LEHIGH VALLEY (AAA)
Tyler Cloyd is certainly making a bid to be the next pitcher called up to Philly. The young right-hander, who turns 25 on Wednesday, has won both his starts since being moved back up to Lehigh Valley and is now 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA in over 20 innings with the Pigs. He is the first Phillies farmhand to win his first three Triple-A starts since before 1999. Overall, Cloyd is 6-0 with a 1.40 ERA, which includes four starts for Reading.
In case you missed it, the IronPigs announced Saturday afternoon that outfielder Scott Podsednik had been traded to the Red Sox for cash considerations. Maybe Bobby Valentine had some spare change in a desk draw in his office, because thats pretty much all Podsednik is worth at this point. He hit .203 in 74 at-bats for LHV this season, after hitting .245 in 14 games for the Pigs in what was an injury-plagued 2011.
The Phils also bumped infielder Tug Hulett up from Reading to LHV, though it would appear the 29-year-old journeyman infielder doesnt have much left. He hit .108 through 37 at-bats. In fairness, he is 4-for-13 after beginning the season 0-for-24 but at this point, the career minor leaguer is simply roster filler.
Dom Brown has played just twice since May 2 as he continues to suffer from the effects of a hamstring injury. Overall, hes on a 3-for-21 skid and has seen his batting average sink to .247. His OBP remains a sub-Mendoza Line (can that apply to OBP?) .290.
READING (AA)
The R-Phils have cooled off some over the last 10 games, playing .500 ball and dropping a half game behind New Britain in the Eastern Leagues Eastern Division. It hasnt been because of the offense. Reading still leads the league in hitting (.279) and is second in runs scored (162) through 34 games.
MLB
Darin Ruf has been the catalyst at the plate. The 20th-round 2009 pick, who spent the last year and a half in Clearwater, is batting a league-leading .387. He leads the league in RBIs (27), hits (48), slugging percentage (.605) and total bases (75). Hes second in homers (six) and OBP (.440). He saw an eight-game hitting streak, during which he had seven multi-hit games, come to an end last week. Ruf batted .452 (14-for-31) during that stretch. He had a grand slam and six RBI at New Britain on Thursday.
Ruf isnt the only hot R-Phil. Shortstop Troy Hanzawa takes a 13-game hitting streak into Sundays action. Hanzawa (a 16th-round pick in 2008) is hitting .341 (15-for-44) during the streak -- which is tied for the longest in the Eastern League this year -- pushing his seasons average to .309.
Trevor May (5-2) has lost his last two starts, but continues to lead the Eastern League with 45 strikeouts (41 13 innings).
Jon Pettibone had his best start of the season on Wednesday, allowing a run on five hits over 8 23 innings against Trenton. It was only his second win of the season and first in nearly a month.
E-mail Kevin Czerwinski at ktczerwinski@gmail.com