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Mickey Moniak, image- Jay Floyd Arizona Fall League rosters were announced this week and the Scottsdale roster is slated to feature some of the Phillies' most exciting prospects. Set to represent the Phils in the prestigious off-season league that is operated by Major League Baseball are outfielder Mickey Moniak , right-handed pitchers Spencer Howard and Connor Seabold , corner infielder Alec Bohm , shortstop Nick Maton along with left-handed hurler JoJo Romero . A previously unannounced representative from the Phillies organization that is set to see action with the Scorpions is lefty reliever Zach Warren . Howard, who was ranked by this outlet as the Phils' top prospect headed into this season, has reached Double A Reading and will likely start game one of the Eastern League divisional playoffs this coming Wednesday.  He missed time earlier this season with a shoulder strain.  In 13 combined regular season starts with Class A Advanced Clearwater and Readi

With the impending bad weather on its way toward Florida, both the remaining schedules and postseasons for the rookie level Gulf Coast League and the Class A Advanced Florida State League have been cancelled. Per a press release from Minor League Baseball, Tim Brunswick, the organization's senior vice president of baseball and business operations, said the following: "In an effort to ensure that all players, coaches and staff members have a chance to evacuate and prepare for the storm, we have decided to cancel the final two regular season games, as well as the playoffs." Forecasts have Hurricane Dorian set to make landfall over the weekend and it is classified as a Category 3 storm with the potential to worsen to a Category 4 by Monday. As a result of the expected impact the storm will have, all of Florida has been placed under a state of emergency.  The hurricane is expected to be a multi-day event. The Phillies West team was set to compete in the GCL playof

Bryson Stott, image- Jay Floyd Shortstop Bryson Stott , the Phillies' first round draft selection this year, has enjoyed a successful initial pro campaign.  En route to being recognized as an All-Star for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters the 21-year-old UNLV product has tallied a .295 average with six home runs and 25 RBI in 45 minor league contests. Last week I spoke with the lefty hitting Stott to discuss his transition to professional baseball, joining the Phillies organization and plenty more.  Read ahead for that interview.  -Obviously, your performance and the production on the field is going well, but how do you feel you have adapted to the pro life? It feels good.  You hear about the everyday grind, but you don't really believe it till you feel it. I would say that's the difference between college and the pros, is you're not practicing, you're playing games every day.  I would say that's the biggest difference.  But I'

Rookie reporter and second generation PhoulBallz correspondent Evan Floyd took his first day on the job very seriously as he sat down with Lakewood pitcher Albertus Barber to talk about the hard-hitting topics.  Included in their chat were exchanges about each of the young men's favorite dinosaurs, their favorite super heroes and most importantly their favorite baseball players plus plenty more. Barber, a 23-year-old Oklahoma native, was an undrafted free agent signed by the Phillies for a bonus of $1,000 this summer. In 15 appearances in the minors this year, the right-hander sports a 4-0 record with a 0.96 ERA, a .227 batting average against as well as a 0.87 WHIP. Check out the media player below to see these two dynamic young men hash out the important matters. HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to posts like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and bonus quotes from Kendall Simmons in the Patreon

Corbin Williams, image- Jay Floyd Corbin Williams  was the Phillies' 24th round draft selection in 2018. A year into his professional career, the 21-year-old became an All-Star in the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters. Through 53 games, the righty batting Williams has tallied a .222 batting average with three doubles, a triple, six RBI and 28 stolen bases. Last week I talked with Corbin about his All-Star nod, his trip to New York for the game, sneakers, competing for the league lead in steals and more! This interview is available exclusively for Patreon members. Head on over to Patreon.com/PhoulBallz to support my work and gain access to loads of material unseen and unavailable any place else.

