Month in Review: April - philliesfan136's Dynasty

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Month in Review: April

Posted on July 26, 2011 at 08:06 AM.

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PHILADELPHIA- The Phillies ended the first month of the season just one game back of the 18-9 first-place Mets, with a record of 17-10. It's mostly in part to the team's offense, which led the NL in AVG., homeruns, and OPS. The pitching helped as well, leading the NL in ERA and WHIP, and placing 2nd in BAA. For each "Month In Review", we'll look at how the 'Phils did each month, from team stats, individual stats, to how the team is doing down on the farm. We'll also look at how the rest of the league is shaping up.
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MLB Standings

First, let's look at how the division races are looking after the first month:

MLB Standings - Updated: May 1, 2011
AL EAST	W	L	GB
New York Yankees	16	11	---
Boston Red Sox	15	12	1
Baltimore Orioles	14	13	2
Tampa Bay Rays	13	15	3.5
Toronto Blue Jays	10	17	6
AL CENTRAL	W	L	GB
Chicago White Sox	16	12	---
Detroit Tigers	14	13	1.5
Cleveland Indians	14	13	1.5
Minnesota Twins	14	14	2
Kansas City Royals	8	19	7.5
AL WEST	W	L	GB
Oakland A's	15	12	---
Seattle Mariners	15	13	0.5
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	14	13	1
Texas Rangers	13	14	2
AL WILD CARD RACE	W	L	GB
Boston Red Sox	15	12	---
Seattle Mariners	15	13	0.5
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	14	13	1
Cleveland Indians	14	13	1
Baltimore Orioles	14	13	1
Detroit Tigers	14	13	1
NL EAST	W	L	GB
New York Mets	18	9	---
Philadelphia Phillies	17	10	1
Washington Nationals	14	12	3.5
Florida Marlins	12	14	5.5
Atlanta Braves	11	17	7.5
NL CENTRAL	W	L	GB
St. Louis Cardinals	19	8	---
Milwaukee Brewers	16	11	3
Cincinnati Reds	14	13	5
Chicago Cubs	13	14	6
Pittsburgh Pirates	13	15	6.5
Houston Astros	9	18	10
NL WEST	W	L	GB
Colorado Rockies	14	13	---
Los Angeles Dodgers	14	14	0.5
San Francisco Giants	11	15	2.5
San Diego Padres	11	16	3
Arizona Diamondbacks	10	17	4
NL WILD CARD RACE	W	L	GB
Philadelpia Phillies	17	10	---
Milwaukee Brewers	16	11	1
Washington Nationals	14	12	2.5
Cincinnati Reds	14	13	3
Colorado Rockies	14	13	3

It's not too surprising how the standings have went this season. One of the exceptions has been the Rangers, who are at the bottom of the AL West, 2 games back of the A's. Another are the Mets, who were last in all of the league in Spring Training, and now hold a one game lead on the Phillies in the NL East. A third is the San Francisco Giants, who are 11-15 and are 2.5 games back of the Rockies in the NL West.

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MLB League Leaders

Next, let's look at who the league leaders are this season:

MLB League Leaders - Updated: May 1, 2011
Batting Average		AVG.	Homeruns		HR
	1. Angel Pagan	.438		1. Russell Branyan	12
	2. Starlin Castro	.385		2. Chase Utley	11
	3. Ryan Braun	.379		3. Ryan Howard	9
	4. Chase Utley	.379		4. Nelson Cruz	9
	5. Michael Saunders	.365		5. Aramis Ramirez	8
Runs Batted In		RBI	Stolen Bases		SB
	1. Chase Utley	27		1. Angel Pagan	13
	2. Ryan Howard	25		2. Corey Hart	11
	3. Jed Lowrie	25		3. Andrew McCutchen	10
	4. Kendrys Morales	23		4. Eric Young Jr.	10
	5. Nelson Cruz	23		5. Corey Patterson	9
Wins		W	Earned Run Average		ERA
	1. Cole Hamels	5		1. Tim Wakefield	1.31
	2. C.C. Sabathia	4		2. Aroldis Chapman	1.32
	3. John Danks	4		3. Cole Hamels	1.34
	4. Adam Wainwright	4		4. Ross Ohlendorf	1.38
	5. Roy Oswalt	4		5. Adam Wainwright	1.41
Strikeouts		K	Batting Average Against		BAA
	1. Jered Weaver	50		1. Hiroki Kuroda	.169
	2. Josh Johnson	42		2. John Danks	.176
	3. Mat Latos	41		3. Jorge De La Rosa	.179
	4. Tim Lincecum	41		4. Kevin Correia	.180
	5. Adam Wainwright	40		5. Chris Young	.183

Once again, it's not too surprising who's producing this season, but there are a few sticking out. Angel Pagan, who is leading the league in batting average (.438) as well as stolen bases (13), has had a bit of a resurgent year, and so has Russell Branyan, who currently leads the majors in homers (12). Another surprise has been 44-year-old Tim Wakefield, whose knuckleball has helped him lead the MLB in ERA. The Phillies, meanwhile, have also gotten on to the list of the MLB's best, with Chase Utley and Ryan Howard topping some batting categories and Cole Hamels getting the most wins.

