Just when one thought they had the IronPigs roster memorized, it has undergone a number of changes while the team is out of town.

This week marks the end of the regular season in the minors, and Lehigh Valley is home to host the Syracuse Mets. The odds of the IronPigs – 39-29 in the second half – making the postseason are slim; really slim.

The first step is to sweep the six-game series against Syracuse (41-27), and then get help from a weaker team in Buffalo (29-38), who would need to sweep the first place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

So, let’s focus on the roster. First, Justin Crawford is listed as questionable for the final series. He has been in concussion protocol since colliding with Otto Kemp in the first inning of a game in the middle of the last homestand.

Crawford still leads the league in batting (.334) and was on pace to reset the IronPigs single season record for stolen bases, which is held by Rich Thompson who stole 48 bases in 2011. Crawford stands at 46 on the season.

A number of IronPigs have been recalled by Philadelphia lately, including Max Lazar, Otto Kemp, and Donovan Walton. Of course, Walker Buehler made a start for Lehigh Valley on the last homestand and is now officially with the Phillies. Since Lehigh Valley left town, they have added shortstop Aidan Miller, LHP Andrew Walling, and RHP Tommy McCollum from Double-A Reading.

Miller is the one to watch from this group. The 21-year-old is rated just behind Crawford among position players in the organization, and stole 52 bases at Reading while hitting 13 home runs and batting .259 with .382 on-base percentage.

In his five games with the IronPigs, Miller has stolen four more bases, and is hitting .294 with a .478 OBP. The Phillies selected Miller to be one of the eight prospects that they are sending to the highly touted Arizona Fall League, which begins play next month.

McCollum, 26, posted a 3.20 ERA in 37 relief appearances at Double-A this season and in 45 innings, has struck out 48 hitters while walking just 11. The righty was probably getting tired of Reading, having played all or part of the past three seasons with the Fightins, and posting a 4.13 ERA in 89 relief outings.

The new lefty is Walling, who has made 51 relief appearances over the past two seasons with Reading and has posted a 3.84 ERA in 58 2/3 innings. Walling, 25, has 21 walks and 69 strikeouts with Reading.

It’s possible that a few more players could be added from Double-A now that the season there is over. Pitchers Griff McGarry (1-4, 3.25) made 17 starts with Reading, and probably should have been back up with Lehigh Valley, where he pitched in parts of the 2022, ’23, and ’24 seasons, as he appears to have figured out mechanical issues that previously haunted him. The right-hander is still just 26.

Another possible call is pitcher, Jean Cabrera (6-9, 3.81), who also appears to be putting it all together. Cabrera, a right-hander, turns 24 in about a month.

A long shot position player addition would be outfielder Felix Reyes. All the 24-year-old did this season was win the Eastern League batting title with a .335 average. He also hit 15 home runs and drove in 65 runs in his first Double-A season. Perhaps, if Crawford is not going to play, the Phillies will give Reyes an extra week of work with Lehigh Valley.

ON THE HILL… Andrew Painter threw perhaps his most complete game of the season Wednesday in Scranton when he went five shutout innings and allowed just three hits and no walks. He also struck out six hitters. Some fans got a little too excited and still think the Phillies will add him to their MLB roster if he has another good outing, but it’s not going to happen. Parkland High School product Gabe Mosser pitched on Sunday, and he too, had a strong outing. The 29-year-old threw 5 1/3 shutout innings and allowed just three hits. His command could have been sharper, as he walked four and struck out just one. Painter could conceivably get two starts on the final homestand.

THE LAST 10… Here is a look at some hot bats in their last 10 games played. Rodolfo Castro is hitting .351 (13-for-37), and is now just one home run shy of the 20 mark for the season, which would be a new career-high… Payton Henry is batting .333 (13-for-39) with a .366 OBP… Brewer Hicklen is also 13-for-39 with four home runs and 10 RBI, both team highs over that period.

THE LAST 10 FROM THE PEN… Relievers who are hot in their last 10 outings include: Phil Bickford, 2-0, 1.80 with 10 strikeouts… Jacob Waguespack has thrown 13 innings in his last 10 outings and has a 2.77 ERA with 13 strikeouts… Michael Mercado has a 3.65 ERA with 12 1/3 innings of work and 16 strikeouts… The only starter to mention over their last 10 starts is Alan Rangel, who has a 3.61 ERA in his last 10 starts and has 52 1/3 innings over that span.