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This week's news nugget that tops all others

For a Phillies team that has struggled to spark much interest lately, the developmental ranks were packed with news that was worthy of hefty attention this week. Some of the stories were good...like OF Cam Perkins being promoted to Triple-A in his second full season as a pro and reliever Tyler Knigge joining him there. Another positive was certainly the Phillies' refined approach in the MLB first year player draft. Plus, the tale of Lakewood manager Greg Legg retaliating and throwing out an umpire who had ejected him from a game on Tuesday was an instant classic. Other news was disappointing...like 2008 first round draft choice Anthony Hewitt being demoted from Double-A Reading to Class A Advanced Clearwater and first baseman Chris Serritella joined him. Also, Darin Ruf hit the disabled list again after being demoted to Triple-A. But, worst of all was the report that stud OF prospect Domingo Santana was mistakenly included on the list the Astros chose their player-to-be-name-later from following the Hunter Pence trade in 2011.

There's one nugget out of the Phillies' minor league system this week, however, that blows all of those stories away. The blossoming relationship between a player and a mascot will surely have the region abuzz.

Lakewood's All-Star first baseman/catcher/designated hitter Willians Astudillo shows us why you can't spell his name without S-T-U-D in the animated image below.


While BlueClaws mascot Buster appears to be caught off guard by Astudillo's pelvic attention, don't let the shy yella fella fool you. Buster is all about the love and rumor has it there are plans for Astudillo to meet the big guy's fuzzy parents very soon.

H/T- @mistertug for the .gif assistance.

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