Phillies minor league hot list, 4/22/18

Here is a quick run down of how the Phillies' minor league clubs have fared through the first two weeks or so of the 2018 regular season.

Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs (7-7 record, 4th place in International League North Division)-

Mitch Walding with Reading last season, image- Jay Floyd

Third baseman Mitch Walding is off to a strong start for the 'Pigs. The 25-year-old is batting .300 with four doubles, two home runs, six RBI and and eight walks through 14 games played. The lefty batter was a 5th round draft selection by the Phils in 2011.

Hurler Enyel De Los Santos, acquired last off-season from San Diego in a trade for Freddy Galvis, has been very solid in the IronPigs' rotation. Through three starts, the right-hander has tallied a 1-0 record with a 1.98 ERA while striking out 22 and walking five in 13 2/3 innings pitched.

Outfielder Dylan Cozens entered action on Saturday batting .273, but an 0-for-4 night dropped the average to .250. In 14 games, the lefty masher has two doubles, three homers, nine RBI and five steals. Cozens was a 2nd round pick in 2012.

Double-A Reading Fightin Phils (6-10 record, last place in the Eastern League Eastern Division)-

Corner infielder Damek Tomscha is leading the club's offense, batting .315 with a pair of homers and 11 RBI in 16 games. The 26-year-old, who was the Phillies' 11th round draft selection in 2014 out of Auburn, is also among the league leaders in OPS with a .906 mark.

Shortstop Malquin Canelo is doing well in the early going, batting .286 with five doubles, two triples, a home run, five RBI and two steals in 14 contests. The 23-year-old righty batter is a native of the Dominican Republic.

In three starts, right-hander Harold Arauz has posted a 1-0 record with a 3.38 ERA while striking out 20 and walking six in 16 innings. Arauz, a Panama native, was acquired from Houston in the Ken Giles trade in 2015.

Reliever Seranthony Dominguez has looked very good for the Fightins, sporting a 1-2 record with a 2.45 ERA while striking out 17 and walking two in 11 innings pitched. Opponents are batting .200 against the promising Dominican.

Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers (4-12 record, last place in Florida State League North Division)-

Last year's 1st round draft pick Adam Haseley leads the team in hits with 16. Overall in 15 games, the lefty batting 22-year-old OF sports a .254 batting average with a home run, nine RBI and two stolen bases.

Lefty pitcher McKenzie Mills has been the bright spot of the starting staff to date for the Threshers. The 22-year-old has an 0-1 record with a 3.18 ERA and sports a .227 batting average against. He has struck out 13 and walked none in 17 innings pitched. Mills was acquired from Washington last season in a trade for Howie Kendrick.

Class A Lakewood BlueClaws (8-8 record, 5th place in South Atlantic League Northern Division)-

Will Stewart (right), image- Jay Floyd

Pitcher Will Stewart has looked strong, posting a 2-0 record with a 1.69 ERA while striking out 12 and walking one in 16 innings over three starts. The 20-year-old lefty was a 20th round draft pick by the Phils in 2015.

Infielder Nick Maton, a 7th round draft pick last year, has posted a .292 average with two homers and five RBI in 13 games for the BlueClaws. The lefty batter is 21 years old and primarily plays shortstop.

Outfielder Simon Muzziotti had been a catalyst for the team's offense before landing on the disabled list last week. The 19-year-old is batting .304 with four doubles, six RBI and two steals in 11 games. The lefty batters is a native of Venezuela.

Kendrick & LaGrossa- Second Phils/Survivor Marriage

On Saturday, Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick married 3-time Survivor contestant and former Flyers employee Stephenie LaGrossa. The couple exchanged vows in front of 105 guests at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California. Their special day featured many personalized aspects, including cocktail hour snacks modeled in the fashion of mini Philly cheesesteaks, as well as the couple's two dogs, Bebe and Champ, serving as flower girl and ring bearer during the ceremony. The pets wore a white dress and a tuxedo, respectively. Kendrick is now the second Phillies pitcher to marry a former contestant of the CBS reality competition program, as lefty Cole Hamels wedded Heidi Strobel, who appeared on the sixth season of Survivor, in 2007. _________________________________________________________________ Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter, for updates, stats and info, by clicking HERE . Photos- People.com

Michael Taylor Q&A

Michael Taylor is currently leading the Reading Phillies' offense and is near the top of the Eastern League in most stat categories (3rd in batting avg- .342, 3rd in HR- 14, tied for second in RBI- 55, 2nd in OPS.- .994, tied for 1st in runs scored- 49, tied for 1st in hits...). The 23 year old Taylor is 6 feet 6 inches tall and has quickly grabbed the attention of phans and media alike as a top prospect to watch. I spoke with Mike Taylor over the weekend, and here is that interview. With all the big stats and being among the league leaders in so many categories, do you think you're ready for the next step? It's kind of a difficult question. Do you have anything left to prove here? There's always something to prove. There's stuff to prove every game. I mean that's one thing that's very interesting about this game. It's such a numbers oriented game. You're only as good as your last "whatever statistical category that someone's valuing". ...

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

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