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In news that likely surprised nobody, Major League Baseball announced on Tuesday that Phillies first baseman/third baseman Alec Bohm is among the finalists for this year's National League Rookie of the Year Award.   Bohm, who entered the 2020 season as the Phillies top-ranked offensive prospect, performed extremely well following his promotion to the big league's from the club's alternate training site.  In 44 games the 24-year-old tallied a .338 batting average with four home runs and 23 RBI.  The average and RBI total ranked first among all NL rookies, as did his on base percentage (.400), slugging percentage (.481) and hits total (54).   Impressive in clutch situations, Bohm notched a .452 batting average with runners in scoring position, which was best in baseball.  Even more outstanding, the talented youngster struck out just four times in those situations. The six-foot-five 225 pounder was the Phils' first round draft selection out of Wichita S...

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...

Alec Bohm, 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.  Plus you'll get exclusive interviews as well as other content you won't be able to enjoy anywhere else.  I could use, and I would value, your backing. After entering the 2018 MLB draft as one of the most advanced college hitters on the board, Alec Bohm was selected with the third overall pick by the Phillies.  Swiftly, he made a name for himself as one of baseball's fastest rising prospects. A collegiate second team All-American, Bohm batted .339 with 14 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs and 55 RBI while swiping nine bags in 57 games in his junior season for Wichita State in 2018. He notched 24 multi-hit games during his campaign that year. Overall in three seasons with the Shockers, Bohm batted .317 with 33 homers, 125 RBI and a .941 OPS in 166 total games. He was one of the top ranked colle...

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. 

Arquimedes Gamboa, image- Jay Floyd Prior to the end of the regular season, I spoke with Double-A Reading manager Shawn Williams about several topics including outfielders Cornelius Randolph and Josh Stephen (click each of those individuals' names for those features).  Among other things the team's skipper discussed with me were the assignment of several of his players going to the Arizona Fall League this month, what he saw from infielder Arquimedes Gamboa despite a lackluster offensive stat line as well as the progress of top prospects Alec Bohm and Spencer Howard .  Read ahead for those quotes. -Your team has several guys going to the Arizona Fall League.  I just wanted to get your opinion of how that can help their development. It definitely does.  It's a really competitive league.  You've got all the best players, pretty much, from all the organizations.  I was fortunate enough to be out there two years ago.  I think it's a lot o...

Alec Bohm, image- Jay Floyd Mike Drago, who covers the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils for the Reading Eagle, is back with his annual prospect survey. Each August, Mike surveys a collection of writers, broadcasters and media types that cover the Phillies minor league levels closely to collect each person's list of ranked Phillies prospects. Using a point system, awarding points based on rank, he will tally out a complete list of all the organization's best developmental talents. Per Mike, third baseman/first baseman Alec Bohm was listed as the top prospect on two-thirds of the submissions. Here is a sample of the list, the top 10, right from the Reading Eagle piece. 1. Alec Bohm: Batted .367 at Lakewood. Scored a .395 on-base percentage at Clearwater. Slugged .500 at Reading. Pretty good for his first full season as a pro. Charlie Manuel gives him high marks for his approach as a hitter and thinks he could hit 40 bombs in the big leagues some day. What's not...

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 Read...

This week I made my long awaited (by me only, I'd bet) to the Hittin' Season Podcast hosted by John Stolnis . The show's home is over on TheGoodPhight.com, of course, and I've contributed to the show plenty of times, appearing as a guest and contributing exclusive interviews to the program. The latest episode features John recapping the Phillies' series against the Tigers and a preview of the series to come against the division rival Braves. He also talks about what to expect as the MLB trading deadline approaches. Then I join John to discuss several promising Phils prospects such as Alec Bohm , Mickey Moniak , Bryson Stot t , Spencer Howard , Adonis Medina , Francisco Morales and others. Check out the embedded media player below to stream or download the episode and, if you like what you hear, subscribe to the show!

The season's been moving by quite swiftly and as we reach the midst of the summer, I'm bringing another rundown of minor league players that are performing rather well of late. Statistics are updated through Saturday's games. -Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs (47-50 record, 5th place in the International League North division)... Phil Gosselin, image- Jay Floyd Infielder Phil Gosselin , who played in 32 games with the big league Phillies this year, has been hot during his tenure with the IronPigs.  In 38 games, the 30-year-old veteran has notched a .354/.445/.542 offensive slash line.  Gosselin is batting .400 in 10 games since the All-Star break. Since his promotion from Double-A Reading, outfielder/corner infielder Austin Listi has been huge on offense.  In 28 games for Lehigh Valley, the 25-year-old righty batter sports a .333 average with nine doubles, eight homers and 28 RBI.  Listi was the Phillies' 17th round draft choice in 2017. Lefty relie...

