Stars from April 7
Reading (AA) beat Bowie 6-3 in 10 innings.
Carlos Carrasco gave up just one run on three hits and struck out seven in five innings.
Patrick Overholt (1-0) pitched 2.1 scoreless innings in relief.
Brad Harman, Lou Marson, and Greg Golson all had two hits in the game.
Other Notes
Andrew Carpenter starts for Reading tonight.
Jason Donald reportedly left Monday's game with an injury.
Former Threshers Lou Marson and Greg Golson have been invited to take part in the exhibition series against the Toronto Blue Jays at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The two exhibition games are today and tomorrow.
Former Threshers Jason Donald and Patrick Overholt have been invited by the Phillies to take part in the exhibition game against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs at brand-new Coca-Cola Park on Sunday.
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) has put another season in the books. Let's review how our list of familiar names did this year.
Greg Golson | He hit .266 with six doubles, three triples, and two home runs. He scored 17 runs and knocked in 16 RBIs. He also stole eight bases.
AFL Top 10: Games, At-Bats, Runs, Hits, Doubles, Triples, RBIs, and Stolen Bases
Tuffy Gosewisch | He had 12 hits in 48 at-bats (.250) in 14 games. Included in his 12 hits were two doubles and a home run. He scored four runs and knocked in six RBIs.
Mike Costanzo | He had 17 hits in 25 games. Included in his 17 hits were one double and two home runs. He scored six runs and knocked in 10 RBIs.
Joe Bisenius | He threw 10 innings over six games and finished with a 1-1 record. He gave up 13 hits and struck out 12.
Patrick Overholt | He split the season between the role of a starter and coming out of the bullpen. He threw 20.2 innings over nine games and finished with a 3-2 record. He gave up 18 hits and struck out 11. He held hitters to a .243 batting average.
AFL Top 10: Wins
Josh Outman | He split the season between the Saguaros and Team USA. In three starts for Peoria (0-1), he struck out eight in 7.2 innings. He made two relief appearances (1-0) for the Red, White, and Blue and struck out five in six innings.
Chris Booker | He gave up just one hit and struck out three in two relief appearances for Team USA. He also picked up a save in his 3 innings of work.
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) has finished up another week and it's time again to check up on our list of familiar names.
Greg Golson | He has picked up the pace since our last update stringing together a five-game hitting streak. He has upped his number of doubles on the AFL season to five.
Tuffy Gosewisch | He has continued to do well in Arizona, going one for four with a run scored in his three games since our last update.
Mike Costanzo | He has struggled since our last update only picking up two hits in four games.
Joe Bisenius | He has added just one more relief appearances since our last update. He gave up two runs on three hits and struck out two in 1.1 innings of work.
Patrick Overholt | He gave up three runs on four hits and struck out one in three innings of work, which was good enough for his second victory of the AFL season.
Josh Outman | He picked up his first win for the Red, White, and Blue in relief. He threw four innings of shutout baseball giving up just three hits while striking out three.
Chris Booker | He made his second relief appearance for Team USA, giving up one hit and striking out one in two innings of shutout baseball.
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) has finished up another week and it's time again to check up on some some familiar names and add yet another one to the list.
Greg Golson | He has struggled in three of his last four games adding just three hits since our last update. He has upped his number of doubles on the AFL season to four.
Tuffy Gosewisch | He has picked up steam with three hits in his 10 at-bats since our last update.
Mike Costanzo | His hitting streak was snapped, but he did have three hits and three RBIs since our last update.
Joe Bisenius | He has added just one more relief appearances since our last update. He gave up one run on two hits and struck out two in 1.2 innings of work.
Patrick Overholt | He has added two more relief appearances since our last update. In his three innings, he's given up two runs on three hits and struck out two. Overholt has added a win and a loss to his record (1-2).
Josh Outman | He has changed AFL uniforms since our last update moving over to Team USA as they prepare for the World Cup. He has pitched two innings in relief for the Red, White, and Blue giving up one run on two hits while striking out two.
Chris Booker | He just joined the AFL with Team USA. He picked up a save after striking out two in one inning.
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) has finished up another week and it's time again to check up on some some familiar names.
