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Throughout the winter season, our weekly rundown reviews how Phillies players are performing in the various off-season leagues around the globe. Read ahead for the latest on many familiar names, some top prospects and plenty more. Dominican Winter League... Maikel Franco, image- gigantessfm.com Maikel Franco -  In 37 games the righty batting Franco has tallied a .237 average with seven doubles, two home runs, 12 RBI and three steals for the Gigantes.  The 21-year-old had a standout 2013, mashing 31 homers and driving in 103 runs in 134 games with Clearwater and Reading during the regular season. 3B/1B LHP Antonio Bastardo - The 28-year-old has a 0-1 record with a 0.84 ERA ERA in 11 relief outings for the Gigantes.  Through 10 2/3 innings, Bastardo has struck out 19 batters while walking two.  In 48 big league games this year Bastardo sported a 3-2 record with two saves and a 2.32 ERA. Catcher Tommy Joseph - The 2...

Throughout the autumn and winter months, we'll have a weekly rundown of how Phillies players are performing in the various leagues around the globe. Read ahead for the latest on many familiar names, some top prospects and plenty more. Dominican Winter League... LHP Antonio Bastardo - The 28-year-old has a 0-1 record with a 1.04 ERA in nine outings for the Gigantes.  Through 8 2/3 innings, Bastardo has struck out 17 batters while walking two.  In 48 big league games this year, before missing time due to a banned substance suspension, the reliever had a 3-2 record with two saves and a 2.32 ERA. 3B/1B Maikel Franco -  The 21-year-old slugged his first homer of the Dominican League season this past week.  Overall, in 32 games the righty batting Franco has tallied a .237 average with six doubles, a home run, 11 RBI and three steals.  Franco had an excellent 2013, mashing 31 homers and driving in 103 runs in 134 games with Clearwa...

Throughout the autumn and winter months, we'll have a weekly rundowns of how Phillies players are performing in the various leagues around the globe.  Read ahead for the latest on many familiar names, some top prospects and plenty more. Venezuelan Winter League-  In news that I first mentioned on Twitter over the weekend, minor league slugger Jim Murphy was released by the Aragua Tigres last Thursday.  Through 20 games, the first baseman batted .274 with three doubles, two homers and 10 RBI.  The release came as a surprise to the 28-year-old, who was planning to play through the full season, into late December, but will now be home in time for Thanksgiving Day. Murphy remains signed with the Phillies. Second baseman Cesar Hernandez - The 23-year-old switch hitter has gone 5-for-32 (.156 avg) in his last eight games.  Overall in 26 games for Margarita, Hernandez, who has also been playing center field, has posted a .242 average with two hom...

Throughout the autumn and winter months, we'll have a weekly review of how Phillies players are performing in the various leagues around the globe.  Read ahead for he latest on many familiar names, some top prospects and plenty more. Dominican Winter League... 3B Maikel Franco -  The trial of Franco at first base continued as the slugger played his fourth straight game there on Monday.  Franco played eight games at first in the closing weeks of the 2013 regular season with Double-A Reading.  The 21-year-old sports a .328 average with four doubles and seven RBI in 17 games with the Gigantes.  The righty batting Franco had a bust-out 2013, slamming 31 homers and droving in 103 runs in 134 games with Clearwater and Reading this year. LHP Antonio Bastardo - In two appearances, the 28-year-old has pitched two scoreless innings, striking out four and walking one without surrendering a hit.  In 48 big league games this year, before m...

We're back with the 37th edition of the PhoulBallz Podcast.  This week the show includes an exclusive interview with Reading Fightins infielder and former big leaguer Matt Tolbert .  Also, we discuss Tyler Cloyd 's hot streak, Zach Green 's impressive output in the NYPL, Jesse Biddle 's ups and downs as well as the A-Rod circus and drug suspension chatter we didn't make time for last week. Use the media player below to stream the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .

Behind a rookie hurler, the Phillies (8-11) are set to open a four-game series against the Pirates (10-8) at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park on Monday night. Read ahead for full details on the pitching match ups as well as other key stats for this series. Jon Pettibone in action with Reading in 2012 Monday, 7:05 PM.  A.J. Burnett (1-2, 2.63 ERA) vs. Jonathan Pettibone (first MLB start).   In 19 career regular season games against the Phillies, Burnett has a 6-9 record along with a 5.09 ERA.  Ryan Howard is 3-for-14 (all three hits are home runs) in his career against Burnett.  The 36-year-old righty has a 4.86 ERA in seven career games at Citizens Bank Park.  The 22-year-old Pettibone was PhilliesNation.com's #6 ranked prospect prior to the season.  In two starts with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year, Pettibone had a 0-1 record and a 9.64 ERA. Pettibone, who was the Phillies' 3rd round draft pick in 2008, is filling in for the injured John ...

