Philadelphia Phillies Minor League Pitcher Tyler Cloyd Named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week

Tyler Cloyd isn’t typically thought of as one of the Philadelphia Phillies top prospects but the 24-year old has been having a very impressive 2012 for the Reading Phillies and Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

Cloyd was recently named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for a stretch in which he threw 13 scoreless innings, getting the win in one of the contests. Cloyd was a perfect 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four starts at the Double-A level, striking out 20 batters and walking just three in 25 innings.

Cloyd was initially picked in the 18th round of the 2008 MLB amateur draft. He has fared well in his five minor league seasons, going 37-21 with a 3.50 ERA in 71 starts, posting a 7.7 strikeout rate and just a 1.9 walk rate. He had a strong season in 2011 for the Clearwater Threshers and the Reading Phillies, going 9-4 with a 2.77 ERA, striking out 138 batters in just 146 innings.

Earlier this season, IronPigs pitched Dave Bush was suspended for five games and Cloyd was promoted to take his place. In his first taste of Triple-A action, Cloyd tossed six perfect innings, striking out eight batters. He was sent back down afterwards, but with the way he has been tearing up Double-A, Cloyd should be back up to the IronPigs sometime soon. In fact, he may even warrant a September call-up to the big league team when the Phillies expand their roster to 40 players.

Cloyd doesn’t throw very hard at all, barely topping out at 90 miles per hour, and he struggles with his secondary pitches. But he is getting the results, and the bottom line is that that is what matters.