Greg Golson | Golson has struggled in his last five games adding only two hits since our last update.
Tuffy Gosewisch | I missed his name and six at-bats in our first AFL update. Since then he's played in just one game adding four more at-bats and an RBI.
Mike Costanzo | I also missed Costanzo in the first update. He struggled to start the AFL season, but now has a three-game hitting streak (.417).
Joe Bisenius | He's added two more relief appearances since our last update. He struggled in one outing, but came back next time with two strikeouts in one inning of work.
Patrick Overholt | He's also added two more relief appearances since our last update. Like Bisenius, he struggled in his one outing, but came back the next appearance and struck out one.
Josh Outman | Outman pitched a three-inning shutout in his one start since our last update. He gave up two hits, and struck out three.
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is underway and it's time to take a quick look at how it is going so far for some familiar names.
Greg Golson | Through four games, Golson has a .313 batting average. He is tied at the top of the league with three doubles and five RBIs. He has also stolen one base.
Joe Bisenius | In two relief appearances, Bisenius (1-0 ; 0.00 ERA) has struck out four and given up just one hit.
Patrick Overholt | Struck out one in his first one-inning relief appearance. Struggled a couple days later in a slightly longer (1.2 innings) relief appearance giving up four hits and two runs.
Josh Outman | Gave up two runs on two hits in a two-inning start just a few days ago. He also struck out two. His next start is tomorrow.
Former Threshers catcher Tuffy Gosewisch has left the FIL and is now at the Arizona Fall League (AFL).
According to the Allentown Morning Call, Former Thresher J.A. Happ is injured and will be replaced in the AFL by former Thresher Patrick Overholt.
Brad Harman is set to be part of the Hawaiian Winter League. The four-team league will play a 40-game schedule that starts near the end of September and runs through the middle of November.
The rosters are stocked with players from American professional rosters as well as players from Japan and Korea.
The league returned last year after a five-year stint in the mid-1990s.
Former Thresher Patrick Overholt is also scheduled for the Hawaiian Winter League.
Philadelphia Inquirer writer Jim Salisbury takes a look at the whole Phillies minor league system in this article on Philly.com.
Many current Threshers such as Jason Donald and Josh Outman are mentioned, and former Threshers Mike Zagurski and Patrick Overholt are also among those with ties to the Threshers who were discussed.
Check out the rest of the names at the whole article here.
The first half of the 2007 Clearwater Threshers season is officially in the books.
Record and Attendance
The Threshers finished the first half with a 39-31 (.557) record which was good for third place just four games behind the division-winning Sarasota Reds.
At home the Threshers were 20-14 (.588). The Threshers road record was 19-17 (.528).
The Threshers had 32 openings at Bright House Networks Field and announced a total of 79,525 guests which works out to an average of 2,485 which puts us slightly behind the Daytona Cubs.
Hitting
Greg Golson led the team in games (69), at-bats (292), runs (45), hits (77), doubles (19), total bases (121), and stolen bases (20). These stats also put him near the top of the FSL in the all of those categories.
Jeremy Slayden led the team in home runs (8), RBIs (42), walks (43), and on-base percentage (.398). Those stats also put him near the top of the FSL in all of those categories. He also has the longest hitting streak of any Threshers player this season. He was 20 for 42 for a .476 batting average during a twelve game period between April 28 and May 9. He also hit three home runs during that span. He made it on-base at least once 24 games in a row between April 23 and May 17.
Mike Spidale led the team in triples with four. That puts him in eighth place in the FSL. He also had the best batting average on the team with runners on base (.312) and with runners in scoring position and two outs (.323).
Clay Harris was the best hitter with the bases loaded. He hit .333 and had eight RBIs in those situations.
Lou Marson was the best hitter (.328) with runners in scoring position. Marson also had the fourth-best caught stealing/stolen bases efficiency stats in the FSL (.333).
Matt Thayer was the best hitter at home (.321).
Welinson Baez was the best hitter on the road (.286).
Threshers batters combined to put Clearwater in the top half of the FSL in runs (314), doubles (116), triples (19), RBIs (293), walks (226), and stolen bases (56).
