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Dave Brundage, Image- Jay Floyd Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs manager Dave Brundage returned the Phillies' organization this season after a 26-year absence.  Previously, Brundage managed the Braves' Triple-A affiliate for the last six seasons.  Prior to his time in the Atlanta system, the 48-year-old spent 19 season in the Mariners organization as a player, coach and manager.  The Georgia resident was originally drafted as a fourth round pick in 1986 and played at three levels with the Phillies, reaching as high as Double-A Reading before he was traded to Seattle. The IronPigs hung close in the International League wild card standings through the latter portion of the season, but a loss to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday officially eliminated them from the postseason hunt. This weekend, I spoke with Brundage about several of his players, including Adam Morgan , Tyson Gillies as well as Cameron Rupp and he also chatted about September call-ups among other ...

It's another weekly rundown of the Phillies' minor leagues with loads of details on some recent noteworthy performers... Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs- Outfielder Tyson Gillies is batting .306 with four doubles, a homer and three steals in 10 August games.  Overall with the IronPigs this season, the 24-year-old Canadian is batting .217 with a .604 OPS in 55 games.  Gillies was originally acquired from Seattle in the 2009 Cliff Lee trade. Infielder Pete Orr has posted a .392 batting average with six RBI and three stolen bases in 12 August games.  In 84 games this season, the 34-year-old sports a .255 average with four home runs and 27 RBI.  In 12 August games, first baseman Cody Overbeck is batting .370 with three homers and nine RBI.  The 27-year-old, who was the Phils' 9th round draft choice in 2008, has a .268 overall average along with 19 home runs and 62 RBI in 108 games. Second baseman/center fielder Cesar Hernandez , who missed nearl...

We're back with our (usually) weekly developmental rundown.  As you expect, here's a rundown of who is hot and who is not throughout the Phillies' four full season minor league teams. Triple-A Lehigh Valley... Who's hot- Utility man Michael Martinez has been scorching hot this past week, when over a seven-game stretch, the 30-year-old Dominican went 13-for-23 (.565 avg) with two homers and five RBI.  The success follows a month in which he batted .204 in 15 games with the IronPigs and a hitless stint with the big league team in the month of May. First baseman Cody Overbeck also had a very good seven-game stretch, as he went 11-for-26 (.423 avg) with five doubles, two home runs and nine RBI.  The 27-year-old, who was a 9th round draft pick in 2008, is batting .247 overall with 11 homers and 31 RBI in 52 games this season with the 'Pigs. Closer Jake Diekman threw four scoreless outings and notched two saves while striking out eight batters and walki...

It's another edition of the (usually) weekly off-season league rundown.  Check it out, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter league action. Dominican League- Antonio Bastardo (pictured, right) made his DR League season debut on Saturday, throwing a scoreless frame and allowing no baserunners for Cibao.  Bastardo tossed a 1-2-3 inning against Este, closing it out by getting Phils catcher Steven Lerud to fly out.  The 27-year-old lefty was 2-5 with a 4.33 ERA and a save in 65 games for the Phillies in 2012. Lerud sports a .200 batting average with a double, a home run and four RBI in 19 games.  The 28-year-old made his big league debut with the Phils during the 2012 regular season. Veteran lefty Raul Valdes has tallied a 1-2 record with a 3.81 ERA in seven starts for Este.  The 35-year-old had a 2.90 ERA and held opponents to a .168 batting average against in...

It's another edition of our weekly off-season league updates.  Check it out, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter league action.  Venezuelan League- Outfielder Tyson Gillies (pictured, left) is done playing with the Lara team, after just 13 games, as his contract is up.  The 24-year-old had two separate stints in which he missed time in Venezuela, due to ailments, at least one of which was a hamstring issue, something Gillies has dealt with on a recurring basis since the Phillies acquired him in 2009.  The British Columbia native posted a .294 average with two doubles, one triple and four RBI with the Cardenales. Darin Ruf slugged his Venezuelan League leading 10th home run of the season on Sunday.  Ruf, playing mostly left field, has posted a .943 OPS and his 27 RBI are also tops in the league (tie).  Combined with his minor league leading total of 38 homers and his thre...

It's time for another edition of our semi-weekly minor league round up, where we take a look at some top performers from each team. Venezuelan Summer League Phillies- Shortstop Deiber Olivera has been on fire for the VSL club. Through 42 games this season, the 5-foot-11-inch 155-pounder has posted a .400 batting average (2nd in the league) with 15 doubles, 2 triples and 26 RBI. The 19-year-old righty hitter was signed by the Phillies in May 2011. Left-handed hurler Douglas Parada , who threw a 9-inning no-hitter on Saturday, has a 7-0 record with a 0.69 ERA through 11 starts with the VSL Phils. The 19-year-old has struck out 63 and walked just 7 in 65 2/3 innings pitched while holding opponents to a .158 batting average against. Last year in the same league, Parada posted a 5.40 ERA with 4 strike outs and 4 walks in 5 relief outings. Dominican Summer League Phillies- Righty hurler Jorge Serrano has posted a 1-0 record and a 1.08 ERA over his past three starts. The 18-year-old...

