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On Friday in Clearwater, the Phillies blew a sizable lead, walking six batters in the 8th and 9th innings combined, but did not quit and held on to lock down a shocking win over the Braves by a score of 12-11. Early on, third baseman Maikel Franco was the top offensive performer for the Phils, as he went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI. The strong effort takes Franco's spring average to .364. Expect to see a lot of this from @MaikelFranco7 this season: https://t.co/A4CunZ2MWv #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/OAIpSyQt4O — MLB (@MLB) March 4, 2016 Flame thrower Luis Garcia struggled, as he was charged with four earned runs on five hits and two walks in one inning pitched. Hector Neris loaded the bases in the ninth and walked in a run before the team called on youngster Edubray Ramos to close out the game, clinging to a 9-8 lead. Ramos would walk home the tying run and then a Darnell Sweeney throwing error, his second miscue of the day, allowed two more runs to score, ...

Aaron Altherr, image- Jay Floyd On Monday, Minor League Baseball announced that right fielder Aaron Altherr and left fielder Cord Sandberg were honored as Rawlings Gold Glove Award winners. Altherr spent time this season with Double-A Reading as well as Triple-A Lehigh Valley before he was promoted to the majors. He was perfect in 107 games in the field, recording 279 chances and eight assists without an error. The 24-year-old was a 9th round draft choice by the Phils in 2009. The 20-year-old Sandberg, who was the Phils' 3rd round draft selection in 2013, recorded a .983 fielding percentage in 120 games for Class A Lakewood. Sandberg had 232 chances, recording 13 assists. According to a release, players must have participated in one of the 10 domestic-based, full-season leagues, and shown outstanding defensive skills to be eligible to receive the Rawlings Gold Glove Award. The award was re-introduced to Minor League Baseball in 2011 after an almost 50-year hiatus...

On the heels of Chase Utley being traded to the Dodgers , the focus of the Phillies and their fans further focuses on the future. And not the immediate future. We're talking years down the line. In this Phillies Nation TV outtake, Rudy Mezzy and Jay Floyd discuss the possibilities of how the Phils' lineup could pan out in 2017 with so much talent in the minors while keeping it real, knowing the team will use some of their depth to allow themselves to bolster the offense and spend salary. The discussion ranges from names like Aaron Altherr and J.P. Crawford to a perennial MVP candidate. The segment was filmed for an upcoming episode of PNTV, but will not be used, so here it is, in the media player below, as a web exclusive.

On this week's edition of Phillies Nation Ian Riccaboni joined hosts Rachel Micali and Corey Seidman to talk about the Phillies dealing ace hurler Cole Hamels and All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon . Minor league insider Jay Floyd also joins the panel to talk about the organization's rising prospects like Aaron Altherr , Andrew Knapp and Roman Quinn as well as members of this year's draft class such as Cornelius Randolph and Kyle Martin . Also, Timothy Parker joins the show with a profile piece on the local youth baseball RBI program. Check out this week's episode in the media player below. Look for new episodes each Tuesday at 6PM on The Comcast Network with replays throughout the week on TCN and Comcast Sportsnet.

Aaron Altherr, image- Jay Floyd On Tuesday, outfielder Aaron Altherr was promoted from Double-A Reading to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The news was initially broken on Twitter by Altherr's father Frank late Monday night. In 60 games this year for the Fightins, the 24-year-old righty batter posted a .293/.371/.480 slash line with eight stolen bases. Last season, the six-foot-five 215-pounder appeared in two games with the big league Phillies. Altherr, who was a 9th round draft selection in 2009, was ranked as the Phillies' 12th best prospect this year by PhilliesNation . In May, Altherr spoke about his approach this year compared the last season, describing himself as feeling more comfortable with his swing. To make room on the IronPigs roster, the Phillies released Jayson Nix .

