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John Richy, image- Jay Floyd Acquired last August from the Dodgers along with Darnell Sweeney in the trade for Chase Utley , righty hurler John Richy has had some ups and downs since joining the Phillies. The 23-year-old was a 3rd round draft selection out of UNLV in 2013. At the time of the swap last summer, Richy sported a 10-5 record with a 4.20 ERA in 24 contests for Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamunga. After joining the Phils, the six-foot-four 215-pounder posted a 2.84 ERA with no decisions in two starts for Class A Advanced Clearwater. This year, Richy made a single start for Clearwater (one earned run allowed in five innings of work) before he was promoted to Double-A Reading. Thus far with Reading, Richy has a 1-1 record with a 5.84 ERA while striking out 19 and walking 12 in 24 2/3 innings. Recently, I talked with Richy about how he's performed in the Eastern League thus far, his pitch repertoire, joining a new organization and plenty more. Read ahead for t...

Ben Lively, image- Jay Floyd The Reading Fightins announced a transaction this afternoon, as righty starting pitcher Ben Lively has earned a promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Lively, a 4th round pick of Cincinnati in 2013, was acquired by the Phillies in a trade for Marlon Byrd two 0ff-seasons ago. In nine starts for Double-A Reading this season, the 24-year-old posted a 7-0 record with a 1.87 ERA while striking out 49 and walking 15 in 53 innings pitched. Last season with Reading, Lively sported an 8-7 record with a 4.13 ERA in 25 games. Recently, I spoke with Lively , who noted that the key to his success this year was throwing more quality pitches early in at bats. He'll make his Triple-A debut, starting on Friday night for the IronPigs. Mark Appel has been placed on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain. The 24-year-old left his most recent start for the IronPigs on Sunday after being charged with four earned runs in just 2/3 of an inning. Appe...

KC Serna, image- Jay Floyd Organizational depth is a common phrase used around baseball to describe older minor league players that help fill out Double-A and Triple-A rosters. They could be players with a bit of big league service time or guys that may have been branded as having a ceiling that's upper-levels-of-the-minors high, but not any higher. Reading utility man KC Serna might be a player categorized in such a way, but that doesn't impact his goal of continuing to climb upward in the professional ranks. Another similar term journeyman is something that Serna explains can be a good thing, but not where he plays. "I mean, that'd be, typically, a good position if you're in the big leagues, but we're not. So, you know, obviously it's not the best role you want to be thrown into," Serna said. Selected in the 42nd round of the 2011 draft by Cleveland, Serna had a successful debut season in pro ball with short-season A level Mahoning V...

Logan Moore, image- Jay Floyd Last week prior to his promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill the void left by J.P. Arencibia , I spoke with minor league backstop Logan Moore , who began the season with the Double-A Reading Fightins. The 25-year-old was a 9th round draft selection by the Phillies in 2011 out of Northeastern Junior College. Serving mainly as a backup to catching prospects Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp , Moore has posted a .239 average with a home run and seven RBI in 23 games overall this season. Moore shared thoughts on filling the void during Alfaro's injury this season, playing off-season ball and some of the Figthins' top starting pitchers. Read ahead for that interview. -During Jorge Alfaro's recent time on the shelf with an oblique strain, you served as the team's only true catcher, with Jake Fox , who has caught in the pros before, serving as the emergency option, for some time. What was that stretch like? I mean, I knew comi...

JP Crawford, image- Jay Floyd Recently, I spoke with a pair of top performers from the Double-A Reading Fightins in shortstop J.P. Crawford and starting pitcher Ben Lively . Crawford, of course, is the Phillies' top prospect and their top draft pick from 2013. In 34 games this season, the 21-year-old sports a .262 average with two home runs and 11 RBI also sporting a strong OBP at .389. The 24-year-old Lively has been the ace of the Reading staff, posting a 6-0 record with a 1.53 ERA and an 8.8 K/9 mark through eight starts. Read ahead for interview excerpts from each player. Crawford- -He spoke on his manager Dusty Wathan 's comments ( click here for those ) that he expects Crawford to be promoted to Triple-A in the coming weeks and if he thinks he's ready for that move... Yeah, I think I’ve been playing good and I’m ready to prove what I can do if I get moved up and if I don’t, I’ll just keep doing what I do and keep performing. -Talking about what he ...

