Several IronPigs Busy in Winter Leagues

Despite the frigid temperatures in the Lehigh Valley, the 2016 season is just a few short months away. With the Caribbean Winter Leagues coming to a close, it's time to take a look at how some past and perhaps future IronPigs performed this winter.

Hitters

C Jorge Alfaro (La Guaira), 22, hit .262-1-3 in 13 games this winter. The young backstop was acquired by the Phillies last season as part of the Cole Hamels trade, but missed the majority of the last few months of the season due to injury. Prior to the trade, Alfaro was selected as a Texas League (AA) midseason all-star after hitting .253-5-21 in 49 games for Frisco.

INF Emmanuel Burriss (Licey), 30, is a name that some IronPigs fans might recognize as the Washington, DC; native has spent most of the last two seasons with IL North Division rival Syracuse. This winter, Burriss hit .206-0-3 over 12 games with Licey in the Dominican Winter League (DWL). In 2015 with Syracuse, the veteran infielder hit .279-3-36 in 95 G. Burriss has appeared in 287 career Major League contests over parts of six seasons with San Francisco (2008-12) and Washington (2015).

SS J.P. Crawford (Glendale), 21, appeared in five games for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League (AFL), going 3-20 at the plate. Regarded as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, Crawford was a first-round pick of the Phillies in 2013. The Long Beach, Calif., native began the 2015 season with High-A Clearwater and hit .392 in 21 G before being promoted to Double-A Reading where he batted .265-5-34 in 86 G.

C Andrew Knapp (Glendale), 24, was a teammate of Crawford's in the AFL and hit .235-0-10 in 15 games for the Desert Dogs. For his performance, Knapp was selected to the AFL's Rising Stars team. The 24-year-old batted .262-2-28 in 63 G with Clearwater last season, before being promoted to Reading in late June. In 55 G with the Fightin Phils, Knapp posted a blistering .360-11-56 line and was named the Phillies Minor League Player of the Year.

C Gabriel Lino (Lara), 22, is a name that will be familiar to many fans in the Lehigh Valley as the catcher played in 53 G for the IronPigs in 2015. This winter, Lino hit .219-0-11 in 46 games in the Venezuelan Winter League (VWL). Last year, Lino hit .215-0-17 in those 53 games with the Pigs after posting a .266-3-13 line in 32 G with Reading to begin the 2015 season.

OF Christian Marrero (Margarita), 29, is one of the newest members of the Phillies organization, but may have already made a name for himself with an impressive performance in the VWL. In 24 G with Margarita, Marrero batted .354-0-9. The Miami native spent the entire 2015 season with Double-A Birmingham in the White Sox system and was selected as a Southern League Postseason All-Star after hitting .282-13-63 in 129 G.

C Logan Moore (Licey), 25, is another one of the potential returnees for the IronPigs after hitting .276-1-13 in 42 G for the team in 2015 and catching the attention of many with his defense behind the plate. This winter, Moore batted .275-2-14 in 23 G for Licey in the DWL. The young backstop also appeared in 27 G for Reading in 2015 and hit .221-2-12.

INF Angelys Nina (Toros), 27, hit .266-2-12 in 46 G for Toros in the DWL. Nina spent the 2015 season with Triple-A Albuquerque in the Colorado system and hit .300-4-50 to go along with 18 stolen bases in 114 G.

OF Roman Quinn (Licey), 22, batted .212-2-7 and swiped eight bags in 25 G this winter. The speedster enjoyed a very promising start to the 2015 season and was selected as an Eastern League (AA) midseason All-Star with Reading before missing the remainder of the season due to injury. In 58 G with the Fightin Phils, Quinn hit .306-4-15 and stole 29 bases.

1B Brock Stassi (Two teams), 26, spent time with both Mayaguez of the Puerto Rican Winter League and Caracas of the VWL this winter. In 19 combined games between the two stops, the University of Nevada product hit .279-0-4. Stassi was selected as the 2015 Eastern League MVP after hitting .300-15-90 to go along with 32 doubles in 133 G.

