Game 66 - 2019 Topps Big League #117 Scott Kingery

Diamondbacks 13, Phillies 8
Game 66 - Monday Night, June 10th in Philadelphia
Record - 37-29, Tied for 1st place, 4 1/2 games ahead of the Mets

One Sentence Summary:  The two teams combined to hit a Major League record 13 home runs as the Diamondbacks outslugged the Phillies, 13-8.

What It Means:  This loss and a Braves win dropped the Phillies into a tie for first place, the first time they've not held sole possession of the top spot since April 25th.

What Happened:  Jerad Eickhoff bore the brunt of the barrage, allowing back-to-back-to-back home runs to start the game, and five home runs overall in his three innings of work.  Contributing to the record breaking game were Jarrod Dyson, Ketel Marte, David Peralta, Eduardo Escobar (2), Alex Avila and Ildemaro Vargas (2) from the Diamondbacks and Jean Segura, Scott Kingery (2), Rhys Hoskins and Jay Bruce for the Phillies.

Featured Card:  The red hot Kingery gets the featured card, as he went 3 for 5 with a triple and two home runs.

Field Report:  We were there as I received four complimentary tickets in the Hall of Fame Club for group leader appreciation night.  The comforts of the HOF Club came in handy during the steady rain that fell throughout the first part of the game.  In our travels to find his water ice flavor of choice (cotton candy), Ben and I found Bryce Harper's Phanatic inspired cleats from opening day.

2018 Choice Lehigh Valley
IronPigs #12

Transaction:  Triple-A pitcher Tom Eshelman was traded to the Orioles for international signing bonus money.  Eshelman and Vince Velasquez were the final two players remaining from the original group of five acquired from the Astros for Ken Giles in December 2015.

Eshelman won the Paul Owens award in 2017 as the best pitcher in the Phillies farm system and in three-plus seasons in the Phillies system, he appeared in 84 games, compiling a 25-27 record.

Kingery, 7 Other Prospects Invited to Spring Training

2017 Choice Lakewood BlueClaws #7

2017 Topps Pro Debut Promo Night Uniform #PN-50N

2017 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils Update #35

2017 Topps Heritage Minors #15

2017 Choice Reading Fightin Phils Theme Night #24

2017 Grandstand Reading Fightin Phils #17

On Wednesday, the Phillies added eight prospects to their list of non-roster invitees to spring training.  These eight join the previously announced 10 players from early January.  Scott Kingery is perhaps the most interesting name on the list, as the infielder could be the team's second baseman of the future.  Kingery and outfielder Andrew Pullin are appearing as non-roster invitees for the second year in a row.  Rather than go through the career accolades of these players, I wanted to take a look at their available baseball cards.

Edgar Cabral (c) - It appears as if Cabral's only baseball card appearance to date is in the 2017 Lakewood BlueClaws team set.

Enyel De Los Santos (rhp) - Acquired in December from the Padres for Freddy Galvis, he has a card in the 2016 Topps Heritage Minors set.

Tom Eshelman (rhp) - Acquired in December 2015 from the Astros as part of the Ken Giles deal, Eshelman's first major baseball card can be found within the 2015 Bowman Draft set.  He appeared on a bunch of 2016 Phillies minor league cards but had only one 2017 card, within the Topps Pro Debut Promo Night Uniforms insert set.

J.D. Hammer (rhp) - Other than appearances in Rockies minor league sets, Hammer hasn't had any mainstream baseball cards to date.  He was acquired in July as part of the return for Pat Neshek.

Cole Irvin (lhp) - Irvin can be found within the 2016 Bowman Draft set and in various Phillies minor league team sets from the past two years.

Scott Kingery (inf) - Kingery first appeared in the 2015 Bowman Draft set and his cards are readily available in Bowman and Topps minor league issues from the past two years.

Brandon Leibrandt (lhp) - Leibrandt's few cards can be found within the 2015 Clearwater Threshers team set and all three 2017 Reading Fightin Phils team sets.

Andrew Pullin (of) - Pullin is the veteran of this bunch, having appeared on Phillies baseball cards since 2012 when he received a Bowman Draft card.  He's been appearing in Phillies minor league team sets every year since then.

