This Week’s Schedule
- Lehigh Valley (64-73) vs Worcester (70-62) – 8 GB
- Reading (66-65) vs Erie (77-54) – +3.5 GB
- Jersey Shore (47-83) – season complete
- Clearwater (74-55) vs Tampa (78-51) – FSL Division Series
Hitter Spotlight
SS Tyler Spangler
4 G 3-16 1 2B 1 HR 3 RBI 4 BB 4 K .188/.350/.438
With the regular season over it is worth checking in on the Phillies 2026 first round pick. He hit .176/.310/.294 in his 9 games with the Threshers, which isn’t a meaningful sample size, but it also wasn’t a good outcome either. He hit both his extra base hits this week, but he really has not driven the ball hard, with a 99.9 90th EV And 103.1 max EV. He has hit the ball on the ground two thirds of the time. His approach numbers where mostly fine. He had a rather passive overall swing rate of 35%, with a 52% zone swing and 22% chase rate. He also had a 92% zone contact rate which would be more fine if he was actually driving the balls he was swinging at. The numbers look like a player who hasn’t played in a long time, which isn’t something deal breaking now, but you would have liked to have seen him look a bit more like the prospect he was entering the spring.
Pitcher Spotlight
3 G 3.2 IP 3 H 0 R 2 BB 1 K
McGowan missed all of the 2025 season and didn’t reach Reading until the start of May. After a rough May, he has been mostly been solid for the Reading bullpen, and over the last month he has been a shutdown member of the three headed monster at the end of games (with Mavis Graves and Estibenzon Jimenez). McGowan has not allowed a run since July 25, and in the 13 games during that streak he has pitched 16 innings with 9 hits, 7 walks, and 14 strikeouts. His stuff hasn’t been dominant from a future projection standpoint with his sinking fastball still sitting mid 90s. He will mix in a changeup, but the big change is he has found feel for a low to mid 80s sweeper to go with his high 80s harder slider/cutter. He profiles as a middle reliever at a higher level, but for now is a big part of Reading’s attempted postseason run.
Notes and Thoughts
- The big news of the week was Aidan Miller returning to action for 5 innings on Saturday. He booted his first ball at shortstop and then settled in afterwards. His first plate appearance saw him rope a 109mph double into the corner on a changeup, then work a 7 pitch walk, before striking out on 3 curveballs. We really cannot read into anything, but it is good he is on the field.
- In 15 games since returning from injury, Dante Nori has just the one extra base hit (a home run), but is walking more than he is striking out (4 of each this week), and the ball is not falling for hits. Given his injury it is possible he is not able to drive the ball yet.
- It is hard to know if the Hartford radar gun was a bit hot, but Cody Bowker flashed a few more mid 90s on his way to another solid, if not as sterling start for Reading.
- It hasn’t been that Will Gasparino has been bad, it is just that you would want more from him against low-A competition. He walked more than he struck out this week, but he just is not getting the results on the balls he has put in play, despite really solid underlying metrics.
- It is going to be a postseason project to break apart Matthew Ferrara’s season, but he just keeps hitting. He was 8 for 18 this week with two doubles and 4 walks to 3 strikeouts.
- After a week without walks, Mavis Graves walked a batted in each of his 2 two-inning outings this week. He also struck out 7 of the 17 batters he faced and has not allowed an earned run in 11 straight games after his initial Reading appearance (15.2 IP 8 H 9 BB 25 K).
- It was a 7 for 21 week for Aroon Escobar, but no extra base hits in 6 games, and it really is mysterious where the power went.
- It was a road game, so no home runs for Gage Wood, he also only went 4 innings because he threw 86 pitches. He did strike out 10 of the 20 batters he faced while mixing all of his pitches.
- It wasn’t the same velocity from last week for Richie Cortese, and he walked 3 in in 2.2 innings, but he also struck out 6 over that time.
- After a terrible previous game, Cade Obermueller’s season ended with even more of a flop where he couldn’t find the zone. He did not make it out of the second inning with 5 walks and no strikeouts.
- It has been a poor year for Saul Teran who never seemed to really recover from giving up 6 home runs in April. This week saw him get demoted to Jersey Shore, but he responded well with 9 strikeouts in 4 innings.
Injuries and Transactions
- Saul Teran (JS) assigned to a new level
- Yordanis Guerra, Zuher Yousuf, and Evan Bouldin added to Development List
- Aidan Miller (CLW), Andrew Hoffman (CLW), and Luke Davis (CLW) sent on rehab
- Romeli Espinosa, Cole Gilley, and Jordan Dissin activated from Development List
- Alex Binelas and Payton Henry added to 7-day IL
Links and Things
Videos and Posts