Pitching
Andrew Carpenter led the FSL in wins with seven.
Josh Outman led the team in ERA (2.79), Innings Pitched (80.2), and Strikeouts (78). Those stats put him near the top of the FSL in all of those categories. His opponents batting avereage of .143 led Threshers pitchers when facing a situation with runners in scoring position.
Brett Harker led the team in saves with 11.
Carlos Carrasco led the team in WHIP (1.02). He was the best pitcher on the mound with runners on base on allowing them to hit .195 against him in those situations.
Threshers pitching was in the top half of the FSL in ERA (3.69), hits allowed (555), runs allowed (285), earned runs (250), strikeouts (520), and WHIP (1.31). The Threshers led the league or were tied for the league lead in shutouts (8) and saves (26).
All-Stars
Carlos Carrasco, Andrew Carpenter, Patrick Overholt, Lou Marson, and Jeremy Slayden were named to the 2007 FSL West Division All-Star Team. Patrick Overholt did not make the trip due to his promotion to Reading, and Greg Golson was added to the team later as an injury replacement. Slayden won the Home Run Derby.
Award Winners
FSL Pitcher of the Week - Josh Outman
Phillies Minor Leauge Pitcher of the Week - Daniel Brauer, Patrick Overholt, Zac Stott, Carlos Carrasco (twice)
Phillies Minor League Player of the Week- Clay Harris
Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Month - Patrick Overholt (April), Zac Stott (May)
Phillies Minor League Player of the Month - Greg Golson (April)
Fun Facts
The Threshers were undefeated (33-0) when leading after eight innings.
The Threshers were 33-11 when scoring first.
The most runs that the Threshers scored in a game was 11. This happened April 26 at Lakeland and June 14 at Dunedin.
The most hits that the Threshers recorded in a game was 15.
The Threshers best month in the win-loss column was April. Their record was 16-8 (.667).
Threshers batters were hottest in the month of May with a .266 combined batting average.
Threshers pitchers were hottest in the month of April with a combined 2.29 ERA.
Just looked back into the blog archives and it appears that I haven't updated the transaction list since the end of May.
Here's what's happened since then, sorted by player (alphabetical by last name) rather than date.
Dominic Brown was promoted from Extended Spring on June 13 and then returned on June 15.
Brian Burgamy was added from Reading on June 19.
Carlos Carrasco was promoted to Reading today (June 20).
Jason Donald was promoted from Lakewood on June 4.
Sergio Escalona was added from Extended Spring on June 13 and then returned on June 14.
Orlando Guevara was placed on the DL on June 14.
Brett Harker began serving 3 game suspension on June 12.
Fidel Hernandez was sent to Lakewood on June 8.
Kevin Howard was added from Lakewood on June 18.
Tim Kennelly was added from Extended Spring on June 14. He was returned on June 15, and then sent back to us on June 18.
Hector Made was activated from the suspended list on June 8.
Patrick Overholt was promoted to Reading on June 14.
Carlos Pena was added from Extended Spring on June 14 and then returned on June 15.
Pete Shier was released on June 4.
Michael Spidale was promoted to Reading on June 13.
Matt Thayer was placed on the DL on June 18.
Luis Villarreal signed as a minor league free agent on June 18.
Charlie Weatherby promoted to Ottawa on June 4.
To recap from last update:
Currently on the Threshers roster: Brian Burgamy, Jason Donald, Kevin Howard, Tim Kennelly, Hector Made, and Luis Villarreal.
No longer on the Threshers roster: Carlos Carrasco, Fidel Hernandez, Patrick Overholt, Pete Shier, Mike Spidale, and Charlie Weatherby.
Some background on our new players:
Brian Burgamy - Burgamy is a 5'10" 190lb outfielder from Oklahoma. He played his college ball at Wichita State before being selected by the Padres in the ninth round of the 2002 draft. He came to the Phillies via the Rule 5 Draft in 2005. He will be celebrating his 26th birthday one week from today. He should look familiar to Threshers fans as he did spend most of the 2006 season with us in Clearwater before being called up to Reading to finish the year.
