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With the minor league season set to get started on Tuesday, May 4th, the Phillies' four full-season teams unveiled their initial rosters today. Of note is the absense of rising infield prospect Kendall Simmons, who is apparently sidelined with an undisclosed injury.  The middle infielder was active in spring training action in recent weeks, but was contributing as a designated hitter.  He's likely being kept at the Phillies' complex in Florida in order to focus on recovery and limit unnecesary travel. Also, as reported recently on my Patreon page , pitcher Albertus Barber got a late start to his spring season due to an unspecified nerve issue.  He's healthy, but needs to ramp up his efforts in order to get game-ready before he joins a team. One of the Phils' most promision pitching prospects, Erik Miller, is also absent from these lists.  No word yet on what the situation is with this hard throwing 24-year-old, who was ranked as the organization's 5th best prosp...

Subscribers of my Patreon site have gotten some details from the Phillies' Fall Instructs in recent days.   The Florida Instructional League is an annual month-long off-season combine that will feature workouts as well as practices and regularly pits players from different organizations against one another in exhibition games.  This year's version in a pandemic impacted world won't see different teams facing one another, but the Phillies' players will see exhibition competition, as the organization is slated to have some intrasquad games in the coming weeks. Players that are currently in Clearwater, FL seeing some long overdue time on the field include this year's first round draft selection Mick Abel.  The high school hurler inked a deal for over $4 million dollars after  being taken with the 15th overall pick in June. Francisco Morales, image- Jay Floyd Highly touted Venezuelan pitcher Francisco Morales is also in attendance.  The 20-year-old right-han...

This month I sat down with Phillies left-handed pitching prospect Bailey Falter and asked him to share his thoughts on breakfast cereals, his favorite athlete, profanity, hip hop royalty and plenty more. The 22-year-old was the Phils' 5th round draft selection in 2015.  Falter, a California native, sports a 1-1 record with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP through three starts in the Eastern League this season. It's three minutes of fun with the Double-A Reading hurler.  Check out this Patreon exclusive by clicking here ! HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz

Throughout the off-season months, this site will offer a roundup of how many Phillies prospects and players are performing around the world in fall and winter leagues. Read ahead for the lowdown on various leagues. Trevor Bettencourt, image- Jay Floyd Puerto Rico/Roberto Clemente League- Trevor Bettencourt and Bailey Falter have wrapped up their efforts abroad, returning home to enjoy the holidays.  Both hurlers performed exceptionally for their club, the Indios.  Bettencourt, 24, posted a 1-0 record with a 1.42 ERA while striking out 12 and walking three in 12 2/3 innings over nine relief appearances.  The right-hander was a 25th round pick in 2016.  Falter, a lefty, sported a 2-0 record with a 0.42 ERA in five starts for the Indios.  The 21-year-old was a 5th round draft selection by the Phillies in 2015. Also in PR, 1b/3b Damek Tomscha , 27, is batting .301 with five doubles and three RBI in 23 games.  Tomscha has been batting leadoff...

Throughout the off-season, I'll offer a roundup of how some Phillies prospects and players are performing around the world in fall/winter leagues. Here are the latest noteworthy details. Colombian League- Jorge Alfaro, image- Jay Floyd Catcher Jorge Alfaro is batting .271 with a pair of home runs in 13 games for the Toros.  Alfaro, 25, posted a .262 average with 10 home runs and 37 RBI in 108 games with the Phillies this year.  Arizona Fall League- With the AFL wrapping up play last week, the following stats are final for the month-long campaign with each of the players having competed for the Scottsdale Scorpions. First baseman Darick Hall batted .238 with four homers and 12 RBI in 18 games.  Hall, 23, was the 14th round pick of the Phillies in 2016 out of Dallas Baptist.  Hall blasted 26 homers and drove in 87 runs in 128 combined games with Clearwater and Reading this year. Outfielder/first baseman Austin Listi batted .250 and OPS'd .6...

Joe Jordan, image- Jay Floyd On Sunday, Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan took some time to talk with me about plenty of prospects throughout the Phils developmental levels. Topics discussed include injury updates for several hurlers including Jose Taveras , Nick Fanti , Bailey Falter and a critical note on Triple-A reliever Brandon Leibrandt .  Also mentioned are outfielders Jhailyn Ortiz and Jose Pujols , catcher Deivi Grullon , Lakewood starters Will Stewart and David Parkinson as well as impressive Double-A reliever Kyle Dohy along with Triple-A reliever Tyler Gilbert. Read onward for much of my interview with Joe and check back in the coming days for his thoughts on some other names that are worthy of interest.  -Kyle Dohy's graduated out of Lakewood and Clearwater, landing in Reading.  He's started to get some attention, after he was a 16th round draft pick and pitched in short-season Class A last year.  Can you talk...

