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Showing posts from January, 2020

2020 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #17 Infielder Nick Maton

Nick Maton, image- Jay Floyd I invite you to visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else. Drafted in the 7th round out of Lincoln Land Community College in 2017, shortstop Nick Maton has proven to be among the Phillies most promising prospects. The Illinois native was previously drafted out of high school as well, but chose not to sign.  After signing with the Phillies, he got his pro career underway with the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters in 2017.  In 58 games there, Maton sported a .252 batting average with nine doubles, a triple, two homers, 13 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He followed that up with a full-season Class A campaign in 2018.  That year he was honored as a South Atlantic League All-Star with Lakewood, where he notched a .256 average with eight home runs, 51 RBI and five steals. Las

2020 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #18 1B Darick Hall

Darick Hall, image- Jay Floyd I invite you to visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else. Building on a breakout initial full season that saw him honored as the Class A South Atlantic League's Most Valuable Player, first baseman Darick Hall continued to prove himself worthy of regard as one of the Phillies' most promising young power hitters. A 14th round draft selection in 2016, the Dallas Baptist product made his professional debut with the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters that same year. In 57 games there, Hall tallied a .282 batting average with nine home runs and 29 RBI.  His .890 OPS led the New York-Penn League. Hall, a left-handed hitter, moved up to full-season Class A in 2017 and with Lakewood, sporting a .272 average with 28 doubles, a triple, 27 home runs (team recor

2020 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #19 LHP Zach Warren

Warren w/ Lakewood in '18, image- Jay Floyd I invite you to visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else. Back to back outstanding full-season campaigns have propelled left-hander Zach Warren right into the discussion of young pitching prospects that could be able to help the big league club sooner than later. A 14th round draft selection out of the University of Tennessee in 2017, Warren, a Vineland, NJ native, grew up as a Phillies fan. He opened his professional career as a reliever with Class-A Williamsport, posting a 0-3 record with a 3.00 ERA, a .236 batting average against and a 10.9 K/9 mark in 13 appearances. The following year, he spent his 2018 campaign with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, where he was a force out of their bullpen, posting a 3-2 record with 15 saves, a 1.91 ERA along with a

Patreon Exclusive: Interview with LHP David Parkinson

Parkinson with Lakewood in 2018, image- Jay Floyd Last week I was in touch with Phillies pitching prospect David Parkinson , who was in Philadelphia in order to attend the organization's annual prospect symposium. The 24-year-old lefty led the minor leagues in ERA with his 1.45 mark in 2018 and was honored with the Paul Owens Award that same year.  In 2019 with the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils, Parkinson notched a 10-9 record with a 4.09 ERA, a .247 batting average against and an 8.9 K/9 mark in 22 starts. In the interview, Parkinson shares some thoughts about what he's up to this off-season, what addition he's focusing on making to his pitch repertoire, being in Philadelphia as part of the team's prospect event and more.  This complete piece is available exclusively for Patreon members.  I invite you to visit the page Patreon.com/PhoulBallz to support my work and gain access to content that is unavailable any place else.  Parkinson, who was the Phillies&#

2020 Phillies Prospect Countdown: #20 LHP Ethan Lindow

Ethan Lindow, image- Jay Floyd I invite you to visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work, get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else.   Lefty pitcher Ethan Lindow stood out so much among Phillies pitching prospects last year that he was honored with the Paul Owens Award, an honor bestowed annually upon the top position player and the top hurler from the organization's minor league affiliates. Selected in the 5th round of the 2017 draft as a high schooler, Lindow would sign for a reported $500,000 and swiftly began his professional career. In the Rookie level Gulf Coast League, the Georgie native would start eight contests, posting a 2-2 record witha 4.55 ERA and a .241 batting average against while striking out 34 and walking 12 batters in 27 2/3 innings pitched.  He would participate that year in the Florida Instructional League as well.  The fol

2020 Phillies Prospect Countdown: #21 middle infielder Luis Garcia

Luis Garcia, image- Jay Floyd I invite you to visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else.  Despite a down season in 2019, Phillies infield prospect Luis Garcia is still one of the organization's most promising prospects. After the team signed Garcia for a reported $2.5 million (second highest international signing in Phils history) in July of 2017, Garcia participated in the Florida Instructional League as a 16-year-old later that year. The Dominican Republic native would make his official professional debut in 2018. In the short-season Rookie level Gulf Coast League, Garcia was tops in batting average with a .369 mark.  Additionally, he posted a .433 on-base percentage with an impressive .921 OPS. The five-foot-11 170-pounder was named to the GCL’s post-season All-Star roster and was rated by

2020 Phillies Prospect Countdown: #22 LHP Kyle Dohy

Dohy with Reading in 2018, image- Jay Floyd I ask that you to head on over the Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else.   Lefty reliever Kyle Dohy has been on the fast track since joining the Phillies organization and stands out as one of the organization's most promising young prospects. A 16th round draft selection out of Citrus Community College in 2017, Dohy was quickly signed by the Phils and began his professional career that year in the Class A short-season New York-Penn League. In 13 appearances with Williamsport that year, as a 20-year-old, Dohy would post a 2-1 record with a 3.60 ERA and a .182 batting average against in 13 relief outings.  Additionally, he would strike out 22 and walk 20 in 20 innings. In 2018 Dohy really stood out, pitching at three levels, and started to make a name for hims

