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| TWO FORMER 'PIGS CRACK TOP 10 PROSPECT LIST |
| Baseball America – the leading trade magazine in the industry –announced its annual Top 10 prospects within the Philadelphia Phillies farm system today and two members of the 2008 Lehigh Valley IronPigs appeared on the prestigious list. RHP Carlos Carrasco appeared as the No. 2 prospect within the organization while LHP J.A. Happ ranked No. 9 – both behind No. 1 prospect OF Dominic Brown, who spent the 2008 season in Lakewood (Single-A). |
| Two other farmhands who are expected to start the season in Lehigh Valley, C Lou Marson and SS Jason Donald were tabbed at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. |
| Carlos Carrasco, 21, who also figures to start 2009 as an IronPig, was promoted to Lehigh Valley from Reading (AA) on August 2. The Venezuelan native immediately showed why he had been ranked No. 1 by Baseball America the previous two seasons by going 2-2 with a 1.72 ERA in six starts during his first stint at the Triple-A level. In fact, he could had two other potential victories blown by the bullpen. Carrasco did not allow an earned run in four starts at Coca-Cola Park, going 2-0, 0.00 in 25.2 innings. He started 2008 with Reading, going 7-7 with a 4.32 ERA in 20 games. The 2006 Paul Owens Award winner – which honors the best pitcher in the Phillies minor league system – also started and won the 2008 All-Star Futures Game for the World team at Yankee Stadium on July 13. |
| J.A. Happ, who was honored with the 2008 Paul Owens Award, split his season between Lehigh Valley and the Philadelphia Phillies. As the IronPigs’ ace, the left-hander went 8-7 with a 3.60 ERA in 24 games while finishing second in the International League in strikeouts with 151 (just one behind leader Bill Murphy of Syracuse). Happ also finished eighth in the league in earned run average. The 26-year-old native of Peru, Ill., Triple-A season was highlighted when he tossed 7.0 shutout, hitless innings in a completion of a suspended game on July 17 against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Happ had three stints with Philadelphia during the season (1-0, 3.69 in eight games, four starts) and was on the Phillies active roster for all three postseason series (0-0, 3.00 in one game). |
| Lou Marson – expected to be the ’Pigs primary catcher with Jason Jaramillo traded to Pittsburgh -- spent the 2008 in Double-A, batting .314 with five home runs and 46 RBI in 94 games with Reading. A member of the Phillies’ 40-Man Roster, Marson was a September call-up and made his Major League debut in the final game of the 2008 season – going 2-4 with HR and two RBI on September 28 vs. Washington. The 21-year-old native of Scottsdale, Ariz., also played this summer on the 2008 U.S. Olympic baseball team that took a bronze medal in Beijing, China. |
| Jason Donald, who also represented the U.S. in the 2008 Olympics, spent last season in Reading, batting .307-14-54 in 92 games. |
| Other members of the Top Ten were: (5) RHP Kyle Drabek, who missed most of the season due to injury; (6) OF Michael Taylor, who combined to hit .346-19-88 in 132 games between Lakewood and Clearwater (Advanced-A) last year; (7) C Travis D'Arnaud, a 2007 supplemental first round pick who batted .305-6-30 in 64 games between Williamsport (Rookie) and Lakewood after being drafted last year; (8) OF Zach Collier, a 2008 supplemental first-round pick; and (10) RHP Jason Knapp, who was selected 71st overall by Philadelphia in the 2008 draft. |
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