PhoulBallz.com

Taylor, image- Jay Floyd Lakewood BlueClaws hurler Josh Taylor has made an impact with the Class A club in the early going this season. Through four starts, the 22-year-old sports a 1-1 record with a 3.68 ERA while having struck out 24 and walked four in 22 innings. After pitching in a summer showcase for college players last summer, the Phillies made an offer to the undrafted hard-throwing lefty. Once he signed, the six-foot-five 225-pounder notched a 2-0 record without allowing a run in three relief appearances for the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies. Recently, I spoke with Josh, an Arizona native, about how he came to sign with the Phils last year, his pitching coach with Lakewood, Aaron Fultz , and more. Read ahead for those quotes. -Speaking on how the Phillies came to sign him... I went to two years at junior college and then I signed with a Division II school out of Georgia, Georgia College, and they set me up with a summer league out in the Northwoods Le

JP Crawford, image- Jay Floyd Top Phillies prospect J.P. Crawford , who has been out of action since late March with an oblique strain, is nearing a return . After required rest, the 20-year-old is back in action, playing daily with the extended spring training team in Florida. According to Crawford, he is feeling "ready to go", but the decision to activate him to a full-season team roster, either Class A Advanced Clearwater or Double-A Reading, will come from the team's athletic training staff, who is keeping a close eye on the youngster. Crawford, who represented the Phillies in last year's MLB All-Star Futures Game, was the organization's top draft selection in 2013. He sported a .285/.375/.406 slash line in 123 games combined at two levels last year. Additionally, right-handed hurler Shane Watson continues to recover from his second shoulder surgery. According the the 21-year-old Watson, he tossed two innings of live batting practice on Tuesday

Severino Gonzalez, image- Jay Floyd The Phillies announced on Saturday that right-hander Severino Gonzalez will make his big league debut on Tuesday at St. Louis. The Panama native was honored as the Phils' top minor league pitcher with the annual Paul Owens Award in 2013 when he posted a 7-5 record, a 2.00 ERA, a .224 batting average against along with his 10.33 K/9 and his 1.91 BB/9 combined across three levels. Last year at Double-A Reading, Gonzalez's stats took a dip. En route to leading all Phillies minor leaguers in starts and innings, he posted a 9-13 record with a 4.59 ERA with a 6.52 K/9 mark. Not great numbers there, but he wrapped up his 2014 campaign nicely, notching a 3-1 record and a 2.53 ERA in his final five starts of the season. This year, with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the six-foot-two 155-pounder has tallied a 1-1 record and a 3.57 ERA along with nine strike outs and two walks in 17 2/3 innings over three starts. To put the progress of Gonzalez

On the 76th edition of the PhoulBallz Podcast, Jay and Tug chat about the brand new baseball season, running down the hot starts of prospects such as Brock Stassi , Jesse Biddle , Roman Quinn , Zach Eflin , Carlos Tocci , Rhys Hoskins and others. The show also features two exclusive interviews as "El Sangre" Jake Fox talks about leaving the Phillies organization and Temple University product Matt Hockenberry participates in the fun segment Nine Silly-ass Questions. 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 .

Aaron Fultz, image- Jay Floyd Former big leaguer Aaron Fultz is in his fourth season coaching in the Phillies' developmental ranks. In his career, the lefty Fultz tallied a 25-15 record with a 4.26 ERA and three saves over eight major league seasons. Now, the 41-year-old is leading the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws' pitching staff toward their dream of reach the top level of the sport. Recently, I chatted with Fultz about various topics related to his young prospects. Read ahead for those interview excerpts. -What are you impressions of your pitching staff in the early going this year? So far, I've been really pleased with the amount of strikes that we've thrown. We haven't walked many guys. There's still some mistakes here and there, but overall very pleased with the way we're going about the game. - Matt Hockenberry 's got a true closer mentality and persona, as he mans the late innings for the BlueClaws.  He's a Temple guy with loc

