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.

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Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

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The race for the Phillies' fifth starter spot is still on. While it's not fully fair to compare Grapefruit League stats, when some of the pitchers have had "B game" and scrimmage outings mixed in, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco look to be falling behind Chan Ho Park and "Jay" Happ. Happ added to his solid Grapefruit League stats (2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP in 4 games) today against the Rays. Pitching coach Rich Dubee had been displeased with Kendrick even before he surrendered 8 earned runs in 3 innings of work yesterday against the Braves. Park has been working on improving his change up, with (Coach) Jamie Moyer. Park noticed Moyer's location control on his change, so he sought out Moyer to teach him the grip and positioning of the ball. Moyer, of course, feels good about helping anyone on the Phils' staff. Park has been coached by greats like Nolan Ryan with the Rangers and Sandy Koufax with the Dodgers, so Moyer is in great company. Park is working h...

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