Player (position) - 2017 Organization - Last Major Baseball Card Appearance
1.  Pedro Beato (rhp) - Phillies - 2011 Topps Chrome #199 (Mets)
2.  Pedro Florimon (inf) - Phillies - 2014 Topps #568 (Twins)
3.  Eric Fryer (c) - Cardinals - 2011 Bowman Draft #36 (Pirates)
4.  Steve Geltz (rhp) - Dodgers - 2012 Topps Heritage Minors Real One Autograph #ROA-SG (Angels)
5.  Matt McBride (c-1b) - Athletics - 2007 Bowman Sterling Prospects #MM (Indians)
6.  Heiker Meneses (inf) - Red Sox - N/A
7.  Will Middlebrooks (inf) - Rangers - 2017 Topps #46 (Brewers)
8.  Logan Moore (c) - Phillies - 2011 Bowman Draft Chrome Prospects #BDPP44 (Phillies)
9.  Danny Ortiz (of) - Pirates - 2017 Topps Update #US30 (Pirates)
10.  Mitch Walding (inf) - Phillies - N/A
11.  Edgar Cabral (c) - Phillies - N/A
12.  Enyel De Los Santos (rhp) - Padres - 2016 Topps Heritage Minors League #60
13.  Tom Eshelman (rhp) - Phillies - 2017 Topps Pro Debut Promo Night Uniform #PN-50N
14.  J.D. Hammer (rhp) - Rockies/Phillies - N/A
15.  Cole Irvin (lhp) - Phillies - 2016 Bowman Draft #BD-4
16.  Scott Kingery (inf) - Phillies - 2017 Bowman Draft #BD-114
17.  Brandon Leibrandt (lhp) - Phillies - N/A
18.  Andrew Pullin (of) - Phillies - 2012 Bowman Draft Picks #BDPP59

2017 Topps Now #517 Rhys Hoskins

Phillies 6, Dodgers 2
Game 151 - Tuesday Night, September 19th in Philadelphia
Record - 60-91, 5th place, 31 1/2 games behind the Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Rhys Hoskins had a clutch, three-run double in the seventh to give the Phillies the lead and ultimately a 6-2 win over the Dodgers.

What It Means:  The Phils are playing like they don't realize they're supposed to lose.  If they win three more games in their final 11 they'll avoid a 100-loss season which at one point seemed like their inevitable destiny.

What Happened:  Hoskins singled home the Phillies' first run in the sixth.  Odubel Herrera worked a bases loaded walk to tie the game at two before Hoskins cleared the bases to give the Phils a 5-2 lead. Aaron Altherr padded the lead with a solo home run (18) in the eighth.

Aaron Nola allowed two runs on five hits in his seven innings of work on the way to his 12th win. Herrera collected his 40th double of the season, the most since Jayson Werth had 46 in 2010.

Featured Card:  Get ready for Hoskins to appear in every Topps release and every conceivable insert set in 2018!  Here's another of his cards from the Topps Now release.

Finally, I thought this pre-game photo was really cool, featuring the past winners of the organization's annual Paul Owens Award, honoring the best position player and pitcher within the minor league system.  Current year winners Scott Kingery and Tom Eshelman are flanked by prior winners, including Chase Utley.

L to R - Mickey Morandini, Chase Utley, Rhys Hoskins, Freddy Galvis, Scott Kingery, Tom Eshelman, Luis Garcia,
Maikel Franco, J.P. Crawford, Andrew Knapp, Ricardo Pinto and Ben Lively

Farewell Ken Giles; Closer Traded to Astros in 7-Player Deal

2016 Chachi Departures #10

Of course I understand the rationale behind the Phillies trading their young closer Ken Giles to the Astros for five players.  There's no need for a top caliber closer on a team that will most likely finish buried in the second division again in 2016.  Even though he's young and inexpensive, it makes sense to trade Giles for potential building blocks for the future.

Still . . . this stinks.  I'm bummed.  My (now nine-year-old) son Doug is bummed.  My wife is bummed.  My youngest son Ben is mildly perturbed.  Giles is a genuinely likable guy, and someone I would have loved to have rooted for with the Phillies for years to come.  Instead, I'll root for him and his Astros unless they're facing off against the Phillies.  It's crazy to me that the four pitchers who threw the combined no-hitter for the Phils back in 2014 are now pitching elsewhere.

When I looked it up, I was surprised to see I had only 19 Giles cards in my collection.  His earliest card can be found in the 2012 Lakewood BlueClaws team set and his latest Phillies card (for now) can be found in the 2015 Topps Chrome set.  Minor league infielder Jonathan Arauz also heads to the Astros with Giles.  Only 17, Arauz was signed last season by the Phillies and I don't have any cards of his in my collection (if they even exist yet).

To make room on the 40-man roster, pitcher Dan Otero was designated for assignment.  Otero was the team's first offseason addition, back on November 3rd.

As is the case with any trade, much better analysis can be found on other websites and blogs.  What I'm most interested in are the baseball cards available for the five newest Phillies.

2016 Chachi New Additions #10

2016 Chachi New Additions #11

Vincent Velasquez (rhp) - Velasquez appeared in 19 games for the Astros in 2015, and the 23-year-old was considered to be one of the top prospects in the Astros farm system.  He began appearing in Bowman releases in 2010 and he has cards in the 2015 Topps Heritage and 2015 Topps Update sets.

