Minor League Roster Announcements

JP Crawford, Image- Jay Floyd

As the 2014 season draws near, rosters for the Phillies' minor league clubs have begun to surface.

The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws will feature the return of last year's top draft selection SS J.P. Crawford. Local NJ product Mark Leiter Jr., who made his pro debut last year, will return to the Claws as well.

The team's outfield will be made up of 2011 top pick Larry Greene Jr., 2012 2nd rounder Dylan Cozens, well-regarded youngster Carlos Tocci as well as Samuel Hiciano.

Joining Crawford in the infield will be Andrew Pullin, Zach Green, Wilmer Oberto and Robinson Torres.

The team's backstops will be two Velezuelans Gabriel Lino and Willians Astudillo along with Jose Mayorga of Panama.

The Lakewood pitching staff will also feature Alejandro Arteaga, Tyler Buckley, Ranfi Casimiro, Cody Forsythe, Ulises Joaquin, Shane Martin, Manny Martinez, Julio Reyes, Yacksel Rios, Keivi Rojas, Jesen Therrien and Tyler Viza.

The Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs will feature plenty of familiar names on their roster. The team's outfield will include last season's Phillies cup-of-coffee name Steve Susdorf while catcher Cameron Rupp, who made his big league debut also last year will be on the opening day roster for the Pigs. Reliever Phillippe Aumont and starting hurler Jonathan Pettibone were also with the big league club last year and will open the season with LV.

According to Greg Joyce the team will also be made up the following:

Outfield- Tyson Gillies, Clete Thomas and Leandro Castro.
Infield- Maikel Franco, Jim Murphy, Tyler Henson, Reid Brignac, Andres Blanco and Troy Hanzawa.
Catcher- Koyie Hill
Pitchers- Greg Smith, David Buchanan, Barry Enright, Sean O'Sullivan, Luis Garcia, Shawn Camp, Hector Neris, Mike Nesseth, Kyle Simon, Jeremy Horst, Cesar Jimenez.
Disabled list- Brian Bixler, Chris Bootcheck, Adam Morgan, Dave Sappelt.

The Double-A Reading Fightins will feature a load returning names including top pitching prospect Jesse Biddle, outfielders Zach Collier, Anthony Hewitt and Kelly Dugan, infielders Albert Cartwright, Edgar Duran and Matt Tolbert, catchers Sebastian Valle and Tommy Joseph, pitchers Tyler Knigge, Brody Colvin, Jay Johnson, Justin Friend and Austin Wright.

Also included on the Reading pitching staff will be lefty Hoby Milner, right-hander Perci Garner, Luis Paulino, Kenny Giles and Nefi Ogando. Last year's Paul Owens Award winner and rising pitching prospect Severino Gonzalez will also open the season with Reading.

Infielders Brock Stassi, Carlos Alonso and Chris Serritella will also be sporting Ostriches on their caps to open the 2014 campaign.

Cameron Perkins will round out the outfield for the Figthins.

Aaron Altherr, a toolsy outfielder that is often praised by scouts, is slated to begin the season on the disabled list for Reading. Hurler Ryan Demmin and Jiwan James will also open the season on the DL.

Stats to Ponder: Jimmy Rollins Edition

J-Roll has batted under .200 for a calendar month twice in his career. In April 2004, Rollins went 13-for-71, for a .183 average. The following month, Rollins went 30-for-107, which is a .280 average. And in August 2005, Rollins went 22-for-117, for a .188 average. The month that followed saw Rollins go 49-for-122 for a .402 average. Rollins is batting .171 so far in May 2009. Improvement is not far away for Jimmy. The Phillies are 10-2 in games this year which Rollins scores at least 1 run. The Phillies are 4-12 in games which Rollins does not score. Jimmy Rollins in 6 games against the Braves this year is batting .071 (2-for-28). In 2008 Rollins batted .284 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2007 Rollins batted .347 against the Braves in 18 games. In 2006 Rollins batted .367 against the Braves in 18 games. Jimmy Milestone Watch: 6 more RBI and Rollins will tie Scott Rolen for 25th all time in Phillies RBI leaders. 7 more triples and Rollins will tie Richie Ashburn for 4th all time i...

Crawford's Chronicles: JP Crawford talks Spring Training

JP Crawford, image- Jay Floyd Entering this year as the widely regarded top prospect in the Phillies organization, J.P. Crawford will be taking time each week to provide insight directly from inside spring training in Clearwater, FL, right here on PhilliesNation.com. Crawford, 20, was named the top positional prospect in two leagues (Class A South Atlantic League and Class A Advanced Florida State League) last year, when he combined, in 123 games, to post a .285 average, 11 homers, 48 RBI and 24 stolen bases. He also represented the Phils organization in the MLB All-Star Futures Game last season. As the 2015 campaign approaches, the six-foot-two 180-pound lefty batter is expected to reach the Double-A level and continue to prove why the Phillies selected him in the first round of the 2013 draft. In this initial installment of our weekly check-in with J.P., he shares thoughts on a variety of topics, including his exclusion from big league camp, which member of the big leagu...

Phreestyle Battle & Notes

Unrelated to baseball, really...but it's fun and our Phils are off today. This new kid on the hip hop scene, Charles Hamilton , whose single Brooklyn Girl is ripping up radio and video count downs, was at PSU for a performance recently. A freestyle battle ensued, and as you'll see, the Penn State student held his own. Stay tuned for the ending. It's the best part. Here are some random Phillies-in-idle baseball thoughts and notes- Colbert Hamels is slated to make his Grapefruit League debut tomorrow vs. Team Canada. Shane Victorino is going to wear #50 on his jersey for Team USA, a nod to Hawaii Five-O. Brad Lidge is likely to not see game action till next week, after he throws some more bullpen sessions and works out the tightness in his forearm. Albert Pujols is declaring "respect for his country" as reasoning for sitting out of the Cardinals' exhibition this week against Team Dominican Republic. He told reporters, "I don’t want to play against them...

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