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It's that time of year that gets folks in the mood to be merry. The biggest of all holidays is loved by all, for many reasons. Baseball players certainly don't feel any differently. In recent weeks, I have checked in with several Phillies players, from the bottom to the top of the system, to find out what stands out for them as reasons to get excited for Christmas. Players that took part in this year's questionnaire include top 2013 draft pick shortstop J.P. Crawford , righty pitching prospects Colby Shreve , Nic Hanson and Mark Leiter Jr., third base prospect Mitch Walding , minor league first baseman Art Charles as well as Phillies rookie catcher Cameron Rupp . Questions and answers detailing each player's holly jolly holiday favorites are ahead... What is your favorite Christmas movie or TV special? JP Crawford- Favorite Christmas movie is The Grinch. Just one of my favorite movies. Mark Leiter Jr.- Elf. Definitely, Elf. Will Ferrell! ...

Dave Lundquist and Jesse Biddle, Image- Jay Floyd Over the weekend, I spoke with Double-A Reading Fightin Phillies pitching coach Dave Lundquist. A former big leaguer with the White Sox and Padres, "Lundy" has been coaching in the Phils system since 2008. The 40-year-old spoke openly about nearly his entire pitching staff including top prospect Jesse Biddle , David Buchanan , Mike Nesseth , Seth Rosin , Austin Wright as well as Brody Colvin . Read ahead for that full interview... - Jesse Biddle came out in Trenton over the weekend and had somewhat of a bounce back effort, following a pair of poor outings. He says it's not a good result unless he wins, but overall it's gotta be a positive step for him, right? Absolutely. If you look at his last two outings, two-thirds of an inning and then an inning and a third, to come out (on Friday) night and really to have the command, much, much better than he's had. The confidence level was much highe...

After a troublesome beginning (5.71 ERA in 10 games) to 2013 with Class-A Advanced Clearwater, righty reliever Mike Nesseth is having a strong campaign with Double-A Reading this year, posting a 1-1 record with three saves, a 1.96 ERA and a .204 batting average against. With teammate Kyle Simon sidelined with an injury, Nesseth, who stands 6-foot-5 and is listed as weighing 210 pounds, took over the closer role and has been very solid for the Fightins. The Minnesota native was drafted in the 17th round in 2010, while already recovering from Tommy John surgery.  After a somewhat delayed start to his pro career, Nesseth entered this season with a 3.07 ERA in 53 professional games over three seasons. I spoke with Mike recently about his change of roles within the bullpen, his boost in velocity, players he looked up to as a youngster and plenty more.  Read ahead for that full interview. - Mike, you've landed in the closer role here for Reading recently.  What can...

Here's our weekly rundown of top performers and those players that have cooled off as of late.  Stats and notes current through games played on Saturday. Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs... Who's hot- IronPigs Third baseman Cody Asche Third baseman Cody Asche is 13-for-34 (.382 avg) with two doubles, a triple, a homer and three RBI in his last nine games.  Asche, a lefty batter, was the Phillies' 4th round draft pick in 2011.  The 22-year-old is batting .281 with seven home runs and 40 RBI in 65 games this year. Upon making his Triple-A debut, catcher Cameron Rupp went 4-for-11 (.367 avg) with three RBI in his first three contests.  Rupp, 24, was the Phillies' 3rd round draft choice in 2010 out of the University of Texas. Who's not- In his last nine games, outfielder Leandro Castro is 6-for-35 (.171 avg) with a double, a triple and four RBI.  The Dominican native celebrated his 24th birthday this weekend.  Overall, Castro is sporting a ...

Righty reliever Colby Shreve entered his 2013 campaign with a 19-14 record, six saves and a 3.54 ERA along with a 7.25 K/9 mark and a 3.24 BB/9 mark in 110 games at three levels, but hasn't been as sharp this season. In 15 games (14 with Class A Advanced Clearwater and one with Double-A Reading), the Las Vegas native has a 0-2 record, a 4.44 ERA and has struck out 19 and walked 16 in 26 1/3 innings pitched. The 6-foot-5 210-pounder was sidelined with an elbow injury and required Tommy John surgery when he was selected in the 6th round of the 2008 draft by the Phils and did not make his pro debut until 2010. Shreve, 25, altered his arm angle a bit last year and improved the velocity of his fastball which was clocked at 95 MPH during his time with Reading in 2012. Last month, I talked with Colby, during his most recent stint with Reading, for Phillies Nation TV. He spoke about working to climb the developmental ladder, getting drafted by the Phillies and his impression of...

It's the 26th episode of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast. On this edition of the show, Tug and Jay talk about baseball coming second for many minor league teams, Lakewood's upcoming South Atlantic League All-Star events, the Phillies' bullpen and Tug's annoyance level related to happenings with TheFightins.com. Jay also serves up an exclusive interview with prospect Zach Collier . 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 .

Tops on the Phillies' developmental hot list is Double-A Reading Ace Jesse Biddle , who, in his last two outings, has thrown 13 scoreless innings, while allowing just two total hits and striking out 26 batters.  Overall this season, Biddle, who was the Phils' 1st round draft selection in 2010, has a 2-1 record with a 1.74 ERA and a .114 batting average against. Last week, Biddle locked down a win against Harrisburg, when he struck out 16 and allowed only one hit and no runs over seven innings. On Sunday, in Reading's 2-1 win over New Hampshire, the left-handed 21-year-old fanned 10 New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto affiliate).  The video clip below features Biddle striking out the side in the 5th inning and speaking to the media following his second consecutive tremendous effort.  Also performing extremely well lately is Class A Advanced Clearwater third baseman Maikel Franco , who notched a two homer/seven RBI game on Friday and smacked another home run on Sun...

The PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast is back with episode number 19.  In this edition of the program, Jay and Tug discuss Phillies prospects Harold Martinez , Colby Shreve , Kenny Giles and Tyler Knigge .  In addition, the duo compares their excitement levels for opening day and WrestleMania.  The IronPigs' new urinal gaming system is discussed, as are local player Bill Rice and Phils' versatile youngster Freddy Galvis . Check out the media player below to hear the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .

We’re just under a month until pitchers and catcher are due to report to Clearwater for spring training. That means it’s time to kick off our annual countdown of the top 25 prospects in the Phillies organization. Gradually, in the coming weeks, leading to the kickoff of the 2013 regular season, I will be unveiling player reviews for each of the top developmental talent that you, as Phillies fans, should be familiar with. Taken into consideration when reviewing these young talents will be age, minor league performance relative to levels played, value to the organization as well as future potential. These rankings will not include players over 25-years-old or individuals that have spents lengthy and multiple stretches in the big leagues. Thus, players such as Austin Hyatt , Darin Ruf , Justin De Fratus , Phillippe Aumont and Jake Diekman will not appear on this year’s list. Some very talented youngsters did not make the cut simply because other individuals ranked higher...

Through six relief appearances in the Arizona Fall League righty hurler Colby Shreve has posted a 1.35 ERA while holding opponents to a .167 average. At three levels during the 2012 regular season, the 24-year-old College of Southern Nevada product tallied a 6-3 record with a 3.69 ERA and a 7.38 K/9 mark. A slight adjustment to his arm angle this year helped the 6-foot-5 210-pounder to upgrade his velocity, which was steadily clocked at 95 MPH in 2012. The Phillies' 6th round draft selection in 2008, Shreve had Tommy John surgery and missed his first full season following signing a professional contract, as he recovered. Recently, Colby took some time to offer his thoughts on the AFL and what he's working on while there. Read ahead for that interview. -How did you find out you'd be competing in the Arizona Fall Lg and what was your reaction? I found out I was coming to the fall league about 10 days before our regular season ended. I was excited to come to ...

Tuesday marks the beginning of another baseball season...the Arizona Fall League season.  This year, as the league celebrates its 20th anniversary, representatives from the Phillies organization will team with players from the Reds, Padres, Twins and Mariners to make up the Poeria Javelinas roster. Led by 2012 Double-A Reading Phillies manager Dusty Wathan , the club will feature seven Phils minor leaguers.  Righty relievers Kyle Simon, Tyler Knigge and Colby Shreve , who each manned a key bullpen role for the R-Phils into the playoffs this season, will solidify Peoria’s relief corp.  Left-hander Jay Johnson will also be serving as a reliever for the team.  Additionally, catcher Tommy Joseph , who was acquired by the Phillies in the Hunter Pence trade this year, will see considerable playing time.  Third baseman Cody Asche , who made an impact at two levels in 2012, his first full year of professional baseball, is also on the roster along wit...

The Thunder struck in the 9th inning with three runs off of Reading reliever Colby Shreve to knot the Double-A Eastern League division series at one game apiece in the best of five match up. The outburst was a result of clutch hitting with some luck sprinkled on top as, with the bases loaded, Trenton designated hitter Rob Segedin laced a slicing drive to right field that got by a diving Leandro Castro resulting in a triple while plating three runs. The right-handed Shreve (6-3, 3.69 ERA, 4 saves in 47 games at three levels this year) began the 9th by getting David Adams out on a grounder, but a walk to Zoilo Almonte and a single by Addison Maruszak presented a tough spot for the 24-year-old former 6th round draft selection. Shreve then battled back, striking out catcher J.R. Murphy . Shreve then issued an intentional walk to lefty hitter Kevin Mahoney to reach the more appealing match up against the righty batting Segedin, who was 0-for-3 in the contest to that point. ...

With Thursday's 1-0 loss at Trenton, Reading has been shut out for three consecutive games. It is the first such streak since April, 2005. In addition, the R-Phils are just 3-12 in July, after ending June 1.5 games up in first place in the Double-A Eastern League's Eastern division. On the club's offensive struggles of late, manager Dusty Wathan (pictured) had the following to say: "I think (the struggles) would have been (of great concern) if we hadn't seen some adjustments made. I think (Thursday's) ball game, we did a nice job with our bats all the way from top to bottom, for the most part. We gave ourselves some chances to score some runs. It was just one of those things in baseball where you can't get the big hit. I think if you had talked to me a week ago, I would have been a little bit frustrated with the way our approach is at the plate. But, I think we've made some nice adjustments and I think it'll come, with patience. I think we...

In place of our usual weekly minor league review where we glance at statistics of players that are on a roll or ones that are performing in the opposite manner, we'll let an inside man have a go at providing information on some Phillies prospects of importance. Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to sit down with Gorman Heimueller, the Phillies' minor league pitching coordinator. Heimueller, who has been the Phils' minor league pitching coordinator since 2002, pitched 14 seasons as a pro, including parts of two with the Athletics. Prior to his current position, Heimueller was a pitching coach at the Double-A and Triple-A level for the Phillies. On Saturday, Heimueller offered his thoughts on several young hurlers in the organization's developmental system. Those quotes lie ahead. On Class A Lakewood RHP Colin Kleven , who is the team's lone South Atlantic League All-Star representative... "His career, the way he's come, from when we drafted him, he'...