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Following the Reading Phillies' loss in the Eastern League playoffs earlier this week, I spoke with the team's coaching staff about their successful season and some of the team's top performers. Quotes from pitching coach Bob Milacki and hitting coach Frank Cacciatore lie ahead... Milacki on the season, as a whole, for various members of the R-Phils' pitching staff- Trevor May , who started out like gangbusters and then had his ups and downs, finished strong. I thought he really finished strong and (Adam) Morgan pitched outstanding since he was here. And our trade with the Dodgers, getting (Ethan) Martin, Martin was outstanding almost every start out, except one when he was a little under the weather, but you couldn't ask for more out of him. Through the whole year, with a ll the guys that came up and the guys that left here, there's a lot of promise going through the organization. The arms that we have and the talent that we have, from (Tyler) Knigge and M...

For right-handed hurler Austin Hyatt , the 2011 season was packed with success. As the virtual ace of the Double-A Reading Phillies' pitching staff, the 25-year-old Hyatt proved to be one of the most reliable pitching prospects in the Philadelphia developmental system. During a season in which he was named as an Eastern League All-Star, Hyatt posted tremendous numbers in the second half, to help his team reach the post-season. In 10 starts after the All-Star break, Hyatt posted a 5-1 record with a 2.78 ERA and a .221 batting average against. Overall with Reading, the 6-foot-2-inch 180-pound Hyatt averaged more than a strike out per inning pitched (171 K's in 154 1/3 innings), which is impressive at any level. According to Reading pitching coach Bob Milacki, who previously coached with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, Hyatt's pitching repertoire has come along quite well since Milacki first saw the Georgia native when Hyatt joined the 'Claws for their postseason run tw...

The Double A Reading Phillies pitching staff, having been led through the first half of the season by the likes of All-star right-hander Austin Hyatt , well regarded prospect JC Ramirez and others, has seen a pair of new arms emerge as leaders as the team makes a run at the postseason in the Eastern League. As Reading competes for a Wild Card spot in the East division, starter Tyler Cloyd and reliever Michael Cisco have solidified a staff that has been among the best in the league. With 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief in the R-Phils' win over New Britain on Wednesday night, righty hurler Mike Cisco won his 8th game of the season. The 36th round draft pick from 2008 out of the University of South Carolina is the grandson of former Phils pitching coach Galen Cisco. The 5-foot-11-inch 195-pounder entered the season with a .253 batting average against, a 16-19 record and a 3.55 ERA in 58 career minor league contests. This season, Cisco has taken things to the next lev...

TRENTON, NJ- The big league match up in Florida wasn't the only game being billed as a pitchers duel on Tuesday night. In the second game of a 3-games series at Waterfront Park, Phillies minor league pitcher of the month for April JC Ramirez was set to lead Double A Reading against highly touted lefty prospect Manny Banuelos and the Yankees affiliate Trenton Thunder. For one side, it was quickly evident that their hurler wasn't going to live up to the hype on this night. Ramirez, a 22-year-old Nicaragua native, struggled through a long bottom of the 1st inning, tossing 31 pitches and letting up a run before he could retire the side. The difficult early frame set the tone for the right-handed Ramirez's night, as he did not make it past the third inning for the R-Phils, who dropped this game 4-2. Trenton got the scoring started in the first when a lazy fly ball by Bradley Suttle got lost in the twilight sky by everyone on defense and fell in shallow center field to plate Au...

Vance Worley is currently a starting pitcher for the Double A level Reading Phillies. Last season, along with Mike Stutes, Worley became the first pitcher in the Phillies organization since Randy Wolf to begin the season at Double A the year after he was drafted, completely skipping High A level Clearwater. In his time with Reading, Vance is a two-time Eastern League All-star. This season, Worley has posted an 8-4 record with a with a 3.44 ERA. This week, Worley was named Eastern League pitcher of the week for hurling a complete game shut out against Harrisburg in his last start. Worley topped off that amazing outing by contributing at the plate with a homerun. Check out the media player below to listen to my interview with Vance, recorded prior to Reading's game in Trenton on Thursday. ______________________________________ Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE . Share on Facebook

In 2009, Justin De Fratus was an all-star with the A-Level Lakewood BlueClaws. He performed well all season long in varied roles and helped Lakewood win the championship of the South Atlantic League. Since then, the 11th round pick in the 2007 draft has earned recognition by being named the Phillies prospect with the best control, by Baseball America, this off-season. Today, he got to run with the big dogs. For some time, coaches in the Phillies system have felt that Justin has what it takes to climb the ladder to pitch in the Majors. Last April, I spoke with Bob Milacki, who was then the pitching coach for Lakewood. Milacki listed De Fratus on a short list of Phillies A-Level pitchers who had what it takes to pitch at higher levels. Milcakci also reaffirmed his confidence in Justin in late July when I spoke with him about the same topic. Phils coaches this spring have liked Justin's abilities enough to have him dress with the big club on three previous occasions. His fourth opport...

