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Righty batting infielder Hunter Stovall joined the Phillies organization earlier this season in a trade with the Rockies for lefty hurler James Pazos.  Following the deal, Stovall, who was a 21st round draft pick last year, joined the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. In 61 games for the 'Claws, the 22-year-old Mississippi State product has tallied a .216 average with eight doubles, three triples and 19 RBI. Last week I talked with Hunter about the trade, not being an everyday player at times, his faith and tons more.  Read ahead for that interview. -You start out the year elsewhere.  What can you tell me about your season and the trade to come over to the Phillies? The trade was a surprise, of course. I mean I hadn’t even been in pro ball a year and I’m already getting traded, so it was kind of a shock. But, it is what it is, but the season this year, I haven’t got to get in there as much as I’d like, but I guess it’s just the way the Phillies work. It is what i...

Recently I was lucky enough to have Class A Lakewood infielder Cole Stobbe spend a few minutes with me to answer nine silly-ass questions. The 21-year-old, who was the Phillies 3rd round draft selection in 2016, has been performing very well of late for the 'Claws, posting a .300 average with a pair of homers and three RBI in his last 10 games. In this interview that is designed to get to know and have fun with the player, Stobbe, a Nebraska native, spoke about hip hop music, junk food, a missed employment opportunity and plenty more. The audio, located over at Patreon.com/PhoulBallz, is available exclusively for patrons that support my work. Contribute, help me keep exclusive content coming your way and check it out! Direct link to Cole's interview right here.

Mike Micucci, image- Jay Floyd I am back with another Patreon exclusive! Last weekend, I talked one-on-one with Class A Lakewood BlueClaws manager Mike Micucci about several topics including the defensive progress of middle infielders Luis Garcia and Jonathan Guzman, the promotion of Matt Kroon, the addition of Luke Miller, Cole Stobbe's playing time as well as the free base runner that starts extra innings in the minors. Please head on over to Patreon.com/PhoulBallz to subscribe and support my work.  Contributions there are helpful in simply allowing me to take less of a financial loss in producing this type of content for you, the readers.  Your patronage will get you early access to nearly all of my news and articles but more importantly exclusive interviews and other posts. I also intend to offer some baseball related giveaways once the patron count increases. Direct link to the interview is right here .   

Mike Micucci, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz This season Mike Micucci took over as the 13th manager of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. A draft pick of the Cubs in 1994, Micucci played six season in the professional ranks and has been coaching or working in the developmental ranks virtually since that time. Recently, I sat down with the BlueClaws' new skipper to get to know him a bit.  He chatted about his local ties, his family and several of his players, including last year's Phillies first round draft pick Alec Bohm .  Read ahead for that interview. -Firstly, I want to ask you about Alec Bohm.  Some people are surprised he landed at this level, on this roster.  What have you seen from him? I mean honestly, we had talked a little bit. He basically showed up to our group on the last day of spring training. So, we haven’t even seen much of him...

Cole Stobbe, image- Jay Floyd On a throwback Thursday, we're taking it back to April of this year when I talked to Class A Lakewood third baseman Cole Stobbe (pronounced STOW-bee) in this previously unreleased interview. This year, Stobbe has missed significant time with two separate hamstring strains to the same leg.  In just 12 total games with the BlueClaws the righty batting Nebraska native posted a .209 average with three doubles, a home run and seven RBI. The 20-year-old was the Phillies' 3rd round draft choice in 2016.  He was ranked as the Phillies' 22nd best prospect entering this season. Read ahead for the full interview. -What are you early impressions of Lakewood? It’s a big field. But, you see the crowd, you see how they interact, it’s going to be a fun place to play. -How did your spring campaign go for you? It was good. You know, the whole thing about spring is that nothing counts, so you can go ahead and get yourself ready for when ...

David Parkinson, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ-- It had been roughly four and a half hours since the Lakewood BlueClaws did what they needed to do on Sunday before they found out their first half fate.  With a start time of 5:05 PM for Kannapolis (White Sox affiliate), who were ahead of the BlueClaws in the Class A South Atlantic League North Division standings by .003 percentage points, it would be a few anxious hours, or more, until a trip to the 2018 postseason would be decided. Greensboro, the Marlins affiliate managed by former Phillies catcher Todd Pratt, completed a three-game sweep in Kannapolis to lock in a first half division title and a playoff spot for the BlueClaws. Lakewood's star on Sunday was lefty pitcher David Parkinson, the Phils' 12th round draft selection a year ago.  The 22-year-old struck out 11, walked none and allowed no runs on just three hits over seven innings of work to notch his sixth win of the season. The effort for Parkinson placed...

