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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...

Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and early access to all of my other content.  Thank you. Are you familiar with Jesse Goldberg-Strassler ?  He is the voice of the Toronto affiliate Class A Lansing Lugnuts.  Ballpark Digest named him their 2019 Broadcaster of the Year and now he's here, answering my questions! I asked Jesse about his early interest in the broadcast side of sports, how he got started in the profession, some key highlights from his career and so much more.  Read ahead for this interesting and enjoyable interview. - Do you recall your earliest broadcasting memories and what appealed about the role to you? I spent my childhood broadcasting games, baseball, basketball, or football, on the computer, on the basketball court while shooting hoops, or merely in my imagination. When I was a teenager, my father suggested I contact the local Minor League ...

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...

David Parkinson, image- Jay Floyd Lefty hurler David Parkinson used a bust-out season in 2018 to propel himself into discussions about the most promising Phillies prospects. A 12th round draft selection in 2017, Parkinson tallied an 11-6 record with a 3.10 ERA and a 7.8 K/9 mark in two college seasons at Ole Miss after transferring from JuCo.  The Phillies signed him over slot money at a reported $250,000. He made his professional debut with short-season Class A Williamsport in 2017, notching a 1-3 record with a 2.48 ERA along with a .242 batting average against in 11 appearances (three starts). Parkinson would open the 2018 season with Class A Lakewood where he led the starting staff, sporting an 8-1 record with a 1.51 ERA, a .210 batting average against and a 10.9 K/9 mark. Promoted to Class A Advanced Clearwater in August, Parkinson continued to display mastery on the mound.  In five appearances (four starts) with the Threshers, the Virginia native posted a 3-...

Austin Listi, image- Jay Floyd This year outfielder Austin Listi stood out as the Phillies' organization's most outstanding offensive prospect, getting honored by the organization as their Paul Owens Award winner. In the 2018 regular season, Listi split time with Class A Advanced Clearwater and Double-A Reading.  In 123 total games in 2018, the Dallas Baptist product tallied a .312 average with 18 home runs and 84 RBI.  He did all of that in his first full season in the professional ranks, after the Phillies made him their 17th round draft choice last year. Defensively, Listi played left field, third base and first base, though primarily he spent his time in right field during the season. In the autumn months, Listi continued his development, seeing action in the prestigious Arizona Fall League.  In 22 games for the Scorpions, the 25-year-old tallied a .250 batting average with two doubles, a triple and seven RBI. This week I heard from Listi who off...

Austin Listi, image- Jay Floyd On Monday the Phillies announced that outfielder/first baseman Austin Listi and starting pitcher David Parkinson have been named the organizations top minor league performers and earned this year's Paul Owens Award. Instituted in 1986, the Paul Owens Award is named after the man who spent 48 years in the Phillies organization as a scout, farm director, general manager, manager and senior advisor. The award is given to the organization's most outstanding minor league position player and most outstanding minor league pitcher each season. Listi, 24, was a 17th round draft selection last year out of Dallas Baptist. This year, in his first full season as a pro, the righty batter opened the campaign with Class A Advanced Clearwater. In 58 games with the Threshers, Listi tallied a .344 average with nine home runs and 45 RBI. Promoted to Double-A Reading in mid-June, List would notch a .281 average with nine home runs and 39 RBI in 65 game...

Scott Kingery, image- Jay Floyd Last week I talked with Phillies second base prospect Scott Kingery about recent accolades, as he was honored as the organization's annual Paul Owens Award winner and collected a Gold Glove Award for his stellar efforts on defense. Click here to read my complete feature on those honors. The following is interview excerpts featuring the 23-year-old's thoughts on the possible need for additional protective netting at big league ball fields and other topics related to his awards.  Read ahead for those exclusive quotes from Kingery. -He spoke about being named the top Phillies minor leaguer for the 2017 season... First of all the Paul Owens Award, it's an incredible honor to be able to get that aware when so many great players have come through and won that award, so it just shows the success that I was able to have this year and what I was able to do.  It's an honor just to have the Phillies think so highly of me and to ...

