This Week’s Schedule
- Lehigh Valley (29-34) @ Scranton Wilkes-Barre (31-31)
- Reading (24-33) v Portland (29-27)
- Jersey Shore (22-34) @ Hudson Valley (25-31)
- Clearwater (36-21) v Lakeland (27-29)
- FCL Phillies (9-18)
- DSL Phillies (4-2)
Hitter Spotlight
OF Francisco Renteria
5 G 8-17 2 3B 2 RBI 3 BB 5 K 3 SB .471/.571/.706
The Phillies top international signing hasn’t done anything in 6 games that makes your jaw drop. He has a hit in every game, and Monday was the first time he didn’t reach base twice in a game. He has hit the ball hard, but even his three triples have not been eye popping exit velocities. He hit a ball 109 mph, but it was right into the ground. That all being said, he has been a dynamic athlete, as evidenced by his three triples and three stolen bases. He has swung and missed at times, but also his approach is solid at the plate. The first test of any new signing whether it is an international player or new draftee is if they show up and look as advertised in game action, and Renteria has looked the part and you can see why the Phillies gave him the bonus they did.
Pitcher Spotlight
RHP Tanner Gresham, RHP Marty Gair, and RHP Gabe Craig
7 IP 0 H 0 R 2 BB 12 K
The three right handers combined on a 7 inning no-hitter in the first game of Wednesday’s double header. Gair had a good week after some bad games to end May, and Craig has put things together after a tough start to the year. The highlight is Gresham who led off with 5 hitless innings and 8 strikeouts. On the year, he has a respectable 3.53 ERA, a good strikeout rate, and an elevate walk rate (thanks to 6 of his 19 coming on May 21st). He missed all of 2025 due to military service, and 2026 has been a slow ramp up of workload with some ups and downs. He has a prototypical modern starter’s mix with two types of fastball, three breaking balls (cutter, slider, and curveball), and a changeup. He has been up to 96 on his fastball, but is mostly around 93. His sweeping slider has been his best pitch while his sinker has done a decent job of limiting damage. None of his stuff particularly jumps out, but he has shown spots of improvement and is pitching in his first pro season after a lay off.
Notes and Thoughts
- It was back to back 7 inning games for Braydon Tucker, this time it was 7 scoreless with just 3 base runners. He has a 1.24 ERA through 9 starts, and it you are going to pick any nits it is that he struck out 26 in 20 innings in April and in May and June he has 17 strikeouts in 31 innings. His strikeout rate is still up for the season, and he has gotten a lot of poor contact, but it is probably not great that he hasn’t missed bats when dominant.
- It wasn’t Cody Bowker’s best start of the year, but he got back on track after his worst game of the year. He is still having a bizarre season with a 5.55 ERA while opposing hitters are hitting .165/.285/.378 against him. He is barely allowing men to reach base, but when he does it has been a disaster.
- Juan Parra has mostly shown up as advertised in game action. He is a polished player who stands out in a league usually marked by youthful inconsistency. He has not driven the ball, but it has only been 6 games. However, he has shown the willingness to lay down a bunt for a hit, which will be an important skill, especially from the left side, if he doesn’t grow into power.
- It looked bad when Jean Cabrera allowed 10 earned runs (14 runs) over his first 3 starts after his demotion to AA, but that was nothing compared to the 9 runs in 1.1 innings this week. The skinny RHP is just getting crushed when he comes into the strike zone.
- Wen-Hui Pan walked a batter and allowed a hit this week, but extended his scoreless time with Jersey Shore to 10 innings. He probably should be with Reading.
- If Pan moves up, then it should probably be in Alex McFarlane’s spot. He pitched three more scoreless innings this week across two appearances. He did not walk anyone either, picking up 4 more strikeouts in the process and throwing 32 total pitches. Righties have a .407 OPS against him, and while lefties fare better, it isn’t that much better. He has a 0.42 ERA on the season, and really could use a better challenge.
- It doesn’t matter if you start your week 0-11 if you end it by going 4-4 with two home runs, a double, a walk, and 5 runs driven in. Fresh off of being highlighted for May, Nathan Humphreys had one of the best games in the system this season on Sunday. He is hitting .077/.250/.077 in the 16 PAs he has been allowed to face a lefty, but now has a .870 OPS when he ahs the platoon advantage.
- The know on Griffin Burkholder has been the swing and miss, but 3 walks and 3 strikeouts in 19 PAs this week is workable. He was also hit by a pitch 3 times, which helps the old OBP.
- This was the 6th time this year Gage Wood has pitched exactly 4 innings while allowing 1 or fewer runs. It was a near identical line to last week, but the run came on a solo shot, and he allowed another hit and hit batter. It hasn’t been sexy, but he is chugging through innings and is now one out off of his inning total in college last year.
- The Phillies continue to slowly stretch out Cade Obermueller, and he put up another good appearance. He is obliterating lefties, and righties are striking out, but have a .667 BABIP. Overall he has struck out 13 of the 27 batters he has faced. His velocity has been inconsistent with a lot of time sitting 92-93 and then pulling out 95 when needed. It would be good to see the average creep up/
- Matthew Fisher struck out 5 over three innings, setting a new career high. Since his first bad appearance he has 4 fine starts totaling 11.1 innings with 10 hits (6 in his second game), 3 ER, 4 BB, 13 Ks. It would be better if his stuff was better.
- The Phillies pushed Ramon Marquez into the 6th inning and the wheels came off a bit before a reliever put out the fire, but the final line (5.1 IP 2 H 2 R 1 ER 1 BB 9 K) once again looks stellar. He is getting the second highest percent of whiffs of any pitcher in the FSL behind Pirates top prospect Seth Hernandez.
- The Brad Pacheco hype train is no longer hurtling along, but is rather moving along slowly. He did not walk a batter for the second week in row, and this week completed 5 innings. He is having trouble with lefties, and will need to improve his changeup, but he is still heading in the right direction.
- Usually when a position player comes into pitch they are throwing slow, but not Jose Tovar. He came in during a blowout, hit 89 mph and struck out the only batter he faced. He also played 3rd and LF while going 3-8 this week. He is listed as a catcher, but looks like he will be doing a little of everything for the DSL Phillies.
Injuries and Transactions
- Daniel Harper (REA), Gabriel Flores (FCL), Gabriel Barbosa (LHV, JS), Maylerson Casanova (CLW), and Wilmer Blanco (FCL)
- Rene Pinto (JS) and Pedro Leon (JS) had their rehab assignments transferred
- Keaton Anthony and Estibenzon Jimenez activated from the IL
- Braydon Tucker and Lou Albrecht added to Development List
- Austin Murr and TJayy Walton added to the 7-day IL
Links and Things
Minor Thoughts
Videos and Posts