Deivi Grullon, image- Jay Floyd It was announced on Thursday that catcher Deivy Grullon and LHP Austin Davis will represent the Lehigh Valley IronPigs as International League All-Stars next month. Grullon, one of four catchers on the IL team, has had a strong season for the 'Pigs.  The 23-year-old righty batter sports a .307 average with 14 doubles, 10 home runs and 44 RBI in 64 games.  Grullon was signed by the Phillies as an international free agent in 2012. Davis, who has spent time with the big league Phillies this season and last season, sports a 2-0 record with two saves, a 2.64 ERA, an 11.2 K/9 mark in 20 relief appearances for the IronPigs. Davis was a 12th round draft selection in 2014.  In 38 career big league appearances to date, the 26-year-old has notched a 1-2 record with a 4.33 ERA. The annual Triple-A All-Star Game is set to take place on July 10th in El Paso, TX, home of the Chihuahuas, the Padres' affiliate. The winning team earns the right...

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz   Following the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws' exciting walk-off victory in the 10th inning against West Virginia (Mariners affiliate) on Thursday night, I spoke with the team's manager Mike Micucci about several of his team's standouts including starting pitcher Dom Pipkin, who had a less than ideal performance, middle infielder Luis Garcia, who notched the game's big hit and others.  Micucci also talked about the recent promotion of top prospect Alec Bohm, who opened this season with Lakewood and is headed to Double-A Reading.  Read ahead for those interview excerpts. Dom Pipkin, image- Jay Floyd -Not a very good start from Dominic Pipkin , who only lasts an inning and a third, gave up three earned runs and threw more balls than strikes... He looked a little rusty (coming off of the All-Star break), I thought.  Had a hard time getting ...

Alec Bohm, image- Jay Floyd News landed on Thursday evening that third baseman Alec Bohm would be moving up from Class A Advanced Clearwater to Double-A Reading. Bohm, the Phillies' first round draft choice last year, opened the season with Class A Lakewood and was promoted to Clearwater after a scorching April in which he batted .367 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 22 games.  In 40 games with the Threshers, the 22-year-old batted .329 with four homers and 27 RBI.  At the rate he is progressing, it won't be long before Bohm is making an impact with the best sportsbooks . A move to make room with Reading saw Austin Listi moving up to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Overall this season, Listi's offensive efforts (.220/.339/.364) aren't great, but he has been hot in June, slashing at a .328/.406/.552 clip in 19 games this month with the Fightins. The 25-year-old righty hitter was a 17th round pick by the Phillies in 2017.  Listi was honored as the Phils' ...

Matt Kroon, image- Jay Floyd Infielder Matt Kroon has been one of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws' most consistent hitters this season and he's been enjoying the success in his first full season as a pro player. Through 26 games this season in the South Atlantic League, the Phillies' 18th round pick from 2018 sports a .289 average with five doubles, a triple and seven RBI.   Primarily a first baseman, Kroon, the son of former big league pitcher Marc Kroon, has also played second base and third base for the 'Claws. Kroon was the Phillies' 18th round draft selection last year. I spoke with Matt about his success at the plate, exposure to professional baseball as a child, his teammates including last year's top pick Alec Bohm and plenty more.  Some excerpts from our talk are shared below, but you can check out the complete interview at Patreon.com/PhoulBallz . -Were there any moments from childhood that stick in your memory that made you fall i...

Alec Bohm, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Big news out of the Phillies' developmental ranks on Tuesday as one of the organization's top prospects, Alec Bohm , was promoted to Class A Advanced Clearwater after a scorching April in the Sally League. Through 22 games this season with Class A Lakewood, the 22-year-old righty hitter touted a .367 average with nine doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI. Many people, fans and insiders alike, were surprised when Bohm opened the 2019 campaign at that level.  Bohm, who is listed at six-foot-five 225 pounds, was not among that group. "I really had no expectation as where to go (to start the season)", said Bohm.  "When it came down to it, where ever they told me to go, that's where I was going." With assignments and promotions far away from his line of thinking, Bohm was most excited for gettin...

Mike Micucci, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz This season Mike Micucci took over as the 13th manager of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. A draft pick of the Cubs in 1994, Micucci played six season in the professional ranks and has been coaching or working in the developmental ranks virtually since that time. Recently, I sat down with the BlueClaws' new skipper to get to know him a bit.  He chatted about his local ties, his family and several of his players, including last year's Phillies first round draft pick Alec Bohm .  Read ahead for that interview. -Firstly, I want to ask you about Alec Bohm.  Some people are surprised he landed at this level, on this roster.  What have you seen from him? I mean honestly, we had talked a little bit. He basically showed up to our group on the last day of spring training. So, we haven’t even seen much of him...

Drew Anderson w/ Reading in 2017, image- Jay Floyd For those waiting to see where their favorite Phillies prospects will land and which teams they'll be headed to see in the early going this season, roster announcements have begun to come out. As always, the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers are the last of the bunch to release their players, but we'll get to some speculating in a bit. To start, here is who you'll see in Class A Lakewood next week, highlighted by last year's first round draft selection Alec Bohm , a big masher that plenty of people speculated could skip this level completely. From BlueClaws.com... Pitchers - Tyler Carr , Colton Eastman, Ethan Evanko , Kevin Gowdy, Ethan Lindow, Oscar Marcelino , Robinson Martinez , James McArthur, Tyler McKay , Jhordany Mezquita , Francisco Morales, Jack Perkins , Dominic Pipkin , Victor Santos, Gilmael Troya Catchers - Abrahan Gutierrez , Rafael Marchan Infielders - Alec Bohm, Luis Garcia, Jonathan G...