to stellar starts to their pro careers at the dish while RHP Yilmar Samudio turned heads in his pro debut on Monday touching 99 mph with the heater and dominating his opponents in three perfect innings of work with six strikeouts. Looks like this is going to be a really fun group to watch this summer!

This week’s standouts :

At Bat :

Francisco Renteria - 9 for 17 (.529) - 3 3B, 7 R, 4 walks - .636 OBP 1.518 OPS, 3 SB

Deivas Velaquez - 6 for 14 (.429), 2 2B, 1 3B, 5 RBIs, 2 BB - .529 OBP, 1.243 OPS

Juan Parra - 6 for 17 (.353), 5 walks, 9 runs scored - .500 OBP, 3 SB

Jose Tovar -  3 for 8 (.375) with a double and 3 RBIs

Nieves Izaguirre - 3 for 10 (.300), 2  walks - .462 OBP

Javen Maduro - on base 6 times in 14 PA’s (.429 OBP) with 3 hits, 2 walks, 1 HBP

On The Hill :

RH Yilmar Samudio - 3 perfect IP, 6 K’s

RH Luis Mirabel - 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K’s

RH Jose Romero - two appearances - 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K’s

LH D’wichi Ramirez - two appearances - 3 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 5 K’s

RH Cristian Rego - 2 IP, 1 unearned, 2 H, 0 BB, 5 K’s

Minor league system transactions :

Lehigh Valley - RHP John McMillon released. RHP Lou Trivino reinstated from the Temporarily Inactive List. 1B Keaton Anthony returned from rehab assignment and reinstated from the 7-Day IL. RHP Nolan Hoffman optioned (from PHI). C Lou Albrechtplaced on the Development List. RHP Bryse Wilson granted his release after he exercised the opt-out clause in his contract. RHP Gabriel Barbosa added to the roster (from JS). RHP Bryse Wilson re-signed to a minor league contract and added to the roster. Phillies sent RHP Zach Pop outright - he instead elected free agency.

Reading - RHP Daniel Harper added to the roster (from LHV). C Gabriel Flores added to the roster (from FCL) and placed on the Development List (retroactive to 5/31). LHP Cristhian Tortosa released. RHP Estibenzon Jimenez returned from rehab assignment and reinstated from the 7-Day IL. RHP Braydon Tucker placed on the Development List (retroactive to 6/3). C Gabriel Flores reinstated from the Development List. OF/1B Austin Murr placed on the 7-Day IL.

Jersey Shore - OF Pedro León’s (LHV 7-Day IL) rehab assignment has been transferred to JS (from CLW). C René Pinto (LHV 7-Day IL) began a rehab assignment. RHP Gabriel Barbosa added to the roster (from LHV).

Clearwater -  INF/OF Maylerson Casanova added to the roster (from FCL).OF TJayy Walton placed on the 7-Day IL. RHP Sean Youngerman reinstated from the Development List.

DSL - LHP Leonardo Larez placed on the 7-Day IL (L Hip Discomfort). RHP Filippo Sabatini placed on the 7-Day IL (R Elbow UCL Surgery).

Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️

Photo from Clearwater Threshers website

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