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to articles like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and bonus quotes from Kendall Simmons in the Patreon version of this piece- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Simmons (center) w/ Bryson Stott (left) & Corbin Williams (right) The 26th of July stands out as a date that Kendall Simmons thinks he’ll remember for the rest of his playing career. It was on that day that his coaching staff offered some guidance that made a difference and helped the young infielder turn his season around. On that day, the talented 19-year-old was batting .169 with two home runs and nine RBI through 21 disappointing games with Class A short-season Williamsport. It was a funk that Simmons couldn’t shake until a reality check from a pair of former big leaguers allowed some things to start clicking for the second baseman/shortstop/third baseman. Crosscutters manager Pat Borders , a World Se

Simmons, Stott, O'Hoppe and Williams/ Image- Jay Floyd This week four Phillies prospects participated in the Class A short-season New York-Penn League All-Star Game and each of them were excited to have begun making their marks in professional baseball. Catcher Logan O'Hoppe , outfielder Corbin Williams , infielder Kendall Simmons as well as shortstop Bryson Stott represented the Williamsport Crosscutters and were part of the victorious Blue Team in Staten Island, NY, home of the Yankees affiliate, on Wednesday night. O'Hoppe (pronounced Oh-HOP-ee), is a local guy who hails from nearby West Islip.  The 19-year-old, said the game was attended by approximately 100 friends and family members. The righty batting O'Hoppe was a 23rd round draft selection last year.  In 44 games this year for Williamsport, he has tallied a .217 average with five home runs and 26 RBI. Williams, who grew up in Philadelphia, is batting .224 with three doubles, three RBI and a l

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to articles like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and more- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Simmons, Williams & Stott/Image- Jay Floyd In what was a mess of an event, the New York-Penn League All-Star Game was won on Wednesday night by the Blue Team, which included four Phillies prospects, over the Red team, which featured representatives from the home club, the Yankees' Staten Island squad. The score at the ballpark, shown on the scoreboards and announced to those in attendance upon completion of the contest was 7-3.  This conflicted with the account reported by multiple media outlets and the score that appeared on minor league baseball's online box score, 7-4. The start of the annual exhibition was delayed by rain, which came as a deluge during a pre-game Home Run Derby, that led to an apparent cancellation of the aforementioned competition, though that was

Albertus Barber, image- MiLB.com Right-handed reliever Albertus Barber was signed by the Phillies as an undrafted free agent this summer. Since beginning his professional career, the Oklahoma Baptist product has played at three levels in the minors, tallying a remarkable 1.23 ERA with a 3-0 record and a save through 12 appearances. Last week I talked with the 23-year-old about his path to the Phillies, working with Class A Lakewood pitching coach Matt Hockenberry, the culture within the organization, his history with the Driveline training facility, a popular New Jersey food item and plenty more.  Read ahead for that complete interview. -Your name is pretty unique.  Do you have a nickname that you go by more commonly, or no? A lot of people call me Berty. -Oh, I heard someone say that earlier and it didn't even click for me. Yeah, a lot of people call me Berty, Bertus, Albert, Albertus, Barber.  It's just whatever works for you honestly. -Alright.  Cool

Righty batting infielder Hunter Stovall joined the Phillies organization earlier this season in a trade with the Rockies for lefty hurler James Pazos.  Following the deal, Stovall, who was a 21st round draft pick last year, joined the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. In 61 games for the 'Claws, the 22-year-old Mississippi State product has tallied a .216 average with eight doubles, three triples and 19 RBI. Last week I talked with Hunter about the trade, not being an everyday player at times, his faith and tons more.  Read ahead for that interview. -You start out the year elsewhere.  What can you tell me about your season and the trade to come over to the Phillies? The trade was a surprise, of course. I mean I hadn’t even been in pro ball a year and I’m already getting traded, so it was kind of a shock. But, it is what it is, but the season this year, I haven’t got to get in there as much as I’d like, but I guess it’s just the way the Phillies work. It is what it is, but

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to articles like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and more- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Lakewood's roster sports two buzz worthy prospects right now with outfield Malvin Matos on an extremely hot streak and pitcher Francisco Morales continuing to draw plenty of interest from prospect heads. Malvin Matos, image- Jay Floyd Matos, a 22-year-old righty batter, wrapped up, on Sunday, a 17-game stretch in which he went 27-for-62 (.436 average) with five doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, nine walks and seven stolen bases.  He notched an 0-for-4 effort on Monday, but rebounded Tuesday with a pair of hits, including a solo homer, and a walk.  Morales, a 19-year-old right-hander, is one of the Phillies' most well-touted prospects. In 23 outings this year, the talented Venezuelan has posted a 4.05 ERA with a .227 batting average against and an 11.9 K/9 mark. This