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'Phils Individual Stats

Now, let's look at how the Phillies' players are doing individually this year:

2011 Philadelphia Phillies Stats - Hitting
NAME	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG
Jimmy Rollins SS	95	17	34	7	0	2	7	11	18	1	2	.358	.430	.495
Placido Polanco 3B	103	10	29	4	0	1	8	5	15	0	0	.282	.315	.350
Chase Utley 2B	103	20	39	8	0	11	27	6	16	5	0	.379	.414	.777
Ryan Howard 1B	108	17	34	11	0	9	25	3	22	0	0	.315	.333	.667
Brennan Boesch LF	105	19	30	8	1	6	12	6	26	0	0	.286	.330	.552
Shane Victorino CF	90	11	22	5	0	0	7	9	9	3	1	.244	.313	.300
Domonic Brown RF	94	15	25	10	0	4	14	12	19	2	0	.266	.349	.500
Chris Snyder C	56	11	18	4	0	1	7	6	10	0	0	.321	.391	.446
Carlos Ruiz C	49	1	10	4	0	0	3	3	11	0	0	.204	.250	.286
Hank Blalock 3B/1B	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.500	.500	.500
Michael Martinez IF/OF	21	3	6	1	0	0	0	0	7	3	1	.286	.286	.333
Ben Francisco OF	87	7	23	1	0	2	10	3	21	2	0	.264	.289	,634
John Mayberry Jr. OF	15	1	6	0	0	0	1	1	2	0	1	.400	.438	.400

2011 Philadelphia Phillies Stats - Pitching
NAME	GP	GS	W	L	SV	QS	HLD	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	WHIP	ERA
Roy Halladay SP	6	6	4	2	0		0	43.1	38	16	3	7	37	1.04	3.32
Cliff Lee SP	6	6	2	1	0		0	42.2	39	11	2	6	28	1.05	2.32
Cole Hamels SP	5	5	5	0	0		0	40.1	29	6	0	7	32	0.89	1.34
Gio Gonzalez SP	5	5	2	1	0		0	29.1	29	10	1	6	23	1.19	3.07
Vance Worley SP	2	2	0	0	0		0	9	8	3	0	5	10	1.44	3.00
Kyle Kendrick LR	4	0	0	0	0		0	18.1	7	1	0	6	14	0.71	0.49
David Herndon MR	3	0	0	0	1		0	4.2	3	1	0	4	6	1.50	1.93
Ryan Perry MR	5	0	2	0	0		0	8	11	3	2	2	5	1.63	3.38
Jose Contreras MR	1	0	0	0	0		0	2.1	2	1	0	0	4	0.86	3.86
Antonio Bastardo MR	9	0	2	0	1		0	13	13	8	2	7	8	1.54	5.54
Ryan Madson SU	4	0	0	1	1		1	2.2	7	3	0	0	1	2.63	10.13
Andrew Bailey CL	12	0	0	1	8		0	13	15	2	1	3	16	1.38	0.69

Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard, as well as second-year rookie Dom Brown have been pleasant surprises this season on the offensive side. Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco have been disappointments. On the pitching side, Cole Hamels has been dominant, and Andrew Bailey has also been impressive this season. Roy Halladay has also done a good job, even though he started off rocky. In all, the starting pitching has limited the bullpen to about 62 innings this year.
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Transactions

Before we look at how the Phillies' minor leaguers are doing, let's review the transactions made by the team's GM this season:

The team signed C Bengie Molina to a minor league deal.
Originally, Molina was signed to perhaps backup Carlos Ruiz in case Brian Schneider didn't work out, but once the team traded for Chris Snyder, Ruiz was relegated to the bench, and Molina wasn't needed to be a backup. He still could potentially be the backup to Snyder if Ruiz doesn't hit, as he is batting a solid .377 with 3 bombs this year at AAA.