It's another edition of our weekly off-season league review. Read ahead, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents including Antonio Bastardo , Raul Valdes and plenty of others, who are participating in various winter league action.  Venezuelan League- Second baseman Cesar Hernandez (pictured, left) ended his VWL regular season batting .226 with a home run, 16 RBI and 14 steals in 44 games for Margarita, as his team did not advance to the semi-final round.  The 22-year-old switch-hitter batted a combined .291 with two homers and 57 RBI in 133 games for Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley during the 2012 regular season. Shortstop Edgar Duran , also with Margarita, batted .240 with a home run and nine RBI in 36 games.  In 121 games for Class A Advanced Clearwater in 2012, Duran, 21, sported a .253/.310/.357 line. Shortstop Freddy Galvis wrapped up his regular season with a 10-game hitting streak, during which he posted ...

We're back with another edition of the (usually) weekly off-season league rundown. Read ahead, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter league action. Venezuelan League- Freddy Galvis (pictured, right) is batting .296 with 11 doubles, two triples, five homers and 28 RBI along with four steals through 57 games. The switch-hitting 23-year-old is riding a nine-game hitting streak, during which he is 13-for-39 (.333 avg). Galvis has been playing shortstop exclusively with Zulia. Catcher Humberto Quintero , 33, has posted a .314 batting average with five doubles, one home run and nine RBI in 23 games for Zulia. The righty hitting Quintero was signed by the Phillies last month after playing in 43 games with the Royals last season. Rule 5 draft choice Ender Inciarte , 22, is batting .234 with five doubles and a triple along with three steals through 44 games for Zulia. The lefty hitting center fielder b...

It's another edition of the (usually) weekly off-season league rundown.  Check it out, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter league action. Dominican League- Antonio Bastardo (pictured, right) made his DR League season debut on Saturday, throwing a scoreless frame and allowing no baserunners for Cibao.  Bastardo tossed a 1-2-3 inning against Este, closing it out by getting Phils catcher Steven Lerud to fly out.  The 27-year-old lefty was 2-5 with a 4.33 ERA and a save in 65 games for the Phillies in 2012. Lerud sports a .200 batting average with a double, a home run and four RBI in 19 games.  The 28-year-old made his big league debut with the Phils during the 2012 regular season. Veteran lefty Raul Valdes has tallied a 1-2 record with a 3.81 ERA in seven starts for Este.  The 35-year-old had a 2.90 ERA and held opponents to a .168 batting average against in...

A recent surge by the Phillies (69-71) has many people beginning to entertain how possible a wild card entry to the 2012 postseason could be for the team that has been below .500 for the majority of the season. Fresh off a weekend sweep of the Colorado Rockies and after having been victorious in 15 of their past 21 outings, the Phils have drawn within six games of a the second wild card lead. This week, the Phillies host the division rival Marlins (63-78) in a three-game set at Citizens Bank Park. Miami is well out of playoff contention, holding down last place in the National league East division. The two teams have split the six games played in Philadelphia so far this year. Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and other key statistical information from this series. Monday, 7:05 PM. Wade LeBlanc (2-3, 2.72 ERA) vs. Kyle Kendrick (8-10, 3.96 ERA). In 2 career starts against the Phillies, LeBlanc has a 1-1 record with a 1.80 ERA. In 9 games on the road this season, the l...

The Braves (62-46) travel to Philadelphia to begin a three-game series with the Phillies (49-59) on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. In the past month, the two clubs have faced each other in two separate series, with the Braves winning all six of the contests. Atlanta’s recent dominance over the Phils is the opposite of how things went last season, when the Phillies handed the Braves six losses toward the end of the 2011 season. Those defeats shut the door on Atlanta’s postseason hopes. Read ahead for notes on the pitching the match ups and additional statistical information on this series. Monday, 7:05 PM. Ben Sheets (3-1, 1.46 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (6-6, 3.63 ERA). In 9 career starts against the Phillies, Sheets has a 3-4 record with a 4.50 ERA. Ty Wigginton is 12-for-36 (.333 avg) with 2 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Sheets. The righty Sheets was the Brewers' 1st round draft pick in 1999. In his last 5 starts, Worley has a 2-1 record with a 4.06 ERA. In 9 home s...