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Cam Perkins, image- Jay Floyd Outfielder Cam Perkins is having another remarkable season for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.  Fresh off an All-Star campaign in the International League last year in which he posted a .292/.329/.419 slash line, the 26-year-old Purdue product is proving to be consistent, as he is batting .303 with seven doubles, a triple, three HR and nine RBI in 23 games. Perkins, a 6th round draft pick of the Phillies in 2012, spent the off-season playing baseball in the Dominican Republic.  This year in big league spring training, the six-foot-five 195-pound right batter tallied a .355 batting average with three doubles, two homers and six RBI in 14 games. Last month I talked to Cam about winter ball, his spring training experience, his current IronPigs team and more.  Read ahead for that interview. -You enjoyed a very successful spring campaign, which may have been a surprise to some, but probably was not a surprise to you.  What ...

Cam Perkins and Dylan Cozens paced the offense for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs as they defeated the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils by a score of 5-3 in the Rt. 222 Showcase exhibition contest at Allentown's Coca-Cola Park on Tuesday night. Perkins, a 26-year-old righty batting outfielder, drilled a two-run single in the 7th to give the IronPigs a lead they would not relinquish.  Cozens, a 22-year-old lefty slugger, launched a solo home run deep to right field earlier in the contest off of left-hander Brandon Liebrandt to lead off the 2nd inning. Lehigh Valley starting pitcher Mark Appel was tagged for three runs early, as he surrendered four hits, allowed a walk and hit one batter while striking out two.  Harold Martinez knocked in a pair for Reading with a single in the top of the 2nd inning. A fun subplot to the preseason finale saw childhood friends Shane Watson and J.P. Crawford facing one another for the first time since each signed with the Phillies after b...

This week I chatted with Triple-A Lehigh Valley manager Dave Brundage along with outfielder Cameron Perkins . Brundage spoke on several topics including his All-Star closer, veteran Edward Mujica and a pair of starting pitchers. Perkins, also an International League All-Star, spoke about his efforts that earned him such a nod and more. Read ahead for those interview excerpts. Dave Brundage, image- Jay Floyd Brundage: -Speaking about Mujica's contributions to the IronPigs' club... He's a big reason why we're closing ball games out and shutting the door and it's nice to have a veteran in that situation and when he's in there, he throws strikes and, you know, he's not overpowering, but he certainly knows how to pitch. -I then asked Brundage if he thought anyone else on his team was deserving of an All-Star nod... I mean, you know, Nick Williams did-- I mean, for a young guy, I personally, you know, nothing against Mujica, I like voting for y...

The Phillies announced on Wednesday that righty pitcher Mark Appel had undergone surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow. Appel had previously gone on the disabled list with shoulder soreness following his May 22nd start for Lehigh Valley. Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan told me recently that Appel was throwing pain free and the team expected him to be back in action by July 15th. IronPigs manager Dave Brundage stated that he suspected there was more to Appel's physical issues than just the sore shoulder. "Something had to be bothering him, something had to be there, where his stuff had dropped off, you know, his last couple outings, had dropped off significantly," Brundage stated. "I had a hard time believing it was just out of the stretch. It was something more and obviously he was putting a lot of effort into his pitches there and it's a tough break for him, but obviously, you can get (the elbow) cleaned up and ge...

The dawn of a near year brings along with it our annual “Prospect Nation” rankings, which counts down the Phillies organization’s top 25 up and coming young players. Over the next several weeks, with the organization in rebuild mode, I’ll be bringing you reviews for each of the top developmental talents that appear to have the brightest futures for the Phillies. Always taken into consideration when compiling this list is age, minor league performance relative to levels played, value to the organization as well as future potential and proximity to the big leagues. These rankings do not include players over 25 years old or individuals that have spent lengthy stretches in the big leagues. For instance, a talented youngster such as Darnell Sweeney , who wrapped up the regular season on the Major League roster after having played in 37 games for the Phils last year, will not be on this list. Hurlers Alec Asher and Severino Gonzalez , who each made seven starts in the majors last s...