As minor league teams have reached roughly a third of the way through the minor league season, here's a quick run down on some of the standouts at all four full-season levels of the Phillies system.   -Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs (28-20, 1st place in the International League North Division)... Cole Irvin with Reading last season, image- Jay Floyd Thus far in the 2018 campaign, the IronPigs' Cole Irvin leads all Phillies minor leaguers in innings pitched with 54.  Through nine starts, the 24-year-old has a 5-1 record with a 3.17 ERA and an 8.2 K/9 mark.  Irvin, a lefty, was the Phils' 5th round draft choice in 2016. His rotation mate Enyel De Los Santos has a 5-2 record with a 1.40 ERA and a .194 batting average against in nine starts.  The right-handed native of the Dominican Republic also sports a 9.8 K/9 mark.  De Los Santos was acquired from San Diego last off-season in a trade for Freddy Galvis. First baseman Joey Meneses has been incredible ...

This week promising reliever Seranthony Dominguez was promoted to the big league roster, joining the Phillies bullpen just 10 days after earning a promotion to the Triple-A level.  The 23-year-old Dominican dominated the minors this year, posting a 2-2 record with a saves, a 1.62 ERA, a .143 batting average against and an 11.3 K/9 mark in 11 appearances.  Dominguez's bump up should be the first of a series of promotions throughout the Phillies minor league levels, as there are several others ready for greater challenges ahead. Damek Tomscha, image- Jay Floyd At the Double-A level, right-handed hitting corner infielder Damek Tomscha is wrecking the competition throughout the Eastern League.  In 26 games, the 26-year-old sports a .337 batting average, five homers and 17 RBI.  Additionally, the Phillies' 17th round draft selection from 2014 has notched five mult-hit games in his last eight contests. Another power bat from the Reading lineup, corner infielder...

Josh Stephen, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ-- Off to a hot start in the early going for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, outfielder Josh Stephen has used relationships, new and old, to build a level of comfort in the Phillies’ organization that he hopes will help him achieve his dream of playing in the big leagues. Hailing from southern California, a hotbed for young baseball talent, Stephen was selected by the Phillies in the 11th round of the 2016 draft and joined an organization that included some familiar faces. Even before signing his first professional contract with the Phillies, the six feet tall 185-pound lefty batter had guys that he already considered teammates in the system. Third base prospect Luke Williams, pitchers Kevin Gowdy and Bailey Falter along with first overall draft pick, outfielder Mickey Moniak are all individuals that Stephen competed with and against in his days playing youth baseball. “It makes the transition of being drafted as an 18-year-old nice...

Brian Sweeney, image- Jay Floyd Last week I sat down with Class A Lakewood pitching coach Brian Sweeney to chat about his new collection of hurlers as his BlueClaws were opening their home schedule. Among the topics of discussion were highly regarded right-hander Sixto Sanchez, starting pitchers JoJo Romero, Adonis Medina and Bailey Falter as well as returning relievers Zach Morris and Harold Arauz and others. Read ahead for the full interview. -I missed Sixto Sanchez’s start in the home opener on Thursday. He had a good outing, going five innings, striking out five on one earned run. What are your early impressions of him as a guy who has gotten a lot of attention? You know, he garners that attention. He goes about his business the right way, pitching well, working hard, just getting his experience in, here in full-season. -I got to meet JoJo Romero for a second in the clubhouse. He’s got 11 strike outs in nine innings so far this season. What are your thoughts on ...

With their first pick on Tuesday, the Phillies took high school shortstop Luke Williams out of California. The 18-year-old was selected 83rd overall. In his senior season this year, the six-foot-one 185-pounder sported a .315 batting average with four homers, 19 RBI and 26 stolen bases. He is rated as a plus runner and hits to all fields. Williams could remain as a shortstop and is said to have the tools to man center field. An athletic youngster, he also was a varsity wide receiver at Dana Hills High School. Williams, a righty batter, is committed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the same school that produced last year's second round pick Matt Imhof. The Phils took Kyle Martin in the 4th round (114th overall) out of South Carolina. As a senior this year with the Gamecocks, the lefty batting first baseman notched a .350 average with 14 homers and 56 RBI in 57 games. Additionally, he earned first-team All-SEC honors and was a second team All-American with his impressinve 1.090 O...