Pigs Pitching Prospects Could be Ready for Bigs Soon

The 2011 edition of our Lehigh Valley IronPigs is a fascinating collection of youngsters, veterans and a new manager who happens to be a legendary Hall of Fame second-baseman. 

Ryne Sandberg, the manager, arrives from the Chicago Cubs organization, where he played from 1982 through 1987. However, this native of Spokane, Washington is not a total stranger to the Philadelphia Phillies organization, as he began his career with six at bats for the Phils in 1981. Then followed the ill-advised trade in which we acquired Ivan DeJesus from the Chicago Cubs for “Ryno” and actually, “threw in” Larry Bowa, to make matters worse.

Sandberg, who was inducted into Cooperstown in 2005, was apparently not too thrilled when the Cubs passed over him and hired interim manager Mike Quade, to become their full-time skipper in 2011, thereby leaving the door open for the IronPigs to hire him.

The new Iron Pigs head honcho began his professional career when he was drafted in the 20th round of the 1978 amateur draft. The 51-year-old Sandberg will be leading a diversified club at Coca Cola Park in Allentown this season. 

One of his more intriguing players is 24 year-old right-hander Vance Worley, who already got his feet wet in the majors in 2010, with five appearances which included two starts in which he performed admirably. Vance compiled a miniscule 1.38 earned run average in his brief stint with the Phillies, allowing only 8 hits in 45 at bats, a lowly .178 batting average.

Worley also showed maturity beyond his years, as he held opposing batsmen to a 2-24, .083 mark, once he reached a two-strike count. Even more impressive, however, was the 0-7, 000, once the count reached 3-2, a count that does not favor the pitcher. 

Worley, a big youngster at 6’2” and 230 lbs, however, has some fairly famous hurlers ahead of him on the Phillies organizational “depth chart.” The hard-throwing right-hander must continue to ply his trade at Lehigh Valley and await an opportunity at the big league level. As we’re all aware, many such circumstances arise during the course of a major league season, and as Worley has displayed before, he’ll be ready when the opportunity presents itself.

Worley was drafted out of Long Beach State in the third round in 2008. His fastball sits at 88-92 mph, but sometimes reaches 94 mph. His 81-84 mph slider is an above average pitch although some scouts insist that his curveball is a better pitch. He has a tendency to slow his arm speed down when he hurls his changeup, however, something Lehigh Valley pitching coach Rod Nichols, is working on.

Another legitimate pitching prospect is 27 year-old 6’ 3” 190 lb. right-hander, Scott Mathieson.  This imposing native of Vancouver, British Columbia, was once considered one of the Phillies’ best prospects, before he suffered a series of debilitating injuries that led to Mathieson undergoing two “Tommy John” surgeries.

His arm, now healthy at last, is a power arm, and the Phillies envision him as a “set-up” type relief pitcher that can help the parent club in the not too distant future, or perhaps as the closer for the big league team if Brad Lidge’s health does not improve. He is once more throwing a mid to high 90s fastball which contributed to his saving 26 games for Lehigh Valley in 2010.

On occasion, though, his fastball tends to “flatten out”, so the Phillies brought in Hall of Fame relief pitcher Bruce Sutter, to teach the youngster how to throw a splitter. From the results the Phillies saw in Clearwater this spring, that move is already paying huge dividends. Look for Mathieson to join the Philadelphia Phillies at some point during this season.

Meanwhile, enjoy his work at Coca-Cola Park.

Editor's Note: The Lehigh Valley IronPigs return home tonight for eight straight home games against the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Buffalo Bisons. Tonight's game against the PawSox at 7 p.m. is Ryne Sandberg Bobble Head Night.