Brock Stassi chats with a teammate, image- Jay Floyd First baseman Brock Stassi has been a top offensive performer all season long for the Double-A Reading Fightins. While helping to keep his team in the Eastern League playoff hunt, the 25-year-old lefty batter has posted a .317 average with seven home runs while leading the league in RBI with 52. Stassi,the Phillies' 33rd round draft pick in 2011, entered the 2015 season as a .246 career hitter with 15 homers in four professional seasons. Recently, I spoke with Stassi about his solid success at the plate this year and plenty more. Read ahead for that interview. -You've had quite a season to date and have really increased your offensive numbers compared to previous seasons. What do you attribute to the improvements you've made? This off-season it all started with breaking down my swing from the ground up. Me and my brother Max, who's with the Astros, live together and the way last year ended, and the wa...

Brock Stassi, image- Jay Floyd The Reading Fightins will be well represented at the 2015 Eastern League All-Star Game later this month in Portland, Maine when five members of the team head to the annual exhibition. Shortstop J.P. Crawford , outfielders Cam Perkins and Roman Quinn along with starting pitcher Zach Eflin as well as first baseman Brock Stassi have been named to the Eastern Division roster for the game set to be played on July 15th. Crawford, the Phillies' top prospect, joined Reading just over a month ago and has posted a .267/.377/.405 slash line in 31 games with the Fightins. The lefty batting 20-year-0ld was the 16th overall draft pick in 2013. Perkins, who is currently on the disabled list with a back issue, has a .252 average with eight home runs and 33 RBI in 61 games. The 24-year-old was the Phillies' 6th round draft choice in 2012. Quinn, also on the disabled list, sported a .306 average with four homers and 15 RBI along with a league-leadi...

Morandini, image- Jay Floyd During the Double-A Reading Fightins' road series at Trenton last week, former Phillies All-Star second baseman and current minor league coach Mickey Morandini sat down for the Phillies Nation TV cameras.  During the interview, he spoke on various topics including Reading's recent home stand in which they played three consecutive extra inning games and were forced to use position players to pitch.  Morandini, who was part of the famed 1993 Phillies, also spoke of what type of clubhouse the Fightins have this season.  Read ahead for those interview excerpts.  -On his club tallying 45 innings over a three-game stretch including an 18-inning affair against Altoona on June 11th in which first baseman Brock Stassi played 15 innings on defense, collected four hits and threw three scoreless innings to earn the win... It's tough.  We played a stretch there where we went 18, 13 and 15 (innings) and the 18 inning game was long enough wh...

Dusty Wathan, image- Jay Floyd This week I spent some time chatting with Double-A Reading Fightins skipper Dusty Wathan . The club is well touted this year with a collection of excellent pitching prospects along with some solid producers on offense. In the interview excerpts below, Wathan shares some thoughts on Cam Perkin's dip in production this year, if the Fightin Five rotation makes his job easier and if the offense coming from his bench presents any difficulty in his role. Read ahead for this exclusive interview from the farm. -Off the top, I've got a two part question. Do you feel in any way that the solid production from some of your guys that haven't played every day, like Art Charles and Harold Martinez , makes your job more difficult? On the other side, does the starting rotation, which includes last year's top draft pick Aaron Nola along with Jesse Biddle , Zach Eflin , Tom Windle and Eastern League Pitcher of the Week Ben Lively , make your spot ...

