Erie SeaWolves fans will get a chance to see the top Philadelphia Phillies prospect on Tuesday. Jesse Biddle, who was recently named the Eastern League player of the month for April, is set to start Tuesday night against Aussie Warwick Saupold. Biddle is ranked as the No. 1 prospect for the Phillies according to MLB.com and is the No. 4 left-handed prospect in all of baseball. He is 2-2 this season with a 2.70 ERA and has 45 strikeouts to 18 walks. Saupold has been terrific as well this season. He is 2-1 with a 2.11 ERA, whihc ranks fourth in the Eastern League. Saupold has 34 strikeouts to 17 walks and a WHIP of 1.05.
-Kyle Lobstein continues to produce quality starts this season. Lobstein is 4-2 and his ERA of 2.91 ranks 12th in the Eastern League. Lobstein also has 43 strikeouts, which is fourth in the EL behind New York Mets prospect Rafael Montero (48), Brandon Workman (48) and Biddle (45). Danny Salazar led the EL with 51 but he was recently promoted to Indianapolis. Lobstein will start the series finale Sunday in Bowie.
-Luke Putkonen’s demotion to Toledo shouldn’t affect Erie. Putkonen was sent to Toledo this evening, on his birthday, to make room for Phil Coke. Coke was rehabbing with Toledo and his spot with the Mud Hens will be filled by Putkonen. However, Pat Misch and Danny Worth are getting close to returning. When either player gets back from the disabled list, one or two players could come down to Erie or be released.
-Luis Castillo is starting to catch fire for the SeaWolves. In the last five games, Castillo has the top Erie batting average at .385 (5-for-13). He has drive in three runs and continues to fight for playing time.
-Tyler Collins continues to get on base. In 29 games this season, he has reached base in 25 of those games and has an on-base percentage of .361. He recently had an 11-game hitting streak snapped when he walked twice against Altoona on Sunday. Collins is eighth in the Eastern League with 23 runs scored and still leads the league with eight home runs. Collins is also tied for eighth with 22 RBIs and is third in slugging percentage at .588.
-James McCann is also red-hot for the SeaWolves. In the past five games, McCann is 7-for-19 (.368) with two RBIs and one run scored. He is filling in nicely behind the plate in a full-time basis with Ramon Cabrera in Toledo.
-Hernan Perez is still producing despite his batting average dipping to .299. He is third in the Eastern League with 41 hits and is tied for second with 13 stolen bases. Perez is also tied for the league lead with 12 doubles.
-Erie fell from the top spot in the league in batting average with a surge from New Britain. The SeaWolves are second with a .277 batting average and the Rock Cats climbed into first at .278. Bowie is a close third with .276.
-The SeaWolves still boast the top pitching staff in the Eastern League with a 3.66 ERA. Richmond is second at 3.79.
-C.J. Cron, the son of Erie manager Chris Cron, is currently rated as the No. 3 overall prospect in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He is hitting .303 with 17 RBIs and nine doubles. He is a first baseman with the Double-A Arkansas Travelers, which compete in the Texas League.
-Speaking of the Texas League, Chad Oberacker is hitting .230 with the Midland RockHounds. He has five stolen bases and has drive in 17 runs for the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics.
–Tom Reisenweber
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