Ben Lively, image- Jay Floyd TRENTON- Righty pitcher Ben Lively struck out a career-high 12 batters in an excellent performance, helping the Reading Fightins (24-13) win by a score of 7-2 and clinch a series split in a four game set on the road against the division rival Thunder (19-16). In the outing, the 24-year-old gave up four hits while walking four over seven scoreless frames. With the win, Lively's record this season goes to a gleaming 6-0. In eight starts for the first place Fightins, the six-foot-four 190-pounder sports a Double-A Eastern League best 1.53 ERA, an 8.8 K/9 mark and a 0.96 WHIP. The numbers are a nice improvement over his efforts last year that saw Lively post an 8-7 record with a 4.13 ERA, a 7.0 K/9 and a 1.43 WHIP in 25 starts for Reading. The Florida native feels a change of approach is what has helped him improve. "I'm just making more quality pitches early in at bats this year and it's just been helping me a lot," L...

Rhys Hoskins, image- Jay Floyd First baseman Rhys Hoskins garnered some deserved attention earlier this season when he notched a 19-game hitting streak with the Double-A Reading Fightins. A 5th round draft pick in 2014 out of Sacramento State, Hoskins is still figuring some things out in his second full season of pro ball. Through 33 games this year, the 23-year-old sports a .238 average with five doubles, six home runs and 21 RBI. Last season, Hoskins was honored as an All-Star with Class A Lakewood prior to earning a promotion to Class A Advanced Clearwater. Recently, I spoke with Rhys, Phillies Nation's number 14 prospect , about how he feels regarding Double-A competition, his hit streak and his stacked team among other topics. Read ahead for that full interview. -What are your thoughts on the competition here in the Eastern League this year? Obviously, the pitchers are a little better and the teams are a little better. There's a lot more guys that you can ...

Dylan Cozens, image- Jay Floyd TRENTON- Normally a slow starter that heats up as the season moves along, Dylan Cozens is happy about his hot start this year. The 21-year-old entered this season as a career .242 hitter with an average of seven extra-base hits in the opening month of the full season. Through 33 games this year for Double-A Reading, Cozens sports a .274 average with eight doubles and an Eastern League leading 10 home runs. This year, he out-slugged his previous best April by 125 points. "I've never had a good start in the minors (till now)," Cozens said. "I always tend to pick it up and get better as I get going, so to start strong is great." Reading manager Dusty Wathan explains that the emergence of Cozens lately is a result of the player becoming better overall at the plate. "You can't teach power. It's one of those things that we talk about all the time, you can't teach it. And he has it in there, so the p...

Joseph, image- Jay Floyd If you were tuned into my Twitter feed on Thursday night or paid attention to the comments section here on Phillies Nation throughout the evening, you may have been alerted to the news of Tommy Joseph 's impending arrival to the Phillies. . @philliesnation commenter claims 2 have witnessed Tommy Joseph redirecting his luggage &himself toward Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/7GIhC1tVhX — Jay Floyd (@PhoulBallz) May 13, 2016 In the embedded tweet, I screen capped a post in the PhilliesNation.com comments section from a reader named Paul Albrecht, who stated he witnessed the talented prospect redirect his luggage from the IronPigs' bus to Philadelphia to meet the Phillies, who would be returning from a road trip. Well, confirmation came out this morning that the commenter's report was accurate and Joseph will join the Phils for their weekend series at home beginning on Friday. Joseph, 24, sports an International League leading .3...

Steve Schrenk, image- Jay Floyd Following a terrific outing in which Ricardo Pinto flirted with a no-hitter into the 7th inning in Trenton on Thursday, I spoke with his Reading Fightins pitching coach Steve Schrenk , who offered thoughts on the young hurler's effort and several other pitchers on his staff as well... -Talking about Pinto's seven shut out inning performance... You know, he gets his first win this year. He's been fighting to get one his last four outings but it's just nice to get him a win tonight. He had his good change up working for him and I like the way he pitched against a good hitting Trenton team. -Sharing more thoughts on the potential for a historic game... Obviously, you'd like to see a no-hitter. I would have loved to have seen one last night. But they hit the ball and they got their hits. I think the most important thing for me is to make sure he got that first win under his belt. I think that's important for a kid a...