2020 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #23 OF Jhailyn Ortiz

Jhailyn Ortiz with Lakewood in 2018, image- Jay Floyd The Phillies signed outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz , who was the top ranked international free agent, at the age of 16 in 2015 for a reported $4 million. Teams don't make that sort of investment or shell out the largest signing bonus for an international player in organization history without a boat load of high hopes.  With four years in professional baseball down, Ortiz still has a very long way to go. The powerful Dominican Republic native made his regular season pro debut as a member of the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies in 2016. In 47 games there, Ortiz batted .231 with eight home runs, 27 RBI and eight stolen bases. In 2017 Ortiz was with the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters. He sported a .302 batting average with 15 doubles, a triple, eight homers and 30 RBI in 47 contests en route to an All-Star nod.  His .961 OPS would have been good enough to lead the league if he has notched enou

2020 Phillies Prospect Countdown: #24 LHP JoJo Romero

JoJo Romero, image- Jay Floyd Despite a lackluster 2019 season, left-handed pitcher JoJo Romero remains a promising prospect that the Phillies hope can contribute at the big league level very soon. The five-foot-11 200-pounder was the Phils’ 4th round draft selection in 2016. That year he helped Yavapai College, the same school that the Phillies drafted Kenny Giles from in 2011, clinch the JuCo World Series, leading the way with an 11-5 record, a 3.64 ERA and a 10.2 K/9 mark. He also tossed a complete game gem to earn the win in their title game. After signing with the Phillies, Romero made his professional debut as a member of the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters. There, he notched a 2-2 record with a 2.56 ERA while striking out 31 and walking 11 in 45 2/3 innings. In 2017, he got off to a terrific start with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. In 13 starts, Romero collected a 5-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and a 9.3 K/9 mark and was honored as a South Atlan

2020 Phillies Prospects Countdown: #25 LHP David Parkinson

David Parkinson, image- Jay Floyd David Parkinson used a bust-out season at Class A in 2018 to propel himself into discussions about the most promising Phillies prospects. The left-hander then followed that up in 2019 with a full season at Double-A Reading. A 12th round draft selection in 2017, Parkinson tallied an 11-6 record with a 3.10 ERA and a 7.8 K/9 mark in two college seasons at Ole Miss after transferring from junior college.  The Phillies signed him over slot money at a reported $250,000. Parkinson would open the 2018 season with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws where he led the starting staff, sporting an 8-1 record with a 1.51 ERA, a .210 batting average against, a 1.05 WHIP and a 10.9 K/9 mark. Promoted to Class A Advanced Clearwater in August, Parkinson continued to display mastery on the mound.  In five appearances (four starts) with the Threshers, the Virginia native posted a 3-0 record, a 1.24 ERA as well as a .175 batting average against and a 0.90 W

Patreon Exclusive: Some news and notes from the farm

As another baseball season draws near, it's time for the frequency of content to pick back up.  My latest post for Patreon supporters features details on next week's prospect symposium in Philadelphia, early arrivals for spring training in Clearwater, some updates on MLB's Rookie Orientation happening this week and more!  These are details I won't publish elsewhere. Please consider supporting my work by becoming a patron via my Patreon page in order to enjoy exclusive news and updates as well as interviews, plus get early access to virtually all of my other content. 

2020 Phillies Prospect Countdown Prelude

I encourage you to head on over the Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else.   Each winter I compile prospect rankings and count down the Phillies organization’s top 25 minor league players. In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting reviews for each of the top developmental talents that appear to have the brightest futures for the Phils organization. Taken into consideration when compiling the list is age, minor league performance relative to levels played to date, value to the organization as well as each player's future potential along with proximity to the big leagues. These rankings will not include players over the age of 25 or individuals that have already spent lengthy stretches in the big leagues. For example, hurlers such as Edgar Garcia and Cole Irvin as well as outfielder Adam Haseley will n

PhoulBallz Interview: Off-season Check In with LHP Keylan Killgore

Keylan Killgore, image- @BaseballBetsy Lefty pitcher Keylan Killgore had an outstanding season in 2019.  In his first full professional season, the 23-year-old notched a 1-3 record with 11 saves, a 3.57 ERA, a .234 batting average against as well as a 10.4 K/9 mark in 36 relief outings with Class A Advanced Clearwater. As one of the Threshers' primary relievers, the six-foot-three 185-pounder contributed in recording a combined no-hitter in June , along with teammates Kyle Glogoski and Tyler Carr. Killgore, a Wichita State product, was selected by the Phillies in the 17th round of the 2018 draft. Last month, Keylan took time to answer some questions from me about his off-season, workout routine, being a newlywed and more.  Read ahead for that interview. -What have you been up to since the season wrapped up? Did you participate in any of the Phillies' activities or seminars in Clearwater? I've really tried to spend as much time with family as possible. I got