IL1 Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Two IronPigs Ranked As Top Prospects

Published on November 9, 2009 under International League (IL1)
Lehigh Valley IronPigs News Release


(Allentown, PA) - IronPigs OF Michael Taylor and LHP Antonio Bastardo were both ranked among the Top 10 Prospects in the entire Philadelphia organization as officially announced today by Baseball America, long considered the leading trade publication in the baseball industry. Taylor - who was promoted to the IronPigs on July 16 - was listed as the No. 3 Prospect; while Bastardo - who appeared in two games with Lehigh Valley prior to a June 2 promotion to Philadelphia and an ensuing shoulder injury - appears as the No. 9 Prospect. For the second consecutive season, OF Domonic Brown is ranked as the Phillies' Top Prospect.

Taylor, 23, shined in his month-long, Triple-A debut - batting.282 with five home runs and 19 RBI in 30 games prior to missing the final 24 games with a strained right oblique. The Apopka, Fla., native became just the second IronPigs player ever to win International League Batter-of-the-Week honors (August 10-16), which was highlighted by his becoming the first Lehigh Valley player to hit for the cycle (August 12). A 2009 Eastern League All-Star with Reading, Taylor batted.333-15-65 in 86 games with the Double-A Phillies and was in the Top 5 in the E.L. in nine major offensive categories at the time of his promotion.

"Michael is just an exciting player to watch with his combination of power and speed," said Phillies Director of Minor Leagues Steve Noworyta. "He is a guy with such raw power similar to Ryan Howard when he was still developing in the Minors."

Taylor, who was ranked as the No. 6 prospect by Baseball America prior to the 2009 season, was originally drafted by the Phillies in the fifth round of the 2007 Draft out of Stanford University.

Antonio Bastardo, 24, appeared in just two games for Lehigh Valley after a May 21 promotion, but was an impressive 1-0 with a 2.08 ERA in a pair of Triple-A starts prior to being summoned by Philadelphia. Included in those two starts was an IronPigs' season-high, 11-strikeout game on May 23 against the I.L. Champion Durham Bulls. He then pitched seven shutout innings on May 25 at Buffalo before winning his Major League debut on June 2 at San Diego. Overall with Philadelphia, the Dominican Republic native went 2-3 with a 6.75 ERA in five starts before being placed on the Disabled List on June 30 with a shoulder injury. He did not appear again until October 3, but was a surprise addition to the Phillies postseason rosters.

While in Double-A Reading to start the season, the 2008 Florida State League All-Star went 2-2 with a 1.75 ERA and three saves in 11 games, five starts. Bastardo, who was ranked as the No. 11 prospect by Baseball America prior to the 2009 season, was originally signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent on Feb. 17, 2005.

The remaining prospects on the list are: (2) RHP Kyle Drabek, (4) C Travis D'Arnaud, (5) RHP Trevor May, (6) OF Anthony Gose, (7) C Sebastian Valle, (8) RHP Jarred Cosart and (10) OF Domingo Santana.

Three of the Top 10 prospects from 2009 started the season with the IronPigs: (2) RHP Carlos Carrasco, (3) C Lou Marson and (4) Jason Donald. All three were part of the four-player package traded by Philadelphia to Cleveland on July 29 for LHP Cliff Lee and OF Ben Francisco (and the fourth, RHP Jason Knapp, entered the season ranked at No. 10).

Established in 1981, Baseball America began as a magazine -- originally called the All-America Baseball News - and has since evolved into a full-service media company, with a biweekly magazine, four annual books, a host of special publications and a website (www.baseballamerica.com). Headquartered in Durham, N.C., Baseball America has steadily grown in readership and influence in the baseball industry.

Check out the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from November 9, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central