This week I spoke with several members of the Double-A Reading Fightins roster. Outfielder Aaron Altherr , who spent a handful of days with the big league club last year, rising prospect Roman Quinn and 2011 second round pick Harold Martinez all took time to share their thoughts on various subjects. Read ahead for those exclusive quotes. Aaron Altherr, image- Jay Floyd Aaron Altherr: -The 24-year-old spoke about what drives him in the game... I gotta get back up there this season and hopefully I can stay up there. It drives each and every one of us. That's the ultimate goal is to get up to the big leagues and produce up there. -Commenting on which players with the big club stood out as leaving an impression on him... I always looked at Utley, the way he goes about his business. And even a younger guy like Domonic Brown , you know, he'd always come up to me and talk to me and show me the ropes. Guys like that really help you get comfortable up there and kn...

Ben Lively, image- Tug Haines On Monday, Ben Lively became the second Reading Fightins hurler in three weeks to be named as the Double-A Eastern League's Pitcher of the Week. Lively, who was acquired last off-season from Cincinnati for Marlon Byrd , notched two wins along with a 2.08 ERA while striking out 16 and walking just two in 13 innings for the Fightins during the week of April 27th through May 3rd. The 23-year-old attributes his recent success to learning from his own mistakes. "I've just been working on some stuff," Lively explained. "I was all over the place my first few games, it felt like to me. I mean I did alright, but I expected to do better, so I worked harder and it paid off." According to Reading skipper Dusty Wathan , Lively is able to make improvements when and where others aren't able to, which has helped the Florida native make an impact. "The biggest thing was he went into the sixth inning (on Sunday) and that...

Joe Jordan, image- Jay Floyd Recently, I caught up with the Phillies' director of player development Joe Jordan to discuss several key subjects throughout the minor leagues. Jordan, who took over his current role following the 2011 season, commented on pitching prospects Adam Morgan and Ricardo Pinto as well as outfielders Cord Sandberg , Roman Quinn , Cam Perkins and Aaron Altherr along with catcher Tommy Joseph . Also a topic of discussion is the realignment of some minor league coaches this year plus field coordinator Doug Mansolino. Read ahead for the comments from Jordan and click here for his exclusive injury updates from last week. - Adam Morgan (0-1, 5.00 ERA in two starts) is back in action at the Triple-A level for the IronPigs. What's the outlook for Adam right now? Adam had a good camp. He just progressed all the way. We got him built up there at the end, so he was ready to go to Lehigh. Adam looks good, you know. He’s fine. He just needs to ...

Aaron Altherr, image- Jay Floyd Fresh off a season in which he made his major league debut, outfield prospect Aaron Altherr could be knocking on the door to the help the big team once again in 2015. The righty hitting Altherr entered last season with a .260 batting average with 28 home runs, 201 RBI and 103 stolen bases in 428 career games and made a solid enough impression to jump two levels when the Phillies called. After starting the 2014 season on the disabled list with a wrist injury, the six-foot-five 220-pounder took some time to heat up, but once he did in June (tallying a .392 average with five doubles, a triple, a home run and nine RBI in 13 games to start the month), the Phillies rewarded Altherr with a promotion to the big league roster, when Tony Gwynn Jr. left on bereavement after his father passed away. In two games with the Phils, Altherr went 0-for-5 with two strike outs. Overall in 127 minor league contests last season, he posted a .237 average with 14 ho...

Baseball never stops and neither does Phillies Nation. It's another weekly edition of the Phillies off-season league rundown featuring updates on players from around the globe. Read ahead for all the info with activity through Saturday. Venezuelan Winter League- Aaron Altherr, image- Jay Floyd Aaron Altherr is done with his time in Venezuela. The righty batting outfielder hit .286 with four home runs, 27 RBI and a stolen base in 31 games for Zulia. The 23-year-old played in two games with the big league Phillies this year. In 127 minor league games in 2014, the Phillies' 9th round pick in 2009 posted a .237 average with 14 HR, 59 RBI and 13 stolen bases. In 31 games with Zulia, shortstop Freddy Galvis is batting .254 with seven doubles, a triple, a homer and eight RBI. In 43 big league contests this year, the 25-year-old switch-hitter batted .176 with four home runs and 12 RBI. Elvis Araujo sports a 2-0 record with a 0.66 ERA in 11 relief outings for Zulia. Th...