The team signed IF Troy Glaus to a minor league contract.
Glaus was signed before the season in hopes to put numbers up in the minors and bring power off the bench for the big league club, but has hit only 1 homer in 21 games this season with AAA Lehigh Valley. He still is a candidate for a September callup, though.

The team signed 3B/1B Hank Blalock to a minor league contract.
Blalock was signed for the same purpose as Glaus, and although the 30-year-old managed only 5 RBI with AAA Lehigh Valley, he got the call when Ross Gload was released. He's expected to fill in at 3rd and 1st, as expected, until further notice.

The team signed signed OF Cory Sullivan to a minor league contract.
Sullivan was re-signed before the season to a minor league deal after being released, and has hit just 7-34 (.206) this season. You can expect him to stay in the minors and possibly be released around draft time if the Phillies draft an outfielder.

The team signed Ps Thomas Diamond, Fernando Nieve, and Tyler Walker to minor league contracts.
All three were signed to provide experience and depth to the minors. Diamond has had a decent season, and could be called on later in the year as a long man. Nieve, who had an agreement in the off-season to play for Doosan in Korea, struggled to a 6.94 ERA in 11 and 2.3 relief innings with AAA. He was demoted to AA Reading, and has done well in the exact same amount of innings there. He still probably won't get to the majors at any time this season. Tyler Walker, a former Phillie, had been searching for offers in Spring Training after not receiving any in the offseason. In 16 and 1/3 innings this year, Walker has allowed 11 runs, while striking out 9. He'll probably will get called up this season, with September being the latest.

The team traded three prospects to the A's for P Andrew Bailey.
Bailey has been solid this season, allowing only a combined 2 runs (on 11 hits) with the A's and the Phillies. He's struck out 11 and walked only 1, and has not blown a save yet this season (6 for 6). Bailey is firmly entrenched as the team's closer of the future.

The team traded P Brad Lidge to the Indians for P Vinnie Pestano.
Lidge became expendable due to the trade for Bailey, so the 'Phils tried to get whatever they could for the aging right-hander. Cleveland offered young reliever Vinnie Pestano, to which the Phillies accepted. Pestano was sent to AAA and set-up before becoming the team's closer. He has thrived in the role and has only allowed 1 run this season in a total of 10 and 1/3 innings between AAA Columbus and AAA Lehigh Valley. The 26-year-old could very well see time with the big league club this year.

The team signed P Kelvim Escobar to a minor league contract.
Escobar was signed only to provide depth to the lower levels of the minors after the trade for Andrew Bailey. The 35-year-old veteran has struck out 15, walked 11, and given up 4 runs in 20 and 2/3 innings this year in AA. He has also held batters to a .188 batting average in that span. Still, don't expect him to make his way back to the majors this year.

The team traded C Brian Schneider and a pitching prospect to the Pirates for C Chris Snyder.
Schneider obviously wasn't part of the Phils' future, and so they shipped him off for more production at the catcher position. Carlos Ruiz's defense has been praised plenty of times, but his offensive production (or lack thereof) has left the Phillies wanting more. Snyder has done pretty well since coming over from Pittsburgh to the hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, hitting 11-36 (.306) with 4 doubles, a homer, and 4 runs batted in. He could be the team's starting catcher next season if Carlos Ruiz doesn't bring more to the table on the offensive side or the Phillies fail to get another catcher through the draft or free agency.

The team signed P Shawn Hill to a minor league contract.
Hill was signed to provide pitching depth and experience at the AAA level. He started two games with Lehigh Valley before being shipped off along with Raul Ibanez to acquire Brennan Boesch. The 30-year-old righty is now a part of the Tigers rotation.

The team traded P Joe Blanton to the Tigers for P Ryan Perry.
The first of two trades between Philadelphia and Detroit allowed the 'Phils to acquire an area of need, getting the young righty to help out in middle relief and possibly in the late innings. Perry, who the Phillies sought out because of his potential and solid pitches, has done a nice job overall this season, not allowing a run in 8 innings. He should get more opportunities as the season goes on and could be a key part of the bullpen for years to come. Blanton, meanwhile, is in the Tigers bullpen as a long reliever. The move also allows Vance Worley to take the 5th spot in the rotation.

The team traded P Danys Baez to the Rangers for P Eric Hurley.
The Phillies had an excess of relievers after the Perry-Blanton swap and elected to send out Danys Baez to Texas for youngster Eric Hurley. The move provides the "Fightins" another option as a starter or long reliever, but mainly fills the rotation spot at AAA Lehigh Valley left by Vance Worley. Hurley has compiled an 0-1 record with 17 strikeouts in 11 total innings this season between the two teams' AAA affiliates. Baez is currently a reliever for the Rangers' AAA affiliate.

