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Showing posts from August, 2016

Threshers Quotables: OF Jiandido Tromp talks recent success

Tromp, image- Jay Floyd Clearwater Threshers outfielder Jiandido Tromp has been a key contributor as he helps to lead his team's offense in the chase of a Florida State League playoff berth. With seven games remaining in the regular season schedule, the Threshers are three games behind division leading Dunedin for the second half North division title. In 54 games since he was promoted to Class A Advanced Clearwater in June, the 22-year-old Aruba native sports a .242 average with 12 doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 31 RBI. This week I spoke with the righty batting Tromp about how he's helping make Clearwater great again with his recent success (seven RBI in the last four games), the team's postseason hopes and more. Read ahead for that quick interview. - You are enjoying some solid success here in August. What do you attribute to the improved offense recently? Adjustments. Knowing how they're trying to pitch you to get you out, staying more to th

Minor League Notebook: Injuries and Playoff Races

In the midst of several playoff races, a handful of injuries popped up at multiple levels over the weekend. Williams, image- Jay Floyd For Triple-A Lehigh Valley, lefty batting outfielder Nick Williams was struck in the leg by a pitch in the first inning on Saturday and did not take the field in that contest after coming around to score in the frame. As I reported on Twitter, Williams should return to action soon and a stint on the disabled list won't be required, according to the 22-year-old, who sports a .265 average with 12 homers and 62 RBI in 118 games this season for the IronPigs. Nick Williams says pitch hit him in awkward spot & "dead legged" him- Instant swelling. Thinks he should be good to go tomorrow. #PigsFly — Jay Floyd (@PhoulBallz) August 28, 2016 The IronPigs appear to be in line for a Wild Card berth in the International League playoffs as they are four games behind division leading Scranton and 4 1/2 games ahead of third place Rochest

Report: Catching prospect Alfaro promoted to Phils

On Thursday night, Yahoo Sports reporter Jeff Passan reported that catching prospect Jorge Afaro would be making his way to the big leagues and joining the Phillies, according to a source. Source: Jorge Alfaro is coming up for Phillies. One of key players in Cole Hamels trade return, Alfaro is a rocket-armed, big-power catcher. — Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 26, 2016 Alfaro, image- Jay Floyd Alfaro, a 23-year-old righty slugger, posted a .279 average with 13 home runs and 61 RBI in 90 games for the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils this season. The six-foot-two 225-pound Colombian was acquired last summer from Texas as part of the Cole Hamels trade. An All-Star in the Eastern League this year, Alfaro was the subject of a feature on PhilliesNation just last month. A teammate of Alfaro's (I will not state who that was) tweeted a remark, quoting Passan's tweet on the topic, confirming the promotion, but later deleted his own congratulatory comment, likely aft

The Constantly Injured Roman Quinn Responding Positively with Adaptability

Last week, Roman Quinn threw out three base runners in his first double-A start in right field. Quinn jokingly said to Dusty Wathan, the Reading manager, that the position remains his favorite. Two years ago, Quinn decided to shift to center fielder from shortstop. Currently, he is still in the process of learning the best tactics of playing left and right fields even with the Phillies plan of adding flexibility to his game. Since the rosters might expand come September, Quinn could head to the majors. Even as  baseball predictions take note of such changes, by now, the Phillies have two players contesting for the center position. Wathan expressed that having a player go up there without letting them play on the left or right field is not acceptable. The 23-year-old Quinn succumbed to a strained muscle injury in June just as soon as he had begun to train for the corner outfield positions. He has missed a couple of games in the fourth consecutive season thanks to recur

PN Interview: Threshers SP Shane Watson

Shane Watson, image- Jay Floyd Righty starter Shane Watson is quietly having a good season. Following a successful first seven starts to his season, the 23-year-old, who was the Phillies' top draft selection in 2012, earned a promotion and has looked solid helping Clearwater push into playoff contention in the second half. Overall in 20 combined starts for Class A Lakewood and Class A Advanced Clearwater, the six-foot-four 235-pounder sports a 6-7 record with a 3.76 ERA while striking out 88 and walking 38 in 105 1/3 innings through 20 starts. Watson, who missed two years while recovering from two shoulder surgeries, took time this week to chat about his efforts this season, the Threshers' playoff hopes, his recent stint on the disabled list, his 2015 drug suspension and more. Read ahead for that full interview. -I wanted to ask you about your disabled list stint in July, because you mentioned to me at that time that it was diabetes related. Was there fatigue, o