Brett Oberholtzer (lhp) - The 26-year-old lefty is from Delaware, and he's appeared in 45 games with the Astros over the past three seasons.  He could compete for a spot in the Phillies starting rotation to open the season.  Oberholtzer appeared in a number of Bowman sets in 2009 and he also has cards in the 2014 and 2015 Topps flagship sets.

2015 Bowman Prospects #BP85

2015 Choice Tri-City ValleyCats

2015 Bowman Chrome Draft Scouts Fantasy Impacts #BSI-TE

Mark Appel (rhp) - This is where the deal gets extremely intriguing to me.  Appel was baseball's number one overall pick in 2013 but he's struggled since joining the Astros system.  A change of scenery and the different view point of the Phillies organization could hopefully turn him back around.  Still, he now becomes one of the top prospects for the Phillies, and he could be considered their new top pitching prospect.

As is the norm for a number one draft pick, Appel has had a ton of baseball cards so far in his young career, and the Beckett database lists 548 cards for him as of this writing.  He appeared in quite a few Bowman sets in 2015 along with the Topps Heritage Minor Leagues set.

Thomas Eshelman (rhp) - Eshelman was the Astros second round draft pick this past June after a phenomenal college career at Cal State Fullerton.  His first licensed baseball cards can be found within the recently released Bowman Draft set.

Harold Arauz (rhp) - No relation to Jonathan Arauz, Harold Arauz is only 20 and went 0-5 with a 5.75 ERA for Low-A Tri-City last season.  Arauz's only baseball cards to date can be found within Astros minor league team sets.

I pulled images for the Eshelman, Appel and Arauz cards from eBay and I hesitated to post the Arauz card since the watermark bugs me.

As is the policy of The Phillies Room and the Chachi Set Executive Committee, Velasquez and Oberholtzer receive Chachi Additions cards due to their joining the 40-man roster.  Eshelman, Appel and Arauz will have to wait a bit longer for the Chachi debuts.

Moving On - 2015-2016 Offseason

• Chase d'Arnaud - inf (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent the Atlanta Braves, 11/24/15.
• Justin De Fratus - rhp (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed with the Seattle Mariners, 12/2/15.
• Erik Kratz - c (10/9/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Sean O'Sullivan - rhp (10/9/15) - Elected free agency.
• Kevin Correia - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Adam Loewen - lhp (10/10/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed as a minor league free agent with the Arizona Diamondbacks, 11/7/15.
• Dustin McGowan - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Seth Rosin - rhp (10/10/15) - Elected free agency.
• Brian Bogusevic (10/26/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster, elected free agency and signed with the Orix Buffaloes of the Japanese Pacific League, 12/9/15.
• Domonic Brown (10/26/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Chad Billingsley - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jeff Francoeur - of (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Aaron Harang - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jerome Williams - rhp (11/2/15) - Elected free agency.
• Cliff Lee - lhp (11/2/15) - Team option declined and elected free agency.
• Jordan Danks - of (11/6/15) - Outrighted off 40-man roster and elected free agency.
• Ethan Martin - rhp (11/6/15) - Elected free agency.
• Jonathan Pettibone - rhp (11/6/15) - Elected free agency.
• Nefi Ogando - rhp (12/2/15) - Claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins.
• Ken Giles - rhp (12/12/15) - Traded with Jonathan Arauz to the Houston Astros for Mark Appel, Harold Arauz, Thomas Eshelman, Brett Oberholtzer and Vincent Velasquez.

New Additions - 2015-2016 Offseason

• Dan Otero - rhp (11/3/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Oakland Athletics. (Designated for assignment 12/12/15)
• Jeremy Hellickson - rhp (11/14/15) - Acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks for Sam McWilliams.
• A.J. Achter - rhp (11/20/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins. (Designated for assignment 12/12/15)
• Michael Mariot - rhp (11/30/15) - Claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals.
• Peter Bourjos - of (12/2/15) - Claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals.
• David Hernandez - rhp (12/9/15) - Signed as a free agent formerly with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
• Tyler Goeddel - of (12/10/15) - Selected from the Tampa Bay Rays in the Rule 5 draft.
• Daniel Stumpf - lhp (12/10/15) - Selected from the Kansas City Royals in the Rule 5 draft.
• Charlie Morton - rhp (12/12/15) - Acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates for David Whitehead.
• Brett Oberholtzer - lhp and Vincent Velasquez - rhp (12/12/15) - Acquired with Mark Appel, Harold Arauz and Thomas Eshelman from the Houston Astros for Ken Giles and Jonathan Arauz.