On Thursday, the last regular scheduled games were played in the Arizona Fall League. Eight players from the Phillies organization played for the Scottsdale Scorpions, along with prospects from the Giants, Pirates, Rockies and D-Backs. Scottsdale finished 15-16 in the six team league. Pirates minor league coach Jeff Banister managed the team, while Lakewood BlueClaws pitching coach Bob Milacki, who coached in the Pirates system last year, acted as the pitching coach. Listed below are AFL stats for each of the Phillies organization's 8 players... Michael Schwimer, relief pitcher- 10 games, 0-0 record, 0 saves, 4.26 ERA, 12 2/3 IP, 8 K, 8 BB. Scott Mathieson, relief pitcher- 11 games, 0-0 record, 0 saves, 2.84 ERA, 12 2/3 IP, 15 K, 8 BB. Michael Cisco, starting pitcher- 6 starts, 1-2 record, 0 saves, 3.38 ERA, 18 2/3 IP, 13 K, 8 BB. Edgar Garcia, relief pitcher- 10 games, 1 start, 2-2 record, 0 saves, 5.29 ERA, 17 innings, 10 K, 4 BB. Troy Hanzawa, shortstop- 2-for-25 (.080 avg.), ...

Jacob Diekman was a 30th round draft selection by the Phillies in 2007. Currently the lowest draft pick on the class A Lakewood BlueClaws roster, Diekman is enjoying some solid success in the second half this season. Diekman began 2009 as a starting pitcher with Lakewood, but was moved to the bullpen after two shaky starts. Around the all star break this season, Diekman and pitching coach Bob Milacki changed Jacob's arm angle to more of a side arm delivery. Since the start of July, Diekman's ERA is 1.42 in 18 games pitched. I had the opportunity to interview Jacob last week and here is how that went down. Jacob, how would you describe the differences in success, since the change of the arm angle? I was right over the top before and now they switched me to a side arm, like a low 3-quarter...I'm liking it right now. I think it's an advantage for the pitcher, especially in relief and especially from the left side, because everything tales away. I feel like I have more cont...

Trevor May is a starting pitcher for the Phillies single A affiliate Lakewood BlueClaws. Drafted in the 4th round of the 2008 amateur draft, Trevor began this season in extended spring training and joined the team late. May, a 19 year old, has a 2-1 record and a 3.02 ERA over 9 starts for Lakewood this season. His ERA over his last 7 games is 2.43. I had a chance to speak with Trevor after Saturday night's game, and here's how that went. Trevor, can I get some thoughts on tonight's game (No decision, 3 ER, 7 IP, 9 K's, 2 walks)? Tonight was just one of those nights where I went out there, tried to get some off-speed going...it didn't work as well as usual and I just tried to battle through and have a good outing. I want to go out there every time and give my team a chance to win. Ya know, don't give up any runs...whatever it is. I feel like, for the last month or so, every time I go out there I give my team a chance to win. Tonight was another one of those night...

Pedro Martinez's visit to Lakewood on Sunday was a big deal for all involved. Pedro is looking forward to getting himself ready to pitch in the Majors. Phans are anticipating the Phillies adding another Cy Young Award winner to the pitching staff. The Phillies are hoping that Martinez can contribute and help the Phillies in the pennant chase. The home team BlueClaws tried to play host to the Phillies' pitcher, additional media and an early arriving crowd. I spoke with a couple key BlueClaws in Sunday's happenings, who also thought it was a big deal, catcher Kyle Lafrenz and pitching coach Bob Milacki. Lafrenz was a 2009 draft pick and is the first '09 draft choice to make it to the Class A level BlueClaws. Milacki is a former Major League pitcher and an experienced coach. I asked Kyle about his experience in the roughly 25 minutes he spent warming up with and catching Pedro... You can't beat it. I mean, he's a future Hall of Famer, in my words. But, his stuff...