Jason Donald - Donald is a 6'1" 190lb shortstop from California. He was drafted by the Angels in the 20th round of the 2003 draft but decided to go to school instead. He played his college ball at Arizona before being selected by the Phillies in the third round of the 2006 draft. He was batting .310 for Lakewood through 51 games which helped him earn South Atlantic League Player of the Week and Phillies Minor League Player of the Week honors before his promotion. He was an All-Star for Batavia in the New York-Penn League in 2006.
Kevin Howard - Howard is 6'2" 190lb infielder from California. He was drafted by the Padres in the 22nd round of the 1999 draft, but decided to go to school instead. The Reds selected him in the fifth round of the 2002 draft after he played several years for Miami. He was traded to the Yankees prior to the 2006 season. He signed with the Phillies as a minor league free agent in 2007. He has been honored with numerous awards throughout his career in high school, college, and the minors including Baseball America's Freshman of the Year award in 2000. He has also seen time with major league clubs during Spring Training. He was batting .317 for Lakewood prior to the promotion.
Tim Kennelly - Kennelly is a 6'0" 180lb catcher from Australia. He was signed as an a free agent by the Phillies near the end of the 2003 season. He started his professional career with the Phillies as part of the GCL Phillies in 2005 and since then has moved his way up through Batavia and Lakewood. He will turn 21 in December.
Hector Made - Made is a 6'1" 155lb infielder from the Dominican. He came to the Phillies in the Sal Fasano trade with the Yankees nearly 11 months ago. He was immediately assigned to the Threshers stayed with us through the rest of the season.
Luis Villarreal - Villarreal is a 6'1" 215lb left-handed pitcher from Texas. He was originally selected out of Northwood University by the Red Sox in the 20th round of the 2002 draft. He was released by the Red Sox just after Spring Training in 2004 after just two seasons in the system. He spent the next three seasons playing Independent ball in the Frontier and Northern Leagues before being signed by the Brewers prior to the 2007 season. He split the season between their Triple-A and Double-A affiliates before being released.
Eleven former Threshers are currently on the Reading Phillies (Double-A) roster.
Here is an update of how they are doing with Reading so far this year.
Allen Davis - Given up zero hits in five out of his 10 relief appearances
Julio De La Cruz - Strictly a reliever this year. In 25 appearances he's got a 1-1 record with a 3.78 ERA. He also has three saves. Hitters are batting .224 against him and he's got a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.2 to 1.
Chris Key - 4-0 with a 2.31 ERA in 24 appearances out of the bullpen. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 4 to 1.
Patrick Overholt - Scattered eight hits over five innings in his debut with Reading on Saturday.
Chris Coste - Joined Reading after a month with Ottawa (Triple-A). He is hitting .288 in his 19 games with Reading. Against lefties he is 7 for 17 (.412) with three home runs.
Mike Costanzo - Batting .325 in his last ten games. In five of those games he has gotten two hits. His 13 home runs lead the Eastern League. He has 29 extra-base hits which ranks him tied for fourth in the Eastern League. Leads Reading in walks with 27.
Michael Garciaparra - He is 12 for 36 (.333) with runners in scoring position.
Jesus Merchan - Leading the Eastern League in hitting with a .356 batting average in 48 games. Only struck out eight times in 163 at-bats. Hitting .410 on the road. His on-base percentage of .422 is third best in the Eastern League.
Peeter Ramos - Was three for five with two runs scored in a game on June 7 against Harrisburg. Has nine hits in 22 at-bats (.409) with runners in scoring position.
Branden Florence - Still on the disabled list. Injured in April and missed the entire month of May. Close to missing the whole month of June as well.
Mike Spidale - Was two for four with a stolen base in his second game with Reading (vs. Trenton) on June 15.
Patrick Overholt has been promoted to Reading (Double-A). He was scheduled to pitch tonight for the Threshers in Dunedin, but the new plans have him starting for the R-Phils against the Trenton Thunder on Saturday.
Overholt will also miss the 2007 Florida State League All-Star Game this weekend in Daytona. He was originally selected as a member of the West Division All-Star team. No word yet on who the League office has selected to replace him, but it likely will not be another Threshers pitcher.
