Phillies Prospect Watch: System Showing a Lack of Depth

Phillies affiliates went 0-4 on Sunday, June 14 with poor pitching and vacillating offensive across the board. Expected contributors like Felix Reyes, Alex Binelas and Raylin Heredia continued to reach base at a healthy clip, but their efforts weren’t enough to round out a win.

Triple-A Lehigh Valley lost 6-5 despite a two-run homer from Reyes (1-for-3 with a walk) in the eighth inning. Otto Kemp (2-for-4) also cleared the fences, and shortstop Christian Cairo walked three times.

Double-A Reading lost 9-3, Binelas (2-for-3 with a homer and a walk) and Heredia (2-for-3 with a walk) each reaching base three times. The struggles continued in High-A Jersey Shore, which lost 6-3. Center fielder Devin Saltiban (2-for-3 with a double), third baseman Tyler Pettorini (1-for-3 with a double) and first baseman Brock Vrandenburg (1-for-3 with a homer), a former third round pick of the Miami Marlins — accounted for most of the BlueClaws’ offense.

Shortstop Juan Villavicencio (2-for-4 with a double) picked up two hits for Single-A Clearwater, as did third baseman Nolan Beltran and center fielder Victor Cardoza, but the Threshers lost 9-3 after a rough start from right-hander Sean Youngerman began to spiral. Youngerman allowed three runs in three innings before turning the ball over to a bullpen that couldn’t cover the extra ground.