JD Hammer, image- Cheryl Pursell HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL YEAR LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to my posts plus EXCLUSIVE interviews & other content- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Recently I published a feature on reliever J.D. Hammer , who spent some time with the big league Phillies before returning to the minors with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. In the piece, Hammer and the IronPigs' coaching staff speak about the righty pitcher's current path and what he's focused on to return to the majors. During my time chatting with the talented prospect he spoke on some topics that didn't make the cut in the feature.  Topics included the variance in the baseball at the upper levels, the IronPigs' catchers and more.  Read ahead for those interview excerpts. I asked Hammer about the difference in the baseball from the lower levels of the minors to Triple-A and the majors.  The variance in the balls is said to take

Herbert Iser, image- MiLB.com Herbert Iser would have already taken strides toward becoming a citizen of the United States if it wasn't for the Phillies drafting him a couple of months ago. The talented backstop was hopeful to make progress in that regard, but signed his first professional contract after he was selected in the 23rd round in this year's amateur draft got in the way. "I was in the process, but being drafted and all that stuff, I couldn't make it to the appointment I had, so hopefully in the off-season, maybe, I'll be a dual citizen with Jamaica and America," Iser said in a recent phone interview. A Citizen of Jamaica, currently, Iser's family has a remarkable background.  Not wanting to live under a dictatorship, Iser's parents, Alfredo Iser and Maria Olivero, fled Cuba for more favorable conditions in Jamaica in 1996.  A year and a half later, Herbert was born, named after his father's employer, Jamaican Minister of

Gary Jones, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to posts like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and plenty more- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Last week I sat down with Lehigh Valley IronPigs manager Gary Jones to talk about some of his team's players. Below are some excerpts from my chat with him in which he discusses backstop Deivy Grullon , lefty starting pitcher Damon Jones , infielder/outfielder Austin Listi and more. -Deivy Grullon has been a key contributor for the 'Pigs this year. An All-Star for you guys. What have you seen from Deivy this year? I mean Deivy’s doing a good job. He’s working his tail off every day. He’s improving behind the plate. The relationship with the pitchers is good. He goes out on a daily basis and those guys work and talk about the game plan, so he’s getting better and he’s doing what all these guys are doing. They’re here developi

Recently I chatted with Lehigh Valley pitching coach about his staff.  Topics included in the discussion were Ramon Rosso , Enyel De Los Santos , Cole Irvin , JoJo Romero , Josh Tols , as well as catcher Deivy Grullon and more. Read ahead for that interview... Deivy Grullon, image- Jay Floyd -Catcher Deivi Grullon is having a very good season, continuing his development.  How has Deivi been for you this year? Great. Had him for the last four years. I’ve had him for the past four years. Every year he gets better. He’s gotten better calling games. He’s gotten better working with the staff. He’s getting to know these guys. He knows a lot of them. And he’s been hitting, ripping the cover off the ball. He made the All-Star team, so—tremendous job blocking. Does a good job, I mean, some of the stuff, the new analytical stuff, he’s learning, as far as the heat maps and different things, but he’s doing a good job with them. -JoJo Romero has a rough go of it here

J.D. Hammer, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to articles like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and more- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz An expressionless stare from the seated reliever began to wear a hole in the floor following J.D. Hammer ’s most recent outing for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Teammates did not speak to him. It was processing time. It was how he will improve. Hammer, one of the Phillies’ prospects that has taken the most strides this season, is back in the Triple-A International League after a recent trade to acquire pitcher Mike Morin left Hammer without a spot on the big league roster. In nearly two months with the Phils, Hammer appeared in 20 games. He posted a 1-0 record with a 3.79 ERA, a .217 batting average against while striking out 13 and walking 12 in 19 innings. The strike out rate and walk rate aren’t gleaming and will need to improve if Hammer is to su