Cody Overbeck has proven himself to be an impact slugger after slamming 48 total homeruns and driving in 154 runs across three levels of the Philadelphia developmental ranks from 2010-2011. Throughout his time in the Philadelphia system, Overbeck, who is regarded for his quick hands and his ability to drive the ball, has been valuable to every lineup he has swung a bat for. Formerly a third baseman through his first three seasons in the minor leagues, Overbeck, a 6-foot-1-inch 200-pounder, dabbled in the outfield and was primarily a first baseman in 2011 with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The experience for Overbeck increased his versatility. This past season, the right-handed hitting Overbeck wrecked Eastern League pitching to the tune of a .275 batting average, 18 HR and 46 RBI through 62 games with the Double-A Reading Phillies before he was promoted to the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Under manager Ryne Sandberg, Overbeck had a slow start, but came back strong t...

Today we're taking a glance at Phillies developmental talents playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League, through Sunday, November 6th. First baseman/third baseman Cody Overbeck has been excellent, posting a .339 average with 2 doubles, a triple, a HR and 6 RBI through 17 AFL games. The 25-year-old Overbeck, also sports an on-base percentage of .451. The righty batting slugger mashed 24 regular season homeruns, combined, for Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2011. Outfielder Tyson Gillies has played in 19 games and posted an unimpressive .197 with 2 doubles and a homerun, 5 RBI and 12 walks. The 23-year-old Gillies, who has been sidelined with hamstring and foot injuries over the past two years, has only made one stolen base attempt in AFL play. Darin Ruf , a first baseman, has slugged 3 homers and driven in 13 runs, but has had a tough time overall, batting just .223 in 16 games. The 25-year-old was a 20th round draft pick in 2009...

Autumn is here and the Arizona Fall League is in full swing. The Phillies have several players assigned to the Scottsdale Scorpions, where they merge with prospects from the Giants, Red Sox, Angels and Nationals organizations to fill out a roster that does battle with other clubs' talents. Below is a list reviewing all of the Phils' players that are seeing action in the annual fall developmental league. Through 8 games, outfielder Tyson Gillies has gone 5-for-21 (.238 avg) with no extra base hits, 7 walks and 1 stolen base. The Vancouver native, who turns 23-year-old at the end of this month, missed a great majority of the 2011 regular season with hamstring and foot injuries after playing just 28 games in 2010 due to his recurring hamstring problem. He is using this time in the Arizona Fall League as an opportunity to make up for some of the time missed since joining the Phillies organization in the 2009-2010 off-season as part of the return from Seattle for Cliff Lee . I...

In the coming weeks and months we'll be taking a look at several young talents within the organization that could make an impact on the Phillies' big league roster in 2012. With this first edition, we'll review a couple names that could seize an opportunity due to the Achilles tendon injury that Ryan Howard suffered in the final game of the National League Division Series. It's no secret that three-time All-Star first baseman Ryan Howard is expected to miss the start of next season after undergoing surgery on his ruptured left Achilles tendon this past week. While many fans, media members and baseball analysts expect the Phillies to fill the void, next April, with John Mayberry Jr., who played 18 games at first base in 2011, the team will have other in-house options courtesy of a pair of older prospects. Perhaps the leading option from the minors that could fill in while "The Big Piece" is out of action is 25-year-old Cody Overbeck. The 9th round draft pick...

Before any official release was made by the organization, news came out on Thursday, thanks to social media, that two of the organization's top relief pitching prospects were taking another step toward their ultimate goals of pitching in the Major Leagues. Right-handed pitchers Justin De Fratus and Phillippe Aumont are headed from Double A Reading to the Triple A level Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Both De Fratus and Aumont announced their promotions via Twitter between late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning. De Fratus, a 6-foot-4-inch 220-pounder, has been excellent with the R-Phils. In 23 games, De Fratus posted a 4-0 record with a 2.10 ERA and a team leading 8 saves. De Fratus' 43 strike outs in 34 1/3 innings are impressive as well. The 23-year-old was ranked 5th in the PhoulBallz/PhilliesNation 2011 prospect rankings . The Oxnard, California native De Fratus was originally an 11th round draft pick in 2007 by the Phillies, is definitely pleased with the move, but sti...