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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...

Last month I sat down with Reading skipper Shawn Williams to talk about several of his players.  Some of the quotes from that interview remained unpublished since that time.  Among the topics of discussion for the Double-A Fightin Phils were slugging first baseman Darick Hall, infielder Arquimedes Gamboa, starting pitcher Adonis Medina and more. Read ahead for those exclusive interview excerpts... -You've got a power hitting prospect on this team in Darick Hall .  I know he had a battle in spring training with Dylan Cozens going head to head.  What was that like?  Was it fun for everyone? It was fun watching both of them  They squared off in a home run derby.  That's two guys that have big time power.  They do it in the game and they can really do it in (batting practice).  But, to see both of them squaring off, it was fun to watch.  And even (Deivi) Grullon was part of that too and Grullon put on a show.  So, it was just...

Mickey Moniak, image- Jay Floyd ALLENTOWN, PA-- Double-A Reading batted around in the opening frame, plating five runs against Triple-A Lehigh Valley starter Drew Anderson and never looked back, dropping the host team by a score of 7-3 in the annual Rt. 222 Showcase exhibition. Right fielder Adam Haseley led off the first with a double and came around to score on a single by center fielder Mickey Moniak .  Shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa also drove in two with a key hit in the first. Anderson would calm down following the shaky start, looking in control and retiring 10 in a row and recording four K's as he completed four innings of work. Reading starting pitcher Mauricio "MoYo" Llovera surrendered a pair of runs in the second inning on an error and a run scoring single by Shane Robinson. Left fielder Cornelius Randolph notched three hits on the night, including an RBI double. The Fightins lead the all-time exhibition series six games to four. The IronPigs...

Gamboa with Lakewood in 2017, image- Jay Floyd This year, shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa makes his first appearance on this countdown.  While the Venezuela native's statistics don't necessarily back up claims that he's among the Phillies' top prospects, his skill set is prevalent and he has steadily impressed many with his talent. Signed as an international free agent in 2014 at age 16, he participated that same year in the Florida Instructional League. The following year, he made his professional regular season debut with the short-season Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies.  In 50 games there, the switch-hitter notched a .189 batting average with seven doubles, three triples, 16 RBI and eight stolen bases, Another short-season campaign was in store for Gamboa in 2016 as he batted .200 with Class A Williamsport.  In 35 games there, he tallied six doubles, two home runs and five steals. Gamboa took the step up to full-season A level Lakewood for the 2017 ...

With the deadline for 40 man roster additions set for Tuesday, the Phillies made moves to add some promising names to their list of protected players. The Phillies announced the additions of shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa along with right-handed pitchers Adonis Medina and Edgar Garcia are the players added to the Phillies roster. Arquimedes Gamboa, image- Jay Floyd Gamboa, a native of Venezuela, is a talented defender who played in the Arizona Fall League over the past month, sprinkling in some time at third base there, though his bat doesn't feature enough pop to think he will be an impact guy at that position.  Gamboa, a 21-year-old switch hitter, posted a .214/.304/.279 slash line with Class A Advanced Clearwater this year. Medina, a 21-year-old Dominican, is one of the Phils' top prospects and is always a name that pops up when fans and media discuss big trade proposals.  With Clearwater this year, Medina tallied a 10-4 record, a 4.12 ERA and a 9.9 K/9 in 22 ...

Austin Listi, image- Jay Floyd As the big leagues' Fall Classic wrapped up on Sunday with another championship for Boston, the baseball community's attention can shift toward off-season leagues.  The lone domestic offering that fans can gravitate toward is the Arizona Fall League, which announced the rosters for its annual Fall Stars Game on Monday. Outfielder Austin Listi will represent the Phillies, as he was named to the East division roster.  The righty batting outfielder was honored as the Phils' top offensive minor leaguer this year, when he was named as the recipient of the Paul Owens Award. In the regular season Listi split time with Class A Advanced Clearwater and Double-A Reading.  In 123 games in 2018, the Dallas Baptist product tallied a .312 average with 18 home runs and 84 RBI. The six-foot 218-pounder has displayed light hitting to date in the AFL, posting a .175 average with a double and three RBI in 12 contests with Scottsdale. Much like ...

I'll be posting rundowns throughout the off-season to shine a light on Phillies prospects making an impact in various leagues around the world.  This is the first of my regular updates throughout the colder months touching on action in the Arizona Fall League, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and other places.  Statistics are current through games on Saturday. Arizona Fall League (all Phillies representatives here play for the Scottsdale Scorpions)- Luke Leftwich, image- Jay Floyd Righty pitcher Luke Leftwich has not allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings over four appearances.  He has notched eight strike outs and surrendered two walks.  Leftwich, 24, posted a 3.73 ERA in 44 appearances for Double-A Reading this year.  The Wofford College product was a 7th round draft choice of the Phils in 2015. Lefty hurler Jonathan Hennigan has allowed two hits and an earned run in three innings of work.  He tallied a 2.39 ERA in 37 combined games for Class A La...

Sixto Sanchez with Lakewood in 2017, image- Jay Floyd The Arizona Fall League is a place for aspiring Major Leaguers to go to develop their baseball skills in the Autumn months. As the weather begins to cool elsewhere, the diamond stays hot for many of baseball's most promising young talents in Arizona. Rosters in the AFL are a mixture of different organizations' prospects, with each major league club sending seven, or sometimes eight, players that combine to fill up the 35-man rosters of the league's six teams. With rosters announced on Thursday for the upcoming 2018 AFL season, Phillies players will be merged with players from the Mets, Reds, Giants and Astros to make up the Scottsdale Scorpions roster. #Phillies slated to play for Scottsdale in the @MLBazFallLeague this yr...RHP Sixto Sanchez, RHP @viza_card , RHP Seth McGarry, RHP @Luke_Leftwich , 1b @HallDarick , SS Arquimedes Gamboa. OF Austin Listi, OF/3b @lukewilliams012 . Clearwater pitching coach...