 

Pitchers

RHP Jimmy Cordero (Escogido), 24, posted a strong performance this winter as the flame-throwing right-hander posted a 1.93 ERA in 10 G and fanned 10 batters in 9.1 IP. Acquired by the Phillies as part of the Ben Revere trade, Cordero pitched for three different teams in 2015: High-A Dunedin (0-1, 2.49 ERA, SV in 15 G), Double-A New Hampshire (0-1, 2.92 ERA, SV in 17 G) and Reading (0-0, 2.12 ERA in 13 G).

RHP Ernesto Frieri (Gigantes), 30, appeared in seven games for Gigantes in the DWL and was 0-0 with a 5.06 ERA. The veteran right-hander spent the majority of the 2015 season for the Rays, going 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA and two saves in 22 G. Frieri also appeared in eight G with Triple-A Durham (0-1, 3.68, SV). Over the course of his career, he has appeared in in the majors with San Diego, Los Angeles (AL), Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay.

RHP Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez (Zulia), 29, has pitched for the IronPigs in parts of each of the last two seasons. The right-hander was 0-4 with a 4.13 ERA in 7 GS for Zulia in the VWL this winter. Gonzalez missed most of the 2015 season due to injury, but was 0-2 with a 14.29 ERA in 2 GS for the IronPigs after not allowing an earned run in 11.0 IP on a rehab assignment with the GCL Phillies (Rk.).

RHP Severino Gonzalez (La Guaira), 23, is another name that will likely be familiar to many IronPigs fans as he made 16 starts for the team last season. This winter, Gonzalez made 3 GS for La Guaira of the VWL, going 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA. The right-hander was 2-7 with a 5.11 ERA in 16 GS for the Pigs and 3-3 with a 7.92 ERA in 7 GS for the Phillies in 2015.

RHP Gregory Infante (La Guaira), 28, enjoyed a very strong performance in the VWL this winter as the native Venezuelan was 10/11 on save opportunities and posted a 2.41 ERA in 20 G while fanning 18 batters in 18.2 IP. Infante spent the majority of the 2015 season with Triple-A Buffalo, going 1-2 with a 2.77 ERA with seven saves in 45 G for the Bisons. In six appearances with Double-A New Hampshire, he was 0-1 with a 5.63 ERA and one save.

RHP Chris Leroux (Magallanes), 31, is a potential returnee for the IronPigs in 2016. The Winthrop University product was 2-4 with a 5.26 ERA in 8 GS in the VWL this winter. Leroux pitched in 22 G (3 GS) for the IronPigs last season, going 3-3 with a 2.82 ERA. The veteran right-hander also pitched in 7 G (1 GS) with Triple-A Colorado Springs and was 1-3 with an 8.15 earned run average.

RHP Hector Neris (Toros), 26, pitched in his native Dominican Republic this winter and was 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA while fanning 21 batters in 21.0 IP over 18 G. Neris split the 2015 season between the IronPigs and Phillies, going 1-3 with a 3.62 ERA and one save in 27 G for Lehigh Valley while posting a 2-2 mark to go along with a 3.79 ERA in 32 G for Philadelphia.

RHP Nefi Ogando (Aguilas), 26, like a handful of others on this list, has played for the IronPigs in the past. This winter, Ogando was 0-2 with a 2.61 ERA in 12 G in the DWL and fanned 12 batters over 10.1 IP. The hard-throwing right-hander pitched for three different teams in 2015: Reading (2-3, 2.86, 2 SV in 24 G), Lehigh Valley (2-2, 2.86, SV in 21 G) and Philadelphia (0-0, 9.00 in 4 G).

LHP Tom Windle (Glendale), 23, enjoyed a strong season in the Arizona Fall League as the southpaw posted a 1.74 ERA in 10 G for the Glendale Desert Dogs. Windle-who was acquired by the Phillies as part of the Jimmy Rollins trade-spent the entire 2015 season with Reading, going 4-5 with a 4.35 ERA in 34 G (14 GS).