Series Preview: Dodgers at Phillies, Aug 16-18

Chase Utley, image- Jay Floyd When the Dodgers (65-52) come to town to take on the Phillies (56-63) in a three-game set, it will mark the return of one of the home organization's most beloved players when Chase Utley makes his first return to Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park since last August when he was traded to Los Angeles. As a member of the Phillies, Utley became a six-time All-Star and helped the Phillies win the World Series in 2008. Over 13 season with the Phils, the team's 1st round draft pick from 2000 batted .282 with 233 homers and 916 RBI. Utley will hope to help his current club maintain their lead in the National League Wild Card race when the teams open their series on Tuesday. Read ahead for a complete rundown on the pitching match ups with loads more stats from this series. Tuesday, 7:05PM. Kenta Maeda (11-7, 3.31 ERA) vs. Vince Velasquez (8-4, 3.94 ERA). Maeda, a 28-year-old righty, has a 7-2 record with a 3.28 ERA in 11 road star

PhoulBallz Interview: Manager Shawn Williams talks BlueClaws

Shawn Williams, image- Jay Floyd Recently, I sat down with Class A Lakewood BlueClaws manager Shawn Williams to ask about several of his team's rising prospects. Among the topics of discussion were impressive lefty reliever Zach Morris , well regarded backstop Deivi Grullon , outfielder Jose Pujols and several others. Read ahead for that full interview. -Zach Morris has been so consistent for this team dating back to late April, with an ERA under one during that stretch. What are your thoughts on him? I mean he’s been outstanding all year. He’s done every single role for us, whether it’s setting up, closing, he’s been huge for us when he’s picked up three or four innings he’s saved out bullpen. All around he’s done an outstanding job to help us and help our bullpen. -With other guys performing well and moving up, is there something that Zach is missing or needs to be doing to earn a promotion? I think it’s more that there are a lot of guys doing well up above, so it’s

Lakewood's Randolph looking toward post-season

C Randolph, image- Jay Floyd The Phillies’ top draft pick from 2015, Cornelius “C” Randolph, is back in the swing of things following an injury and is helping to lead the first place Lakewood BlueClaws toward a possible postseason berth. After missing more than two months with a shoulder/back strain, the 19-year-old outfielder is beginning to heat up on offensive. Entering action on Wednesday, Randolph was batting .290 in nine August games and sported a five game hitting streak. With their win and the Hagerstown Suns’ (Nationals affiliate) loss on Tuesday night, the BlueClaws took over first place in the South Atlantic League’s Northern Division, leading the first-half division champions by ½ game. Randolph points out that he and his teammates are actively paying attention to the standings and the out-of-town scoreboard on a nightly basis. In 39 games this season with Class A Lakelwood, the five-foot-11 205-pounder is batting .255 with seven doubles, a home run and 13 RBI.

PhoulBallz Interview: Lakewood LHP Zach Morris

Zach Morris, image- Jay Floyd Entering this week, lefty reliever Zach Morris had allowed just two earned runs over 31 games dating back to April 27th this season for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. Over that stretch, the six-foot-five 245-pounder tallied a 7-1 record with five saves and a 0.43 ERA. Drafted out of Maryland by the Phillies in the 24th round last year, the 23-year-old has posted an overall record of 12-3 with a 2.33 ERA and seven saves in 54 games thus far as a pro. This week, I sat down with Zach, who spoke about his tremendous hot streak, his familiar name, his team's chances at reaching the post-season and plenty more. Read ahead for that interview. -You've been doing very well and have gotten some attention for your efforts out there. Talk about the great stretch of success you had here this season. It's been fun. Obviously, it's not all me. We've had good defense and the guys, with the defense we have, it's easy. You just know if

Reading's Cozens displays impressive offense

Dylan Cozens, image- Jay Floyd Following a three homer effort in which he also added a triple on Wednesday, slugging outfielder Dylan Cozens launched a pair of long balls and another triple to help the Double-A Reading Fightins notch their third straight win with a 12-8 victory over Bowie on Thursday. The remarkable effort was capped off by Cozens' go-ahead grand slam in the 8th inning. It gave the 22-year-old 12 RBI in the two games and 101 RBI on the season. As if the power numbers weren't enough, the two triples were hits that many other players might have only gotten two bases on and he even stole a base on Wednesday, giving him 18 in 19 attempts this year. "It was some of the best two days of my life," Cozens said via text message. The six-foot-six 235-pound lefty batter was the Phillies' 2nd round draft selection in 2012. Cozens' teammate first baseman Rhys Hoskins kept pace with two homers of his own on Thursday, his 32nd and 33rd to