After roughly a week and a half of the minor league schedule has past, so here's a quick run down of the top performers from the Phillies' developmental ranks thus far in the young baseball season. Triple-A Lehigh Valley... 3B/1B Maikel Franco - The righty hitting slugger sports a .386 average with a homer and eight RBI through 10 games. After going 0-for-3 on opening day, the 22-year-old has put together a nine-game hitting streak with at least one extra-base hit in eight of those games. RHP Phillippe Aumont - In three appearances, the 26-year-old has allowed one earned run in eight innings (1.13 ERA) while striking out 10 and walking four. Aumont has a career 6.13 ERA in 45 big league outings. Double-A Reading... RHP Zach Eflin - In two starts, the 21-year-old right has a 2-0 record while throwing 14 scoreless frames, having struck out seven and walked two. Eflin was acquired over the off-season from the Dodgers in the Jimmy Rollins trade. LHP Jesse Biddle - T

Joe Jordan, image- Jay Floyd Recently, I caught up with the Phillies' director of player development Joe Jordan to discuss several key subjects throughout the minor leagues. Jordan, who took over his current role following the 2011 season, commented on pitching prospects Adam Morgan and Ricardo Pinto as well as outfielders Cord Sandberg , Roman Quinn , Cam Perkins and Aaron Altherr along with catcher Tommy Joseph . Also a topic of discussion is the realignment of some minor league coaches this year plus field coordinator Doug Mansolino. Read ahead for the comments from Jordan and click here for his exclusive injury updates from last week. - Adam Morgan (0-1, 5.00 ERA in two starts) is back in action at the Triple-A level for the IronPigs. What's the outlook for Adam right now? Adam had a good camp. He just progressed all the way. We got him built up there at the end, so he was ready to go to Lehigh. Adam looks good, you know. He’s fine. He just needs to

Rhys Hoskins, image- Jay Floyd First baseman Rhys Hoskins was selected by the Phillies in the 5th round of last year's amateur draft. After debuting as a pro, the six-foot-four 225-pounder showed some nice pop, slugging nine homers while lacing 15 doubles and driving in 40 runs to go along with his .237 average over 70 games with short-season Class A Williamsport. Thus far this season, through seven games with Class A Lakewood, the California State University-Sacramento product sports a .261 average with two doubles and two RBI. Last week I spoke with the 22-year-old about adjusting to the minor leagues straight out of collegiate ball. Hoskins also scouted himself, offered some thoughts on the BlueClaws' excitement level for a new season and proudly showed off his (limited) knowledge of Phillies history. Read ahead for those interview excerpts from Rhys. -How do you feel college ball prepared you for the minors? I mean it did. It just taught me about the game

Chris Oliver, image- MiLB.com LAKEWOOD, NJ-- Following a weak effort after turning pro, last year's 4th round pick by the Phillies, right-handed pitcher Chris Oliver , has things back on track and the team has high hopes for him this year with Class A Lakewood. Fresh out of his outstanding junior season with Arkansas in which he sported a 9-4 record with a 2.51 ERA and a .213 batting average against in 16 starts last year in the highly competitive Souteastern Conference, Oliver had a disappointing campaign in his initial exposure to the professional ranks. In nine minor league appearances last year, the six-foot-four 170-pounder tallied a 0-2 record with an 8.66 ERA and a .321 batting average against. The downturn in results did not concern the Phillies. As Oliver explains, some mechanical alterations to his delivery and a switch from offering a curve ball to throwing a slider, mandated by coaches, were responsible for the dip in production. "Mechanically, last ye

On the latest television episode of Phillies Nation, Pat and Corey discuss the opening week for the Phils, including the good and the bad. Rachel jumps in with trending topics and the weekly fan question. The guys offer their weekly Draft Kings fantasy baseball picks and Jay Floyd brings viewers a feature on top pitching prospect Aaron Nola . Check out the media player below for my segment on Nola and click here to see the full episode online. New editions of Phillies Nation debut each week on The Comcast Network on Tuesdays at 6 PM and replay throughout the week on TCN and Comcast SportsNet.