Joe Jordan, image- Jay Floyd Recently, I caught up with the Phillies' director of player development Joe Jordan to discuss several key subjects throughout the minor leagues. Jordan, who took over his current role following the 2011 season, commented on pitching prospects Adam Morgan and Ricardo Pinto as well as outfielders Cord Sandberg , Roman Quinn , Cam Perkins and Aaron Altherr along with catcher Tommy Joseph . Also a topic of discussion is the realignment of some minor league coaches this year plus field coordinator Doug Mansolino. Read ahead for the comments from Jordan and click here for his exclusive injury updates from last week. - Adam Morgan (0-1, 5.00 ERA in two starts) is back in action at the Triple-A level for the IronPigs. What's the outlook for Adam right now? Adam had a good camp. He just progressed all the way. We got him built up there at the end, so he was ready to go to Lehigh. Adam looks good, you know. He’s fine. He just needs to ...

Cam Perkins, image- Jay Floyd Since he was drafted by the Phillies with their sixth round selection in 2012, outfielder Cam Perkins has been one of the organization's most promising prospects. The right-handed batting Perkins has displayed excellent skills in many aspects of his game and is closest to the big leagues out of all the players from that year's Phils draft class. Perkins signed quickly in 2012 and upon his pro debut he batted .158 with three RBI in five games for the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies. Following a promotion to the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters, Perkins shined. In 67 games, he tallied a .304 average with 23 doubles, one triple, one home run and 38 RBI. The following season, Perkins was a top performer in the Class A Advanced Florida State League. The year, he was sidelined with a fractured wrist after being hit by a pitch on May 31st. At the time of his injury, Perkins was among the league leaders in several offensiv...

This week's rundown includes details on some Phillies players making their off-season league debuts including Ethan Martin , Cesar Hernandez as well as outfield prospect Dylan Cozens along with updates on key names such as Jesse Biddle , Maikel Franco and Aaron Altherr . Read ahead for all your fall/winter league updates from around the globe. Puerto Rico/ Roberto Clemente League Lefty pitcher Jesse Biddle had an alarming outing with Mayaguez on Saturday, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings while striking out four and walking two. The 23-year-old sports a 15.19 ERA in two outings in Puerto Rico. Biddle, the Phils' top draft pick in 2010, posted a 5-10 record with a 4.58 ERA in 19 starts in the minors this year. Also with Mayaguez, Jesmuel Valentin , who was acquired from the Dodgers by the Phils in the Roberto Hernandez trade this year, is 2-for-7 with an RBI in five games. The 20-year-old infielder posted a .273/.341/.412 slash line in 120 min...

Here's another weekly roundup of how various Phillies players are performing in off-season leagues around the globe. In the Venezuelan Winter League- Cam Perkins, image- Jay Floyd With La Guaira, OF Cam Perkins has gone 2-for-12 (.167 avg) with an RBI in four contests. The 24-year-old was drafted by the Phillies in the sixth round in 2012 out of Purdue. In 126 combined games at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, Perkins posted a .271/.326/.384 slash line. In nine games with Zulia, OF Aaron Altherr is 8-for-25 (.320 avg) with two doubles, two HR and six RBI. Altherr served as a big league roster filler at times this year, going 0-for-5 in two games. The 23-year-old was a ninth round pick in 2009. Also with Zulia, OF Wilmer Oberto is batting .269 with an RBI in nine games. The 21-year-old Venezuelan split time this season between Class A full season Lakewood and short-season A level Williamsport, posting a .226/.301/.355 slash line in 75 total gam...

Rob Ducey, image- Tug Haines Prior to the end of the minor league season on Monday, I spent some time with Double-A Reading hitting coach Rob Ducey about several of his players' progress this season. Ducey, who played in the big leagues with the Phillies, Blue Jays, Rangers, Mariners, Expos and Angels, joined the Phillies organization as a coach this year. The former outfielder spoke about the Phillies' collection of rising young outfielders including Aaron Altherr , Zach Collier , Kelly Dugan , Cameron Perkins and Peter Lavin . He also offered insight on talented infielder Carlos Alonso . Read ahead for that full interview. - Aaron Altherr has an exciting year with time spent at the big league level. What are your thoughts on Altherr's season? Well, he's obviously in the development part of his career and is trying to iron some things out mechanically, mentally, things that young players go through while they're trying to establish themselves as p...