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Aaron Brown, image- MiLB.com Prior to being selected as the Phillies' 3rd round draft pick this year, Aaron Brown was a dominant college pitcher. In 17 starts for Pepperdine in 2014, he posted a 13-1 record along with a 1.95 ERA. Brown's efforts at the plate were just as impressive, as he sported a .314 average with 13 homers, 49 RBI and a .908 OPS. Citing his power and bat speed, the Phils see Brown's highest ceiling as an offensive player. After playing roughly two months with short-season Class A Williamsport, Brown was promoted to full season A level Lakewood to close out the season with a couple weeks remaining on the schedule. Lakewood manager Greg Legg , a baseball lifer, praised Brown's intensity and asserted that three of the hardest hits balls he saw all season were off the bat of Brown during the short time he was with the club. In 61 games in the minors, after making his pro debut, Brown tallied a .268 average while slugging four home runs and drivi...

The PhoulBallz Podcast is back with episode 71. On the latest edition of the show, Tug and Jay are joined by Phillies rookie hurler Mario Hollands , who discusses his first season in the big leagues, his days in the minors, Jonathan Papelbon as a leader and plenty more. The guys also discuss the rookie campaigns of David Buchanan and Kenny Giles as well as Cole Hamels ' remarkable year. Use the media player below to stream the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .

Fall instructional league got underway over the weekend. Instructs, as it's commonly referred to, is a month-long off-season league, generally consisting of recently drafted players and foreign signees, players that missed time due to injury, or those that participated in short-season leagues, allowing those individuals to refine their skills or add innings/at bats to their season. It also serves as an opportunity for a greater number of developmental coaches to see newly signed players and those they've not been exposed to in action. Here's the Phillies' complete roster of players listed in attendance is listed below. PITCHERS Victor Arano Kyle Bogese Ismael Cabrera Austin Davis Yan De La Cruz Elniery Garcia Scott Harris Matt Imhof Carlos Indriago Tanner Kiest Franklyn Kilome Brandon Leibrandt Sam McWilliams Adonis Medina Aaron Nola Chris Oliver Felix Paulino Ricardo Pinto Edubray Ramos Calvin Rayburn Nick Rodesky Carlos Salazar Ranger Suarez...

Adam Loewen, image- Jay Floyd With a considerable level of anticipation that the Phillies will experience some turnover with their pitching staff leading to next season, it feels as though fans and media alike have begun to say goodbye to certain hurlers. Who replaces those arms promises to be the focus of the team's offseason. A candidate to fill a void in the Phillies' rotation next is former big leaguer Adam Loewen , who the Phillies acquired earlier this season as a free agent. Loewen, a left-hander, has been to the majors twice. His initial ascension to the big leagues was as a pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles after he was selected as the fourth overall draft pick in 2002, two places before Zack Greinke and three spots prior to Prince Fielder . He last pitched in the majors in 2008 as a 24-year-old. After suffering a stress fracture in his throwing elbow, having a four-and-a-half inch long titanium screw surgically inserted into the joint and dealing with la...

Shane Watson, image- Jay Floyd On Friday, it was announced that injured Phillies pitching prospect Shane Watson would miss the opening 50 games of the 2015 season, after being served with a suspension as a result of testing positive for a banned substance. Reports stated that the illegal substance was not a performance enhancer, but instead was a drug of abuse. The 21-year-old right-hander, who recently announced his engagement to be married via his Twitter account, missed the entire 2014 season after undergoing shoulder surgery to repair an enlarged capsule last winter. Watson rehabbed this summer, but experienced a setback which was going to keep him out of action till next spring. Watson's injured status will not impact his suspension. In fact, the required time off could force the young hurler to proceed at a much slower pace and could be good for his physical health in the long run. Watson was chosen with the 40th overall pick by the Phillies in 2012. He sports...

It's Episode 70 and the guys are joined by pitcher Adam Loewen who participates in the inaugural edition of the new segment, "Nine Silly-ass Questions".  The episode also features exclusive interviews with Reading pitching coach Dave Lundquist and Double-A reliever Colton Murray.  Jay and Tug also chat about 2014 season highlights including Kenny Giles, Maikel Franco, Willians Astudillo and Hoby Milner while other topics include Kyle Kendrick as well as the Paul Owens Awards won by Luis Garcia and J.P. Crawford. Use the media player below to stream the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .

Rob Ducey, image- Tug Haines Prior to the end of the minor league season on Monday, I spent some time with Double-A Reading hitting coach Rob Ducey about several of his players' progress this season. Ducey, who played in the big leagues with the Phillies, Blue Jays, Rangers, Mariners, Expos and Angels, joined the Phillies organization as a coach this year. The former outfielder spoke about the Phillies' collection of rising young outfielders including Aaron Altherr , Zach Collier , Kelly Dugan , Cameron Perkins and Peter Lavin . He also offered insight on talented infielder Carlos Alonso . Read ahead for that full interview. - Aaron Altherr has an exciting year with time spent at the big league level. What are your thoughts on Altherr's season? Well, he's obviously in the development part of his career and is trying to iron some things out mechanically, mentally, things that young players go through while they're trying to establish themselves as p...

Maikel Franco, image- Jay Floyd As was widely reported on Monday, the Phillies are slated to promote third baseman/first baseman Maikel Franco to the big leagues with the expansion of rosters in September. The right-handed hitting Franco, who turned 22-years-old last week, pledged in an interview for Phillies Nation's television program in late June that he was about to turn on the offense and he came through on that promise. After sporting a .209 average with 22 extra base hits in 78 games through the end of June, the Dominican Republic native tallied a .324 average with 31 extra base hits in the 55 games that followed for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Also joining Franco among players moving from the IronPigs to the majors are relievers Mike Adams , Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez and Luis Garcia , utility man Cesar Hernandez , catcher Cameron Rupp and outfielder Tony Gwynn Jr. The righty Adams had been rehabbing an injured throwing shoulder after being sidelined in early June. ...

Colton Murray, image- Tug Haines This season right-hander Colton Murray made some solid impressions, earning his way to Double-A and solidifying himself as a key piece at the back end of the club's bullpen. A 13th round pick from 2011, Murray had spent time with the big league club in spring training each of the previous two seasons prior to this year. Following a 2013 campaign in which he tallied a 5-7 record with 11 saves and a 5.07 ERA in 47 games with the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers. Those efforts were not enough to earn an invitation back to big league spring training this year. However, with the numbers he posted this season, the 24-year-old Murray is likely a lock to be among pitchers showing up early to big league camp next year. Following 11 appearances while posting a 2.04 ERA with Clearwater this year, Murray, whose fastball is regularly clocked around 95 MPH, was promoted to Double-A Reading where he sported a 1-5 record with six saves, a 2.29 ERA and...