Collision knocks Gillies back
INJURY SCARE: Phillies prospect Tyson hoping to pick up where he left off before concussion
Kamloops-bred Philadelphia Phillies prospect Tyson Gillies is unfortunately having a little extra time to revel in being the reigning Double A Eastern League player of the week.
The centre-fielder took the honours for the period ending on Sunday after going 11-for-22, with three triples, a home run, six runs and five runs batted in for the Reading Phillies. He could have put up even better numbers if he didn’t leave Saturday’s game against the Harrisburg Senators following a collision in the outfield with teammate Jiwan James.
Gillies hasn’t played since. There have been reports that Gillies, 23, suffered a wrist injury but he said Tuesday from Reading, Penn., that he’s been experiencing concussion symptoms. He contends that he’s feeling better and he hopes to be back in the lineup by the weekend.
“The timing is unfortunate, because I was starting to get a feel for it again,” said Gillies, a 6-foot2, 205-pound left-handed hitter known for his speed. “The muscle memory was starting to come back and I was starting to feel like I was in 2009.”
That was Gillies’ last full season, and he hit .341, with nine homers, 42 RBIs, 104 runs and 44 steals in 124 games for the High Desert Mavericks, a Seattle Mariners’ Single A affiliate in the California League. He was traded to the Phillies that winter, one of the key pieces in the deal that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle, but hamstring problems limited him to just 31 games combined the past two seasons.
He maintains that his legs are healthy this year, and even though he’s stolen just seven bases in 42 games, he has scored 35 runs. His recent offensive surge has pushed his batting average to .280, and he also has two homers and 15 RBIs.
As much as he’s happy with how he’s playing right now, he insists that he’s not going to hurry back.
“I wasn’t patient the last two years and you can’t be like that with a hamstring injury,” said Gillies. “You also can’t be like that with a mild concussion. You can’t rush yourself to come back, because these things can linger around and come back even worse.”
Meanwhile, Ladner left-hander James Paxton, a top prospect in the Mariners organization, was put on the seven-day disabled list of the Double A Jackson Generals with a right-knee contusion. Paxton, 23, left his Southern League start against the Montgomery Biscuits after just two and two-third innings on Friday.
Paxton is 3-3, with a 3.88 earned run average, in 10 starts this season, but 15 of his 20 earned runs on the year have come in just three appearances.