Marrero, image- Jay Floyd Lakewood infielder Emmanuel Marrero was named Phillies minor league player of the week for the period ending May 8th.  The 22-year-old Puerto Rico native wrapped up the week with three straight multi-hit games and went 12-for-24 (.500 avg) with three doubles and four RBI in six games last week for Class A Lakewood.  Recently, I spoke with the switch-hitter about his success at the top of the order that has him batting .327 overall in 27 contests for the BlueClaws. -Marrero offered his thoughts on being successful at the plate... It's working early.  I've been getting good pitches to hit and it's been fun, you know? -Speaking on what has contributed to the increased production (batted .182 at the same level last season)... Yes, I work a lot with (hitting coach Nelson) Prada on hitting line drives and staying in the game. -Commenting on if anyone else has been of considerable help with the improvements he has made... I played wi...

Tommy Joseph, image- Jay Floyd The standout player on any hotlist of late should be the man that I receive daily tweets from fans about, asking when he’ll be called up to replace Darin Ruf or Philadelphia legend Ryan Howard . The man who was recently an afterthought or a player most fans thought was a fizzled out prospect who had been ravaged by concussions. The player that had to abandon his catching position due to those injuries and moved elsewhere on the diamond in order to continue his career. The guy that was acquired from the Giants in a trade for Hunter Pence back in 2012, Tommy Joseph . The 24-year-old first baseman/designated hitter has been on fire, excelling at the plate all season. In 23 games for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, he sports a .392 average and a 1.126 OPS, both of which lead the Triple-A International League. Joseph a right-handed hitter, has slammed seven doubles and six homers while driving in a team-best 17 runs. He’s playing like someone very deser...

Fresh off a series loss on the road in St. Louis that saw the cruising Phillies (16-13) drop three of four, the team heads south to take on the division rival Marlins (15-12) in the three-game set this weekend. The Phils had been winners of 15 of their last 21 games prior to visiting the Cardinals. Now, they'll look to get back on the winning track in Miami. This will be the first meeting between the two clubs this season. Friday, 7:10 PM. RHP Vince Velasquez (4-1, 1.44 ERA) vs. LHP Wei-Yin Chen (2-1, 4.26 ERA). In two road starts this season, Velasquez has a 2-0 record with a 2.25 ERA. Velasquez's .164 batting average against ranks 6th best in MLB so far this season. He has not allowed a run in three of his five outings this season. Chen threw eight shutout innings in his lone career start against the Phillies last June. Chen sports a 4.91 ERA in three home starts this season. Saturday, 7:10 PM. RHP Jeremy Hellickson (2-2, 4.88 ERA) vs. RHP Tom Koehler (2...

Mitch Gueller, image- Jay Floyd A supplemental opening round pick in the 2012 draft (54th overall), righty pitcher Mitch Gueller has taken a considerable amount of time to reach a full-season level of pro ball. This year he made that jump and opened the season with Class A Lakewood. The six-foot-three 220-pounder has struggled somewhat in the early going, posting a 0-1 record with a 9.58 ERA through three starts. He entered 2016 fresh off a strong campaign last year with short-season A level Williamsport, where he helped lead the team to the playoffs with his 10-1 record, 2.23 ERA and .229 batting average against in 12 starts. Last week I spoke with the 22-year-old about his time table for reaching Lakewood, his pitch repertoire, his BlueClaws team, New Jersey and more. Read ahead for that full interview. -Some people would feel that after you were drafted you took a long time to reach Lakewood. How would you reply to that type of assertion? That's true, I guess. I wou...

Shawn Williams The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws have been exciting to watch this season, despite a disappointing 6-16 overall record thus far this season. This week I spoke with team skipper Shawn Williams about several talented young prospects such as righty pitcher Shane Watson , outfielder Jose Pujols and infielder Josh Tobias . Additionally, I asked him about the injuries his team has dealt with so far in the early going. Read ahead for the exclusive comments. -The BlueClaws have had quite a few injuries with some key offensive contributors like Deivi Grullon , Zach Coppola and Cornelius Randolph missing time. How is the team able to deal with this kind of shake up? For me, it gives an opportunity for a lot of these other guys to get a chance and they've taken full advantage of it and we've still-- I mean, we've been swinging the bats well overall all season and, like I said, it's giving them a chance to get in there and show what they can do and they...