Marty Malloy, image- Jay Floyd The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws have a four-game win streak intact entering the weekend.  The team's pitching staff ranks third in the South Atlantic League with a 2.67 staff ERA.  Their offense, however, ranks last in the league with a .221 batting average.  On Friday, I talked with BlueClaws' manager Marty Malloy about a few of his key pitchers and some of the disappointments at the plate.  Prospect discussed include standout starters Will Stewart and Ramon Rosso as well as closer Addison Russ.  Position players Gregori Rivero and Daniel Brito were topics of discussion as were injured offensive contributors Jhailyn Ortiz, Simon Muzziotti and Cole Stobbe.  Read ahead for my full interview with Malloy.  -Left-hander Will Stewart is off to a great start with the team.  He's 20 years old and has a 4-0 record with a 1.46 ERA through six starts.  What can you share about how outstanding he has been? Al...

Tyler Henson, image- Jay Floyd The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws are off to a fair start, posting a 7-7 record through the first couple weeks of the season.  The guy in charge of the offense (2nd lowest OPS in the South Atlantic League entering action on Friday, with a .636 mark) is former Phillies farm hand Tyler Henson. A 5th round pick of Baltimore in 2006, Henson, 30, took the field in the Phillies organization from 2013-2015 on the end of a 10-year playing career. Henson began his coaching tenure in 2016 fresh out of retirement.  Last year, he coached with short-season Class A Williamsport.  During his time in affiliated minor league baseball, Henson posted a .263/.323/.393 slash line. Last week I talked with Coach Henson about his team's lineup, including outfielders Josh Stephen, Jhailyn Ortiz and Simon Muzziotti, along with infielders Daniel Brito, Cole Stobbe, Jake Scheiner and first baseman Quincy Nieporte, plus more about his transition into coaching. ...

Cole Stobbe, image- MiLB.com After making a transition to third base from shortstop last year, Cole Stobbe (pronounced STOW-bee) looks ready to climb the developmental ladder and garner some attention among the Phillies' top prospects. Selected in the 3rd round of the 2016 MLB amateur draft, the right-handed hitting infielder signed quickly with the Phils.  As a high school player prior to the draft, Stobbe was a very well-rounded high school hitter, stroking the ball to all fields while displaying power.  He was committed to playing college ball at Arkansas before being drafted by the Phillies. The first pick of the third round, Stobbe had already seen two of his teammates from the USA Baseball 18-and-under national team get picked by the Phils. Those players, first overall selection Mickey Moniak and second rounder Kevin Gowdy, also signed. Stobbe made his pro debut as a shortstop for the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies. In 44 games, the Nebraska native...

Occasionally, Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan takes time to chat with me about the organization's rising prospects and he was generous once again this week to offer his insight.  With some top names like J.P. Crawford and Dylan Cozens struggling out of the gate and other well-regarded prospects like Nick Pivetta and the talented pitchers at Class A and High-A doing great jobs, Jordan discussed those players as well as first round draft picks outfielder Cornelius Randolph and RHP Shane Watson . Outfielders Jose Pujols and Andrew Pullin , lefty pitcher Austin Davis and others were also among the topics. Read ahead for all the exclusive comments. Franklyn Kilome, image- Jay Floyd -Joe, thus far this season the Threshers pitching staff was been excellent, with great ERA's at 2.28 or under from Franklyn Kilome , Jose Taveras, Alberto Tirado, Seranthony Dominguez and company. How pleased are you with the production from this group? They're of...

As a new year begins, so does my annual prospect ranking, which counts down the Phillies organization’s top 25 rising minor league talents. Over the next several weeks, with the organization in the midst of a rebuild, primed to give many young talents the opportunity to break into the major leagues and show what they can do, I’ll be serving up reviews for each of the top developmental talents that appear to have the brightest futures for the Phillies. Taken into consideration when compiling the list is age, minor league performance relative to levels played, value to the organization as the player’s future potential and proximity to the big leagues. These rankings will not include players over the age of 25 or individuals that have spent lengthy stretches in the big leagues. For example, left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez, who spent the final month of the regular season on the big league Phillies roster, will not appear on this countdown. Tyler Goeddel (12th on this list a ye...

The Phillies opened the second day of this year's amateur draft by selecting SS Cole Stobbe out of Millard West High School in Nebraska with the initial pick of the 3rd round (78th overall). The six-foot-two 195-pounder features incredible bat speed, which scouts were very high on. The righty batter hit .437 with 14 home runs as a senior this spring. Stobbe, who had a commitment to play college ball at Arkansas, told the media that he intends to fly to Philadelphia to sign a pro contract. Defensively, it has been said that the Phils would likely change Stobbe's position to third base or possibly second base. In the 4th round, the Phillies chose lefty pitcher JoJo Romero out of Yavapai College, the same school they drafted Ken Giles out of in 2011. The five-foot-11, 190-pounder sports a fastball that gets as high as the mid-90's. He also features a slider, curve ball and a change up that is said to have nice potential . I would expect Romero to be best suited...