Anderson, image- MiLB.com Phillies director of player development confirmed to PhilliesNation's Jay Floyd on Tuesday that right-handed pitching prospect Drew Anderson will miss the entire season after undergoing Tommy John surgery recently. Selected in the 21st round of the 2012 draft by the Phillies, the six-foot-three 185-pounder sported a 12-9 record with a 2.97 ERA and a 7.39 K/9 mark through 34 pro games before being sidelined with injury last summer for Class A Lakewood. The Phillies' hope was for Anderson was for the 21-year-old to rehab through the ailment, but a setback with his throwing elbow resulted in the need for surgery. "We knew there was a slight tear in the UCL ligament and we tried to rehab him through it, but it went ahead and blew (out), so it's time to fix it," Jordan stated. In other injury news, top Phillies prospect J.P. Crawford , who is currently sidelined with an oblique strain, will return to hitting this coming weekend

The Lakewood BlueClaws returned to action over the weekend, going 2-2 against division rival Kannapolis to start their 2015 campaign. Recently, I spoke with several of the team's players about the start of a new year. Read ahead for what righty pitchers Tyler Viza (32nd round pick, 2013) and Chris Oliver (4th round pick, 2014) as well as first baseman Rhys Hoskins (5th round, 2014) had to say about a brand new year in the Phillies organization. Tyler Viza, image- Jay Floyd -Viza, who pitched with Lakewood last year, posting a 3-17 record, spoke about his outlook returning to the BlueClaws... I'm extremely excited. We've got a great group of guys, got a great coaching staff. I'm happy to be here, to play with these guys and play for these fans again. I'm really excited to be here. Last year's behind me and I'm ready to push forward this year. -Viza commented on having former Phillies hurler Aaron Fultz as his pitching coach and what advantages

Shawn Williams, image-Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ- Following in his father's footsteps is precisely the route that Lakewood BlueClaws manager Shawn Williams is taking these days. Shawn is the son of former Phillies coach Jimy Williams , who had a brief playing career prior to turning to the coaching ranks and managing in the big leagues with Toronto, Boston and Houston. After taking the step from coaching to managing the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters last season, Williams was promoted to take the reigns of the full-season A level BlueClaws for the 2015 campaign. "They came to me with the managerial position last year in Williamsport, which was awesome to be asked to do that at a younger age. I'm just learning everyday and trying to get better," the 31-year-old Williams said during a recent interview. Williams' older brother Brady is also a minor league skipper, at the helm of the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits (Rays). The learning process

Shawn Williams, image- Jay Floyd The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws got their season underway on Thursday with a new roster and a new manager. Shawn Williams, son of long-time big league coach Jimy Williams , takes over the reigns with the 'Claws after a year as skipper of the Class A Short-season Williamsport Crosscutters. Prior to their season opener on Thursday, I chatted with the 31-year-old about his club. Read ahead for comments from Williams about several names including Rhys Hoskins , Carlos Tocci , Deivi Grullon and many more. -Is there anyone on the roster that stood out in spring training as a guy that was a catalyst for the club? I look at our whole lineup and, really, all the guys are catalysts. There are guys that do the little things to help your team win. They're great guys in the clubhouse, they play hard, they give you 100 percent every night and they do everything to kind of help your team win. -Carlos Tocci returns to Lakewood for his third seas

Tocci in action last season, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ- Three was the number. On Carlos Tocci 's third opening day with the Lakewood BlueClaws, the talented outfielder collected three hits to lead the way toward his team's third-ever victorious home opener. In their 15th opening day at the Jersey Shore town's FirstEnergy Park on Thursday, the BlueClaws battled temperatures in the 30's, rain and the Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox) down to the wire. In the bottom of the 9th it was a Tocci walk-off single off of right-hander Peter Tago that gave the Class A BlueClaws the win. The Venezuelan born Tocci, who has cited difficulty in the past adapting to the cold early-season weather in the northeast, didn't feel the effects of the damp and chilly night this time around. His bat packed all the heat the team needed. "I have two years in this league, so I know how to play with this weather and I know how to prepare for it prior to the game," T

