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The Phillies initiated steps to begin a necessary makeover of their troubling bullpen on Friday as the team made two trades to help improve the relief corps that had posted MLB's worst ERA (8.07) heading into action that day. In a pair of trades, the Phillies acquired right-hander David Hale from the Yankees as well as righties Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree from the Red Sox.  Originally a 3rd round draft pick out of Princeton University by the Braves in 2009, Hale has posted a 4.23 ERA with a 6.0 K/9 mark and a 1.43 WHIP in 95 career big league appearances.  Hale had been designated for assignment recently by the Yankees. In 195 big league games dating back to 2013 Workman has notched a 24-16 record with 20 saves, a 3.75 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Workman ranked first in MLB last year in opponents' xSLG (.238), which measures exit velocity and launch angle of each batted ball in an effort to remove defense and ballpark factors from the equation.   Hembree sports a 3.6...

For early access to material such as this and exclusive access to other content like player interviews, consider supporting my work with subscribing on Patreon.com/PhoulBallz . With several Phillies pitching prospects making their big league debuts recently and the performance of most of the big league 'pen pieces not impressing many, fans are likely to be wondering, "Who's next?" Some talented young hurlers have earned promotions to join the major league roster thus far in the shortened season.  Names like Ramon Rosso , Connor Brogdon , Spencer Howard and JoJo Romero have gotten the call.   Rosso, who tallied a 2.80 ERA and a 10.1 K/9 mark in 62 career minor league outings, primarily as a starter, has been underwhelming for the Phils, but shows potential of figuring things out.  In four relief appearances, the 24-year-old has allowed three earned runs with four strike outs and three walks over 4 2/3 innings. Brogdon, 25, made his major league debut last week, al...

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...

Addison Russ, image- Jay Floyd Righty hurler Addison Russ looked great for the Phillies in this year's spring exhibition season.  Due to the pro sports hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, his efforts were cut short, however. In six relief appearances this spring the 25-year-old notched a 1-0 record, a 1.59 ERA and a .263 batting average against. Last year in 55 appearances with Double-A Reading, Russ, who was the Phillies' 19th round draft selection out of Houston Baptist in 2017, posted a 5-6 record with 22 saves, a 2.54 ERA and a 12.9 K/9 mark.  Anxious for baseball to get rolling again, Russ talked with me this week, offering feedback on his time around the big league team this spring, his production in Grapefruit League play, his uniform number, how the break in the schedule impacts his progress and more. Read ahead for remarks and insight from Russ. - What did you do over the off-season to prepare for the 2020 campaign? And did the invitation to b...

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 ...

For the second straight year a Reading Fightin Phils slugger has won the Double-A Eastern League All-Star Home Run Derby.  Slugging first baseman Darick Hall locked down the walk-off victory in Richmond, VA on Tuesday night. Hall, a lefty batting prospect, tallied 175 points (25 points per homer with distance bonuses) in a 90 second round to cement the title.  He sent a deep fly out to right-center field to clinch the victory. The 23-year-old will be among four players slated to represent Reading in Wednesday's EL All-Star Game. Hall, the Phillies' 14th round draft selection from 2016, leads the league in RBI with 55 and sports a .240 average with 14 home runs in 83 games thus far this season. Congrats to @ReadingFightins ' Darick Hall, the 2019 Eastern League Home Run Derby overall champion! pic.twitter.com/GX8IcuMF0n — Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) July 10, 2019 Last year, catcher Deivy Grullon was victorious in the EL Home Run Derby in Trenton...

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to my posts and EXCLUSIVE interviews- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Mickey Moniak, image- Jay Floyd The Double-A Eastern League All-Star rosters were announced on Monday and four Reading Fightin Phils have been honored and will represent the Eastern division. Righty pitchers Adonis Medina and Addison Russ will be joined by slugging first baseman Darick Hall and outfielder Mickey Moniak when the game takes place on Wednesday, July 10th in Richmond, VA. Medina, 22, has been on a roll of late and closed out the first half of the season with five straight wins, notching a 1.24 ERA over that stretch.  In 12 starts for Reading, the Domincan Republic native sports a 5-3 record with a 4.05 ERA and a .235 batting average against. Russ, 24, has been consistent as the team's closer this year, tallying a 1-3 record with 10 saves, a 1.57 ERA and a 12.9 K/9 mark...