Links for today from around my bloggerhood... Amanda talks about Ruben Amaro's top 10 moves as Phillies GM, over on PhilliesNation . Late Night with Jimmy Fallon's got a good blog. Here they review funny names in the sport of baseball. Minor league media head Mike Ashmore covered two double headers yesterday in NJ. Read his live blog from the quadruple header right here . Not sure if it's streaming all day, but PhoulBallz.com is fully in the mix on Slugtrail Radio's podcast that was recorded last night. If you like prank calls, random discussion and sports talk...check that out here . SI has a photo list of most recent MLB no hitters by team. Check that out here . Lakewood coach Bob Milacki was part of the Orioles' most recent no-no. David Murphy's got some quotes from Jason Donald on being traded. The Indians' triple A team, the Columbus Clippers, are visiting Lehigh's Coca Cola Park, so the trio of Donald, Lou Marson and Carlos Carrasco had a fast in...

I spoke with Lakewood pitching coach Bob Milacki recently. Just a couple quick questions, mainly about his visit to the double A all star game and the BlueClaws' pitching prospects. Here is what Coach Bob had to say. Coach Bob, can I get some comments on your experiences at the Double A all star game in Trenton this month? It was fun. It was fun. I went over there, they called me, 'cause I was born in Trenton...and threw out the first pitch. And they also wanted me to participate in the home run derby (Coach Bob threw pitches to Phillies minor leaguer Michael Taylor in the derby), which is different for me. But, it was fun. I got a chance to see some guys who I coached in previous years with the Pirates, so it was kind of neat. Big crowd. Were you a choice of Michael Taylor's at all, or did the organizers assign you to pitch to him? He didn't know I was going to be throwing. He probably would have wanted somebody else. But he did hit one homerun, so it was nice. It was...

The Double A Eastern League All Star Game took place Wednesday night in Trenton. The evening included a homerun derby that pitted prospects like the Twins' Rene Tosoni, Boston's Lars Anderson and the Phillies' own Michael Taylor against the likes of two local high schoolers. Mike Fassl, a New Egypt High School senior, won the contest by besting Toronto's Brian Dopirak (19 homers so far in the regular season) 1-0 in the final round. And yes they got 10 outs. The entire Derby was difficult to watch. Futures Game MVP Rene Tosoni put up a goose egg (zero) in the first round. Michael Taylor laid on some drama, going 9 outs into his session before blasting one out to left-center. He ended his round with 1 total homerun. The Indians' Carlos Santana put down his guitar to participate in the derby as well, and slugged just a single shot also. Fassl's father, Mike Sr., was his pitcher for the event. In the game itself, the Southern Division won the game, led by Miguel Ab...

Justin De Fratus is a 21 year old right handed relief pitcher with the Lakewood BlueClaws. An 11th round draft choice in 2007, Justin had been a starter in his first two seasons in the Phillies organization. Informed this spring that he'd be switched from the rotation to the bullpen, Justin has excelled and become one of the most reliable pitchers on the Lakewood staff. In 19 games this season, Justin is 2-0, with a 1.83 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 39 1/3 innings pitched. PhoulBallz.com spoke with Justin De Fratus just last night. Here's how that went down... Justin, South Atlantic League all star selections were announced this week, and you were named to the team. Can I get your reaction to that? How excited were you? Very excited about it. Well, especially this year because I just got moved to the bullpen, so this is a new role for me. So, if anything, it's reassuring that I'm doing my job. It's the first time in my pro career that I've been selected as an all star...

PhoulBallz.com spoke with Lakewood BlueClaws pitching coach, and former Major League pitcher, Bob Milacki. - I asked Coach Bob to comment on Jason Knapp's sparkling 7 shut out inning/14 strike out performance on Tuesday. Ah, it was impressive. Impressive. I mean you see a guy that throws that hard, that young, and has command of his three pitches, it was fun to watch. - What's his pitch repertoire like? He has a fastball, a good curveball and his third pitch is his changeup. But, ya know, when he had them all working together, and you throw a lot of strikes, it's fun to watch. They were late on his fastball, he overpowered hitters at times, and he changed speeds enough to where they never really caught up to his fastball. It was really impressive to watch. - How much have you had to do with Knapp upping his level of performance? I think it's all him. I mean, he's tremendous at making changes. The pitching coach is here just to guide him in the right direction, but h...

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...