The team traded P Roy Oswalt and IF Wilson Valdez to the A's for P Gio Gonzalez and P Fautino De Los Santos.
In the first blockbuster trade of the season, the "Fightin' 'Phils" traded two-time All Star Roy Oswalt to the A's for Gio Gonzalez. The 25-year-old lefty adds to an already fantastic rotation, like Oswalt, but still has room to grow and has the potential to be an ace. Valdez was thrown in partly to give Rule 5 draft pick Michael Martinez time as the utility infielder, but also because the team liked Fautino De Los Santos. De Los Santos could be part of the team's bullpen in the future, but this season will probably only be a September call up.
It's interesting to note that both Gonzalez and De Los Santos are part of the chain between the A's, White Sox, and Phillies that got Freddy Garcia to Philly and Gonzalez to the A's.

The team traded OF Raul Ibanez and P Shawn Hill to the Tigers for OF Brennan Boesch.
The Phillies wanted to solve their outfield problems, and by getting Brennan Boesch, they seem to be set for the long-term. The 26-year-old is batting .282 with 6 homers and 3 stolen bases this year. Ibanez is now on Detroit's bench, while Shawn Hill is in the Tigers' rotation. This one was a complete steal for the Phillies.

The team released P J.C. Romero.
Romero was the odd man out in the 'Phils bullpen as they try to get younger. He allowed a run in 2 games this season. The 12-year veteran could draw interest from teams looking for a lefty.

The team signed OF John Raynor to a minor league contract.
The Ironpigs had room on their 25-man roster, and they were looking for an extra outfielder. The 27-year-old has gotten 2 hits in 12 at-bats (.167) this year with the team, and only really offers speed. He could get called up in September.

The team signed P Jeremy Bonderman to a minor league contract.
Bonderman was picked up for the same purpose as the rest of the Phillies' minor league signings: to provide depth and experience and to mentor the team's younger players. In his first start with AAA Lehigh Valley, the 28-year-old righty pitched 7 and 1/3 solid innings, striking out 5 and not allowing a run. He could get called up, but if he doesn't get a chance with the team, he would probably be a hot commodity on the market for teams looking for a 5th starter.
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Down on the Farm

Here's where we'll check out how some of the Phils' top prospects as well as other minor leaguers are doing:

Vinnie Pestano
Vinnie has impressed this season after only allowing 2 runs last season when he was a September callup. The 26-year-old rookie has not allowed a run this season in nine April innings since being acquired from Cleveland. He could be in line for a callup this season, whether it be from injury or lack of production.

Trevor May
May quickly made the jump from Single-A Clearwater to Double-A Reading after striking out 10 and allowing 6 runs in 3 starts. The 21-year-old righty will be eased through the system because of the presence of the "The Big 3" (Halladay, Lee, Hamels) as well as Gio Gonzalez. May provides depth in case of an injury right now and will be a nice replacement for the older two in years to come.

*Top pitching prospects Brody Colvin and Jarred Cosart also project as part of the Phillies' rotation in the future. The two haven't put up notable stats this year in just a month's work in Single-A, so expect more info to come when they get more starts. The same goes for Sebastian Valle, who will probably take over as the team's catcher in a few years.
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Minor League Standings

In this section, we'll look at how the Phils' minor league affiliates are doing:

Ironpigs (AAA)
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International League North
Buffalo Bisons 15-9
Syracuse Chiefs 12-12
Pawtucket Red Sox 12-12
Rochester Red Wings 10-14
Lehigh Valley Ironpigs 9-15

Even though team management stocked up on former major leaguers, the Ironpigs have struggled to last in their divison and third to last in the International League.

Phillies (AA)
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Eastern League North
New Britain Rock Cats 16-7
Binghamton Mets 15-8
Trenton Thunder 13-10
Reading Phillies 11-11
Portland Sea Dogs 10-13
New Hampshire Fisher Cats 7-16

Reading sits at 11-11 with youngster Trevor May ready to anchor the pitching staff. Expect them to get better over the next few months when the Phils' top prospects arrive from Single-A.

Threshers (A)
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Florida State League North
Lakeland Flying Tigers 16-7
Brevard County Manatees 15-8
Tampa Yankees 14-9
Dunedin Blue Jays 11-12
Daytona Cubs 10-13
Clearwater Threshers 10-13

The Threshers are 10-13 and are tied for last in their divison. It's mostly in part that the rest of their divison is doing well. They'll only do better if their young prospects produce. Even if they do, the Threshers will only get worse because they'll be gone for Double-A.