Here's a quick rundown of some top performers from around the Phillies' full season minor league clubs. Glogoski, image- Jay Floyd Of late Class A Lakewood has been led by pitcher Kyle Glogoski .  The native New Zealander has a 3-1 record with a 0.96 ERA, a .123 batting average against and a 15.9 K/9 mark in six appearances.  Last weekend I interview the promising 20-year-old.  Click here to listen to that interview. Corner infielder Luke Miller has performed very well in seven games since joining the BlueClaws.  The 22-year-old has tallied a .308 batting average with a double, a home run, four RBI and four walks.  Miller, 22, was the Phillies' 22nd round draft choice last year out of Indiana.  Left-hander Ethan Lindow had a remarkable May, posting a 2.96 ERA and a .221 batting average against in six appearances.  The Georgia native was a 5th round draft pick in 2017 by the Phillies.  Overall with the BlueClaws, the 20-year-old sport...

The Lakewood BlueClaws are sending six players to the Class A South Atlantic League All-Star Game, slated to be played on Tuesday evening at 7:05pm at First National Bank Field in Greensboro, NC. Following the last regular season game of the first half on Sunday, I talked with a pair of those BlueClaws All-Stars, third baseman Jake Scheiner and relief pitcher Addison Russ about representing their team in the mid-season exhibition, among some other things. Read ahead for quotes galore from this talented twosome. Jake Scheiner... -Some of the offensive guys I've talked to on the team have cited concern over a bit of under-performing at times this season.  Do you feel like you've performed up to personal expectations you may have had coming into the season? Yeah.  I felt like my numbers didn't show well in the beginning.  But, I stuck with my approach and kept it going and it led me to getting a nominated for the All-Star Game.  I think our whole line up ...

David Parkinson, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ-- It had been roughly four and a half hours since the Lakewood BlueClaws did what they needed to do on Sunday before they found out their first half fate.  With a start time of 5:05 PM for Kannapolis (White Sox affiliate), who were ahead of the BlueClaws in the Class A South Atlantic League North Division standings by .003 percentage points, it would be a few anxious hours, or more, until a trip to the 2018 postseason would be decided. Greensboro, the Marlins affiliate managed by former Phillies catcher Todd Pratt, completed a three-game sweep in Kannapolis to lock in a first half division title and a playoff spot for the BlueClaws. Lakewood's star on Sunday was lefty pitcher David Parkinson, the Phils' 12th round draft selection a year ago.  The 22-year-old struck out 11, walked none and allowed no runs on just three hits over seven innings of work to notch his sixth win of the season. The effort for Parkinson placed...

Will Stewart, image- Jay Floyd The Class A South Atlantic League announced its All-Stars on Tuesday and the roster for the Northern Division includes six Lakewood BlueClaws. The team will send four pitchers, including lefty starter Will Stewart, righty starter Ramon Rosso, left-handed reliever Kyle Dohy and right-handed reliever Addison Russ.  Additionally, third baseman Jake Scheiner and shortstop Nick Maton are also on the team.  Stewart, 20, holds the league's best ERA among qualified players with a 1.23 mark.  The Phillies' 20th round draft pick from 2015 also sports a 5-0 record and a .197 batting average against through nine starts this season. Rosso, a native of the Dominican Republic, has a 2-1 record with a 1.44 ERA and a .191 BAA.  The 21-year-old has garnered a lot of attention this season with his seemingly out-of-nowhere, surprising contributions. Dohy, a 16th round draft pick last year, has a 3-3 record with a 1.00 ERA and a .157 BAA in 19 a...

Marty Malloy, image- Jay Floyd The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws have a four-game win streak intact entering the weekend.  The team's pitching staff ranks third in the South Atlantic League with a 2.67 staff ERA.  Their offense, however, ranks last in the league with a .221 batting average.  On Friday, I talked with BlueClaws' manager Marty Malloy about a few of his key pitchers and some of the disappointments at the plate.  Prospect discussed include standout starters Will Stewart and Ramon Rosso as well as closer Addison Russ.  Position players Gregori Rivero and Daniel Brito were topics of discussion as were injured offensive contributors Jhailyn Ortiz, Simon Muzziotti and Cole Stobbe.  Read ahead for my full interview with Malloy.  -Left-hander Will Stewart is off to a great start with the team.  He's 20 years old and has a 4-0 record with a 1.46 ERA through six starts.  What can you share about how outstanding he has been? Al...