The minor league regular season gets under way on Thursday with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs hosting the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Double-A Reading Fightins hitting the road to take on the Portland SeaDogs. This week, I spoke with IronPigs pitching coach Ray Burris as well as Fightins pitching coach Dave Lundquist, who each commented on several of their respective teams' hurlers. Read ahead for these exclusive quotes about the Phillies' top pitching prospects at the upper levels of the developmental ranks. Burris, image- Jay Floyd Ray Burris- -On LHP Adam Morgan , who missed the entire 2014 season following surgery to repair his throwing shoulder, and his potential to live up to being an early round draft pick... I'm confident (that he can). I think he feels that way now, because he understands and knows how his delivery is supposed to work. When you have that knowledge inside of you and when you throw the ball incorrectly, you know that didn't f

Opening day is here.  With another baseball season ready to get under way in Philadelphia, check out the schedule for the Phillies' opener with Boston in town at Citizens Bank Park on Monday. 8:00 a.m. Majestic Clubhouse Store opens . 12:00 p.m. Citizens Bank Way Opening Day Party and concert. Features entertainment, food and drinks. Free to all fans. Plus, live performance by Go Go Gadjet . 12:13 p.m.  Phillies batting practice . 12:35 p.m. All gates open.  All fans will receive a 2015 Phillies Schedule & Car Magnet , compliments of Nemours . 1:13 p.m. Red Sox batting practice . 2:13 p.m. Line up on 10 th Street! Fans who have not yet entered the ballpark gates are invited to line up on 10 th Street and cheer on the 2015 Phillies as they make their “Leadoff Walk” into the ballpark – escorted by the Cardinal O’Hara High School Marching Band . 2:22 p.m. Must-see pre-game ceremony. The 2015 Phillies will make their grand entrance into Citizens Bank Park from

The Easter Bunny brought minor league rosters to Phillies prospect fans everywhere this year. See below... Class A Lakewood (via a press release) - Catchers - Joel Fisher, Deivi Grullon Infielders - Derek Campbell, Malquin Canelo, Grenny Cumana, Rhys Hoskins, Damek Tomscha, Tim Zier Outfielders - Herlis Rodriguez, Cord Sandberg, Carlos Tocci, Jiandido Tromp Pitchers - Ranfi Casimiro, Austin Davis, Joey DeNato, Elniery Garcia, Matt Hockenberry, Chris Oliver, Ricardo Pinto, Calvin Rayburn, Alexis Rivero, Josh Taylor, Jesen Therrien, Tyler Viza, Jason Zgardowski Shawn Williams, who managed Williamsport last year, takes over as BlueClaws manager in 2015. He is joined on the staff by hitting coach Nelson Prada and pitching coach Aaron Fultz. Pitchers Drew Anderson, Scott Harris, and Nick Rodesky, as well as outfielder Samuel Hiciano, will open the season on the disabled list. Class A Advanced Clearwater- Catchers - Andrew Knapp, Willians Astudillo, Jose Mayorga Infiel

Every beats writer in the greater Delaware Valley tweeted the Phillies' opening day roster this afternoon. A couple surprises were included among the 25 active players with outfielder Jeff Francoeur and infielder Cesar Hernandez making the cut. Francoeur posted a .227 average with three doubles and two RBI in 15 Grapefruit League contests this spring. The 31-year-old played in 10 games with a Padres last season, sporting a .083 batting average in that stint. Francoeur was last a big league regular in 2012 with Kansas City, when he tallied a .235 average with 16 homers and 49 RBI. Hernandez could be the first player to go if and when outfielder Domonic Brown (left Achilles tendinitis) returns from injury. Hernandez posted a .143 batting average in 27 spring games for the Phillies. The switch-hitting 24-year-old is out of options. Outfielder Jordan Danks , who batted .256 with two doubles, a home run and five RBI in 27 spring games, was optioned to Triple-A. Righty re