Former pitcher off to a Savery start in Phillies minor leagues

ONE WEEKEND in the books and guess who's leading the Florida State League in hitting?

That would be Clearwater's Joe Savery.

Through yesterday, Savery was (and this is not a typo) 14-for-18 (.778) with a homer, three doubles and two RBI. He went 2-for-3 last night and his average actually fell.

Yes, it's early and he's doing it for the Class A Threshers. But still . . .

By now, Savery's attempt to become the next Babe Ruth or Rick Ankiel has been well-chronicled. Quick recap: Savery, a 6-3, 215-pound lefthander, was the Phillies' first-round draft choice back in 2007 out of Rice University. At first, he was pretty darn good. As recently as 2009, he was putting up quality minor league numbers, going a combined 16-6 at Double A Reading and Triple A Lehigh Valley (ERA was a tad high at 4.40).

Then came last season's 1-12 mushroom cloud at Lehigh Valley. And this was no hard-luck 1-12: He allowed 154 hits and 51 walks in 127 innings with a 4.66 ERA. Savery realized that if he planned to continue playing baseball for a living, he'd better become a baserunner instead of allowing them.

Now he's playing first base and designated hitter for the Threshers.

Success as a hitter wouldn't exactly qualify as a miracle for Savery. The year the Phillies drafted him, he hit .356 as a junior in 275 at-bats at Rice. And last season, as a DH for the IronPigs, he went 16-for-46 (.348) with a homer.

So is this a realistic dream for the big Texan?

"We'll see," offered Chuck LaMar, the Phillies' player development and scouting director. "Time will tell. He got off to good start."

WHAT A RELIEF

The Phillies received three players when they dealt Cliff Lee to Seattle after the 2009 season. The big gem was supposed to be mammoth righty Phillippe Aumont, the Mariners' top pick in 2007 (11th overall).

He promptly went a combined 3-11 with a 5.68 ERA between Clearwater and Double A Reading.

The rub: Aumont was almost exclusively a reliever in the Mariners' organization. And he was quite successful in 2009, his first full pro season, picking up 16 saves between Class A and Double A. The Phils got him and tried to make him a starter. No more. He's now in the back end of Reading's bullpen, and the organization remains very high on him.

"We like his size, his stuff, we think he can be a major league pitcher," LaMar said of the 6-7, 255-pounder. "He struggled as a starter, but we have him back in the bullpen now. Also, he was one of the most improved players coming out of spring training."