Last Week’s Schedule
- Lehigh Valley: W 5-3, W 3-1, L 2-4, L 1-3, L 5-6, L 1-10, L 4-5, L 9-14, W 4-3, W 6-3, L 1-4, L 3-4, W 7-4
- Reading: L 4-5, W 3-0, W 3-1, L 2-5, W 4-0, L 2-4
- Clearwater: L 1-2, L 1-6
Hitter Spotlight
1B Darick Hall
It wasn’t a good last two weeks of the season for Hall, who finished up his worst minor league season as the most prolific home run hitter in the history of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Hall hit 76 home runs in 410 games with the Phillies AAA affiliate. For a brief moment, the 2016 14th round pick looked to be making a big league career of it, but things never got back to that level. Hall will be a free agent after the season and given the current state of the minor leagues, it might be hard for him to get a job in affiliated ball. But it is an impressive run for a player who has grinded his way through years of change and flux in the minor leagues. He was the last man standing in the Phillies org from his draft class.
He also got the best kind of end to this run in the Phillies org.
Pitcher Spotlight
LHP Braeden Fausnaught
6 IP 5 H 0 R 1 BB 5 K
The Phillies signed Fausnaught back in 2022, and after a pedestrian 2023, he went and pitched in Australia and was dominant. This season he was extremely solid, putting up a 3.57 ERA in 126 innings and topping it off with 6 shut out innings. He doesn’t have dominant velocity or stuff. His fastball sits 88-91 with a cutter just below that. His changeup and big breaking curveballs have given minor leaguers problem. Without a big jump, Fausnaught is not a prospect, but he has emerged as a stabilizing minor league pitcher in an era where they are becoming increasingly rare.
Notes and Thoughts
- It wasn’t dominant, but Michael Mercado touched 98 again, and was solid for his last 5 appearances of the year. It wasn’t the year that looked like it was coming this spring, but he won the IronPigs pitcher of the year after putting up a 2.07 ERA on the season.
- Mick Abel got one last hurrah (4 IP 3 H 2 ER 3 BB 9 K) where he was inefficient, but effective before a disastrous last appearance (2.1 IP 8 H 9R 8 ER 3 BB 1 K) while gassed.
- Speaking of gassed, Griff McGarry wasn’t great command wise down the stretch, but had gone a full month without allowing a run before just having the wheels fall off at the end.
- There will be plenty of time this offseason to overanalyze Justin Crawford, but he appeared in 110 games, with 497 plate appearances, and hit .410/.465/.539 in September. He did not have a month under .277 as well. The stamina and consistency is something to be lauded.
- The Threshers offense just did not show up in two games. It was a very young team in the second half and they will get their chance to clinch someone else’s postseason trip next spring.
- It wasn’t a great run in AAA for Robinson Pina, but he is interesting enough that I would like to see the Phillies bring him back next season.
- I should give Alan Rangel props for his two starts – 10 IP 5 H 2 ER 0 BB 9 K. He had 1 BB 15 K in 15.1 innings in September.
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