PhoulBallz.com

On Tuesday, Minor League Baseball announced that its 2020 season would be cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic . For me, it's worth mentioning that supporters of my work through Patreon got that news six weeks ago. Per a press release from the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, team general manager Kurt Landes had this to say: It’s with great disappointment and sadness to inform you that the IronPigs 2020 season has been officially cancelled. Earlier today, Major League Baseball informed Minor League Baseball that it will not be providing its Minor League affiliates with players for the 2020 season. As such, there will not be a 2020 Minor League season. On behalf of the entire IronPigs organization, I promise that when the 2021 season arrives it will be our best season ever. More promotions, more fun and more entertainment. We’ll honor our front-line heroes, recognize our essential workers and heal together – all while taking in our national pastime. From a

As was announced last week , Major League Baseball is set to return from hiatus in July with each team permitted to designate a player pool of up to 60 individuals that can play in games. Via Twitter on Sunday night, the Phillies announced their collection of talent that will be able to take the field in red pinstripes this year. Ready for Summer Camp. #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/om4nTEFocY — Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 29, 2020 Included on the Phils' list of player that will be in the big leagues or on the club's taxi squad, are the top two prospects in the organization, righty hurler Spencer Howard and corner infielder Alec Bohm . Spencer Howard, image- Jay Floyd Howard, who is known for his fastball that reaches triple digits pitched last year in the Arizona Fall League, where he faced many of baseball's top minor league talents. In six appearances for Scottsdale, the 23-year-old notched a 1-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Ad

Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this post.  Thank you.   Mike Ventola, image- Jay Floyd Mike Ventola has spent nearly a decade broadcasting in the developmental ranks for the Phillies organization.  He's also worked for the Southern Illinois Miners, the Augusta Greenjackets, New Jersey Institute of Technology calling women's basketball and the Danny Bonaduce Morning Show. Currently the Manager of Media Relations for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Ventola previously called games for five seasons with the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils. Recently, "Mikey V." took time to answer interview questions for me and offered some insight on his career path, the appeal of broadcasting, his current role with the IronPigs, what he's missing most this year during the baseball hi

The following  post originally appeared on my Patreon page, https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz .  In order to get breaking news, exclusive interviews, early access and other content, please consider supporting my work there for just $5 per month. The long awaited announcement of a return for Major League Baseball came on Tuesday, as the league and the players have come to terms on a 60-game regular season schedule set to begin on either July 23rd or July 24th. The announcement comes on the heels of months-long negotiations between the two sides, as they struggled to agree on a way to safely come back from the Coronavirus related hiatus. With some rule tweaks, MLB will proceed despite considerable rises in COVID-19 cases in Arizona, Texas and Florida, where many games will be played. Rule changes include: The National League will use the designated hitter. The trading deadline will be August 31st. Much like the method used in the minor leagues in recent years, each fram

I mentioned in my recent draft picks post that I'd be publishing the latest Hittin' Season podcast, in which I chat about the Phillies' draft results and the lack of a minor league season this year, after it became available.  I wasn't having luck with getting the embedded player for just that episode posted on the site here.  So, below, you'll find a description of the episode as well as a link to be able to stream the show, hosted by John Stolnis.  I hope you dig it. On Episode 390 of Hittin' Season, host John Stolnis breaks down the much-shorter 2020 MLB Draft for the Phillies with Jay Floyd of  PhoulBallz.com. Also, comments by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred about the March 26 agreement raise eyebrows and ESPN's Karl Ravech pushes back about the negotiations, and another edition of This Week in Phillies  History!  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hittin-season-390-phillies-draft-recap-w-jay-floyd/id1015394113?i=1000477739512

Dylan Cozens, image- Jay Floyd Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this post.  Thank you. Last week, as he rang in his 26th birthday, Dylan Cozens wasn't celebrating.  Instead, he took to the streets in the midst of rioting to protect local businesses in his native Scottsdale, AZ. After 1:00 AM, Cozens, a former Phillies outfield prospect and current Rays minor leaguer, caught a glimpse of some rowdy happening on Facebook Live.  Posts showed violence and thievery and the former second round draft selection wasn't going to let it continue.  "When I saw what they were doing and the reason behind it, I decided to try and stop it because it wasn't right. It had nothing to do with Black Lives Matter.  It was a hate crime to go and try to destroy businesses and loot and hurt peopl