It's time once again for another weekly review of Phillies players' performances and progress in off-season leagues around the globe. Dominican Winter League- Maikel Franco, image- Jay Floyd Third baseman Maikel Franco has been in a slump lately, going 3-for-27 (.111 avg) over his last seven games. One positive out of that is that two of his three hits during that time are home runs. Overall in 22 games for the Gigantes, the 22-year-old is batting .239 with six homers and 21 RBI. This year in 133 contests with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the righty hitting Franco posted a .257 batting average with 16 home runs and 78 RBI. Right-handed reliever Hector Neris has made 11 scoreless appearances for the Toros while striking out five and walking four in 8 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old appeared in one game with the Phils this year, earning a win in his big league debut. Australian Baseball League- Power hitting outfielder Dylan Cozens has a .205 average with three homer...

This week's rundown includes details on some Phillies players making their off-season league debuts including Ethan Martin , Cesar Hernandez as well as outfield prospect Dylan Cozens along with updates on key names such as Jesse Biddle , Maikel Franco and Aaron Altherr . Read ahead for all your fall/winter league updates from around the globe. Puerto Rico/ Roberto Clemente League Lefty pitcher Jesse Biddle had an alarming outing with Mayaguez on Saturday, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings while striking out four and walking two. The 23-year-old sports a 15.19 ERA in two outings in Puerto Rico. Biddle, the Phils' top draft pick in 2010, posted a 5-10 record with a 4.58 ERA in 19 starts in the minors this year. Also with Mayaguez, Jesmuel Valentin , who was acquired from the Dodgers by the Phils in the Roberto Hernandez trade this year, is 2-for-7 with an RBI in five games. The 20-year-old infielder posted a .273/.341/.412 slash line in 120 min...

Throughout the autumn and winter months, we'll be bringing you weekly roundups of how various Phillies players are performing in off-season leagues around the globe. This edition includes details on top pitching prospect Jesse Biddle 's Puerto Rico debut, OF Roman Quinn , who shined in the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game on Saturday as well as plenty more. Read ahead for all the details. Puerto Rico/ Roberto Clemente League- Jesse Biddle, image- Jay Floyd Lefty pitcher Jesse Biddle allowed two earned runs, striking out three and walking two in three innings of work in a start for Mayaguez in his season debut on Friday. The 23-year-old was the Phils' top draft choice in 2010. Biddle posted a 5-10 record with a 4.58 ERA in 19 starts in the minors this year. Also with Mayaguez, Jesmuel Valentin , who was acquired from the Dodgers by the Phils in the Roberto Hernandez trade this year, is hitless with a walk in two at bats in two games. The 20-year-old infie...

Here's another weekly roundup of how various Phillies players are performing in off-season leagues around the globe. In the Venezuelan Winter League- Cam Perkins, image- Jay Floyd With La Guaira, OF Cam Perkins has gone 2-for-12 (.167 avg) with an RBI in four contests. The 24-year-old was drafted by the Phillies in the sixth round in 2012 out of Purdue. In 126 combined games at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, Perkins posted a .271/.326/.384 slash line. In nine games with Zulia, OF Aaron Altherr is 8-for-25 (.320 avg) with two doubles, two HR and six RBI. Altherr served as a big league roster filler at times this year, going 0-for-5 in two games. The 23-year-old was a ninth round pick in 2009. Also with Zulia, OF Wilmer Oberto is batting .269 with an RBI in nine games. The 21-year-old Venezuelan split time this season between Class A full season Lakewood and short-season A level Williamsport, posting a .226/.301/.355 slash line in 75 total gam...