Scott Kingery, image- Jay Floyd Much attention was paid throughout the recent minor league season to Scott Kingery 's offense, but it's the defensive side of his game that he takes the most pride in. Fresh off a .304 average/26 home run/65 RBI/29 stolen base campaign combined at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, Kingery was honored with a Rawlings Gold Glove Award this week.  The nod, given for defensive excellence, is awarded to one player at each position throughout the minors, putting Kingery in select company among thousands of players. The five-foot-ten 180-pound second baseman asserts that this honor didn't come as a surprise.  In fact, it was something that crossed his mind long ago. "Defense is something I take pride in and I set that goal for myself at the beginning of the year.  I told myself I wanted to be so solid that I had the chance to be put in the category or have the opportunity to win that award," Kingery said...

It's Episode 70 and the guys are joined by pitcher Adam Loewen who participates in the inaugural edition of the new segment, "Nine Silly-ass Questions".  The episode also features exclusive interviews with Reading pitching coach Dave Lundquist and Double-A reliever Colton Murray.  Jay and Tug also chat about 2014 season highlights including Kenny Giles, Maikel Franco, Willians Astudillo and Hoby Milner while other topics include Kyle Kendrick as well as the Paul Owens Awards won by Luis Garcia and J.P. Crawford. 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 .

It took an illness to the team's ace, but Triple-A right-hander Tyler Cloyd has finally gotten the call to the big leagues. With the news that lefty Cole Hamels (14-6, 2.99 ERA) will miss his scheduled start on Wednesday against the Mets, due to a gastrointestinal issue, the Phillies have purchased the contract of Cloyd, the Triple-A Lehigh Valley standout who was named the International League's Most Valuable Pitcher on Tuesday. Cloyd, the Phillies 18th round draft selection in 2008, had posted a combined 15-1 record with a 2.26 ERA in 26 combined starts at Double-A Reading and Lehigh Valley. The 25-year-old Cloyd was named as an IL All-Star this season as well. Hamels is expected to make his next start during the Phillies' upcoming weekend series in Atlanta. To read my feature on Cloyd from earlier this season, click this link . To hear excerpts from my interview with Tyler Cloyd, click this link . Additionally, Cloyd was recognized, along with Reading slugger Darin Ruf, ...

This week on PhilliesNation.com, the writing staff took to predicting the 2012 MLB season. Site contributors including 97.5 The Fanatic's Pat Gallen, CSNPhilly's Corey Seidman, yours truly and others all took on the challenge of guessing which players would acquire some important hardware and proclaimed which individuals fans should look out for throughout the new season. Have a look at my predictions, then click the link that follows to see what the full Phillies Nation staff had to say. AL Cy Young Award Winner- Justin Verlander DET NL Cy Young Award Winner- Cliff Lee PHI AL Most Valuable Player- Albert Pujols ANA NL Most Valuable Player- Matt Kemp LAD AL Manager of the Year - John Farrell TOR NL Manager of the Year- Charlie Manuel PHI AL Rookie of the Year - Yu Darvish TEX NL Rookie of the Year- Yonder Alonso SD AL Hitter to Watch - Eric Hosmer KC NL Hitter to Watch- Paul Goldschmidt ARI AL Pitcher to Watch - Henderson Alvarez TOR NL Pitcher to Watch- Jake Diekman ...

The Sunday School series is pre-empted due to #6 news. Ryan Howard has officially avoided arbitration and signed a 3-year contract with our Phillies, sources confirmed. General Manager Ruben Amaro said, Sunday, “We're very pleased to have avoided the arbitration process, not just for this year, but also for the next two. Ryan is clearly one of the top power hitters and run producers in the major leagues and is a very important part of our championship club.” Ryan's contract breaks down this way...$15 million in 2009, $19 million in 2010 and $20 million in 2011. It is also packed with incentive bonuses, including one of the most ridiculous we could have expected to see- $50,000 for winning the Gold Glove Award. Seriously? Ryan Howard has a GOLD GLOVE incentive in his contract? Is this a joke? With that never reachable incentive listed, the Phils should have included some of the following bonuses for Howard. $50,000 for winning the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss $51,000 for winnin...