The 2020 MLB amateur draft is complete and the Phillies selected a nice collection of talent. In the face of the global pandemic, Major League Baseball chose to shorten this year's draft, as a cost-cutting measure, from 40 to five rounds.  Despite the abbreviated draft this year, there is plenty to be excited about. Following the first round on Wednesday, in which the Phils selected high school hurler Mick Abel, the team waited until the third round to make their next selection.  They had to surrender their second round selection after signing qualified free agent Zack Wheeler last off-season. On Thursday with their third round pick the Phils chose college junior shortstop Casey Martin.  Projected as a borderline first rounder, the righty hitting 21-year-old notched a .311/.393/.545 slash line with 30 homers, 24 steals and 112 RBI in 143 games through his college career at Arkansas.  A super talent, Martin was a collegiate freshman All-American two years ago.  He's proj

Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this post.  Thank you. With the 15th overall selection in the 2002 MLB Amateur Draft, the Phillies chose right-handed pitcher Mick Abel out of Jesuit High School in Oregon.  The 18-year-old was widely ranked as the top high school pitcher in this year's draft. Per MLB.com, based on his build, arm strength and repertoire, he's drawn comparisons to Stephen Strasburg and Mike Soroka. Abel is the first high school pitcher from Oregon taken in the first round since the 1994 draft when the Kansas City chose Matt Smith. Due to the global Coronavirus pandemic, Abel did not pitch competitively in school this year.  However, he has been throwing bullpen session to Orioles prospect and last year's top overall draft pick Adley Rutschman, a former Oregon State b

Aaron Brown, image- Jay Floyd Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this post.  Thank you. Aaron Brown was released last Friday after nearly six years in the Phillies organization. Brown, the Phils' 3rd round draft selection in 2014 out of Pepperdine, was primarily an outfielder after turning pro.  A two-way player in college, Brown switched to pitching in 2017 after struggling on offense (.224/.313/.360) at the Double-A level. A dominant hurler in college, Brown posted a 13-1 record along with a 1.95 ERA in 17 starts in 2014.  A solid performer on the minor league mound as well, the California native notched a 5-4 record with a pair of saves, a 3.82 ERA along with an 11.0 K/9 mark in 45 relief appearances for the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils last season. With free agency on the horizo

Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this post.  Thank you. It has been multiple weeks since I reported on my Patreon page that a cancellation of the 2020 minor league season is likely as a result of the global pandemic. Despite that, some minor leaguers staying active will be necessary in order to keep players ready in order to supplement each big league roster as needs and injuries arise.  That "taxi squad" could possibly travel with the team and play against the big league opponents' minor leaguers or they could remain stationed at a single location in order to play intrasquad games. This week, Baseball America has reported that in order to make up for the lost playing time, a plan being considered is to allow each of the 30 organizations to send a roster of their own prospects t

Leibrandt w/ Reading in 2017, image-Jay Floyd Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this post.  Thank you. On Monday I learned that roughly two dozen Phillies minor leaguers were released over the weekend as the organization prepares for this year's amateur draft. Via sources, I quickly confirmed a few of the individuals, namely righty hitting outfielder Ben Aklinski along with lefty pitcher Brandon Leibrandt .  I also communicated with lefty reliever Aaron Brown , who confirmed to be that he had been released by the organization. Aklinski, 23, with the Phils' 32nd round draft pick in 2018.  He notched a .560 OPS last year with Class A Advanced Clearwater.   Leibrandt had been out of action since July of 2018 after undergoing Tommy John surgery.  The 27-year-old was a 6th round pick i

So far we’ve gone almost two fiscal quarters with no baseball. It’s crazy. Coronavirus robbed us of the first part of the MLB season like Ricky Henderson stolen bases in the '80s. But the delayed start to the 2020 MLB season is almost over. It looks like the league is planning on getting back up and running by mid-June . The logistics are still getting worked out. It seems that there will be a limited number of states where games will be played and of course, there'll be no live audience. But hey, televised baseball is better than nothing. In fact, it’s something that any American sports fan needs right about now. Plus … fantasy baseball to kill some lockdown time. So, who are the favorites to win the World Series if and when the season gets going? Let’s look at the world series odds from SportsbookReview and talk about the top contenders. The exact odds vary depending on the sportsbook you’re looking at, but regardless, three teams stand on top of the boards as the f