The awards keep rolling in for Threshers players this year. Pitcher Zac Stott has just been named Phillies Pitcher of the Month for May. You might recall that Patrick Overholt was honored with the same award for the month of April.
Look for a story on the Official Site soon.
Updated 5:00pm: The Player of the Month for May was Jason Donald (Lakewood). He was also honored today with a promotion to our roster. I'll have more information on Jason Donald and other recent roster moves over the next couple of days.
The Florida State League has announced the 2007 East and West All-Star Teams.
Five Clearwater Threshers players are on the list for the West Division All-Stars:
Pitchers:
Carlos Carrasco
Andrew Carpenter
Patrick Overholt
Catcher:
Lou Marson
Designated Hitter:
Jeremy Slayden
The 2007 FSL All-Star Game will be on Saturday, June 16 at 7:05pm. This year's All-Star Game will be hosted by the Daytona Cubs at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
Updated at 1:10pm: Check the Official Site for the full release.
Several Clearwater Threshers players dot the statistical leaderboards throughout Minor League Baseball.
(Through games played on 5/30/07)
Greg Golson is tied for sixth in hits (62) and tied for ninth in stolen bases (16) on the Class A Advanced Leaderboard. Class A Advanced includes players from the FSL along with the California League and Carolina League. He is also fifth in the FSL in runs scored (36).
Jeremy Slayden is fourth on the Class A Advanced Leaderboard in walks (38), which is good enough for tied for fifth ranking in all of Minor League Baseball. He is second in the FSL in RBI (37), and fifth in the FSL in on-base percentage (.419).
Lou Marson has the third best caught stealing percentage (.417) in the FSL.
Brett Harker's 10 saves puts him at a tie for seventh on the Class A Advanced Leaderboard.
Patrick Overholt's 63.0 innings pitched puts him at fourth highest in the FSL.
Random Stat
Clearwater is 26-0 when leading after eight innings.
Zac Stott was just named the Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week for May 21-27. He joins Daniel Brauer and Patrick Overholt as current Threshers who have been honored with that award this season.
Check the Official Site later for a full release.
Last season, Threshers and Mets met up at St. Lucie in the second half of the FSL season for a four-game series. The teams split the series with Clearwater taking the first two games, and St. Lucie bouncing back to win the last two games.
The Threshers had 25 hits in the first two games, but were held to just six hits over the last two games. In the two wins, Threshers OF/DH Branden Florence had seven hits in his nine at-bats. He also had three RBIs in the Game 2 win. Patrick Overholt and Derek Griffith both picked up wins, and Brian Reed picked up a save in the Game 1 win.
Branden Florence is now with Reading (AA), but he's currently injured. Before the injury he was batting .350. He has been out since mid-to-late April and is expected to return in late May or early June.
Patrick Overholt is still with the Threshers. His 3.46 ERA and 40 strikeouts puts him near the top of the Threshers starting rotation.
Derek Griffith was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA coming out of the bullpen for the Threshers earlier this season before being released. Last I heard he was trying out for several teams.
I don't have any information as to what Brian Reed is doing this year.
The top two teams in the FSL West are set to meet for a three-game series that starts tonight at 7:00pm at Bright House Networks Field. The Sarasota Reds currently lead the Threshers in the standings by one game.
The Threshers and Reds have met up six times already this season, with the Reds leading the series four games to two.
Threshers starters Patrick Overholt and Carlos Carrasco picked up both of the wins. Former closer Michael Zagurski picked up both saves.
Mike Spidale is probably the happiest Threshers' batter to see Sarasota pitching. In his five games against the Reds this season, he's batting .350.
Keep your eye on Jay Bruce of the Reds. He's batting .455 with 4 home runs in six games against Threshers pitching. Threshers batters have struggled against Johnny Cueto and Carlos Fisher. Between the two, they've struck out 19 Threshers. More importantly, the Threshers haven't scored a run against either Cueto or Fisher. There is good news though, Fisher was promoted to Chattanooga (AA) a week or so ago, and he pitched yesterday, so the chances of him taking the mound this weekend at Bright House Networks Field are very slim.
Subscribe to our 
(below) to help you keep track of events at Bright House Field.
