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Daniel Brito, image- Jay Floyd An emergency medical situation involving Lehigh Valley IronPigs infielder Daniel Brito halted a game in the first inning on Saturday in Rochester.  Brito was apparently unable to stand and was rushed by emergency services to a local hospital and underwent surgery to address the issue, per reports.   The game that was stopped was slated to be the first contest of a double header.  Both games were postponed, as was Sunday's game against the Red Wings. Brito, a 23-year-old lefty batter, was signed by the Phillies as an international free agent in 2014 at the age of 16.   He was enjoying a breakout season, earning a promotion to the Triple-A level for the first time two weeks ago.   In 63 games for Double-A Reading this year, Brito tallied a .296 batting average with 14 doubles, four triples, six home runs, 22 RBI and three stolen bases.  Since joining the IronPigs, the Venezuela native notched a .286 average with...

I invite you to head on over the Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else.   Each winter I compile prospect rankings and count down the Phillies organization’s top 25 minor league players. In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting reviews for each of the top developmental talents that appear to have the brightest futures for the Phils organization. Taken into consideration when compiling the list is age, minor league performance relative to levels played to date, value to the organization as well as each player's future potential along with proximity to the big leagues. These rankings won't contain players over the age of 25 or individuals that have already spent lengthy stretches in the big leagues. For example, an individual such as JoJo Romero, who was included on last year's edition ...

Daniel Brito, image- Jay Floyd Venezuelan second baseman Daniel Brito has steadily stood out as a talented performer throughout his pro career and is among the Phillies' most promising prospects. Signed by the Phillies in 2014 at the age of 16 for a reported $650,000, Brito would participate in that year's fall instructional league.  He made his official debut the following year with the Dominican Summer League team. In 60 games there, the six-foot-one 170-pounder would tally a .269 average with 10 doubles, three triples and 19 RBI while swiping eight bases. He debuted stateside in 2016 as part of the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies. There he batted .284 with 10 doubles, five triples, two home runs and 25 RBI while stealing seven bases in 47 games. In 2017, Brito was able to put his skills on display in the full season Class A South Atlantic League as a member of the Lakewood BlueClaws. As a 19-year-old, Brito sported a .239 average with 15 doubles, a tri...

With the deadline for 40 man roster additions set for Tuesday, the Phillies made moves to add some promising names to their list of protected players. The Phillies announced the additions of shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa along with right-handed pitchers Adonis Medina and Edgar Garcia are the players added to the Phillies roster. Arquimedes Gamboa, image- Jay Floyd Gamboa, a native of Venezuela, is a talented defender who played in the Arizona Fall League over the past month, sprinkling in some time at third base there, though his bat doesn't feature enough pop to think he will be an impact guy at that position.  Gamboa, a 21-year-old switch hitter, posted a .214/.304/.279 slash line with Class A Advanced Clearwater this year. Medina, a 21-year-old Dominican, is one of the Phils' top prospects and is always a name that pops up when fans and media discuss big trade proposals.  With Clearwater this year, Medina tallied a 10-4 record, a 4.12 ERA and a 9.9 K/9 in 22 ...

Last week I talked with Lakewood hitting coach Tyler Henson about his club's offense.  Among the key topics discussed were powerful outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz and promising second baseman Daniel Brito , who spent much of the season with the BlueClaws.  Read ahead for some exclusive quotes. -Talk about how tough the grind of a full season can be for players that haven't gone through it before. The guys that have never been through it, they don't understand how to-- physically it gets tiring, but the mental part is the biggest part of it at this point and not being too hard on yourself when you when you make outs, 'cause everybody wants to finish the season on a good note.  So, when these guys make outs and they get mad or get frustrated and carry it over to the next at bar, for me right now that's the biggest focus is to calm down and take it one at a time at this point.  So, for the most part, these guys are handling it well, but it's still a l...

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 ...

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. ...

Daniel Brito, image- Jay Floyd Venezuelan infielder Daniel Brito has proved to be a rising performer in the Phillies' system in recent years.  Signed by the Phillies in 2014 at the age of 16 for a reported $650,000, Brito would debut the following year with the Dominican Summer League team.  In 60 games there, the six-foot-one 155-pounder would tally a .269 average with 10 doubles, three triples and 19 RBI while swiping eight bases.   He debuted stateside in 2016 2018 as part of the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies.  There he batted .284 with 10 doubles, five triples, two home runs and 25 RBI while stealing seven bases in 47 games.   In 2017, Brito was able to put his skills on display in the full season Class A South Atlantic League as a member of the Lakewood BlueClaws.  As a 19-year-old, Brito sported a .239 average with 15 doubles, a triple, six homers, 32 RBI and 12 stolen bases over 112 contests.  The full seas...

David Martinelli, image- Jay Floyd As a member of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws this season, David Martinelli has had a steady presence in the club's lineup.  He's helped the team compete all season long as the 'Claws remain hopeful of having an outstanding final month and locking down a postseason berth. Martinelli, the Phillies' 6th round draft selection last season out of Dallas Baptist, has posted a .207 average with six home runs and 26 RBI in 87 games played. I recently spoke with the lefty batting Texas native about his season, teammates Mickey Moniak and Daniel Brito, his draft experience last year and plenty more.  Read ahead for that full interview. -I'm hoping to get your thoughts on your 2017 with the BlueClaws. Yeah, we're a different team now than we were at the start of the season.  There's a lot of new guys, a lot of new faces.  We have a shot here, we have 30-some games left.  We have a shot to win some games, make the playoffs ...

Nelson Prada, image- Jay Floyd Last week, I sat down to chat with the hitting coach for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws Nelson Prada about much of his team's lineup.  Key topics included second baseman and lead-off hitter Daniel Brito, the South Atlantic League's RBI leader first baseman and designated hitter Darick Hall and last year's first overall draft pick outfielder Mickey Moniak, among others.  The BlueClaws were in the midst of a four-game win streak to start the month and had just beaten division rival Greensboro in walk-off fashion at the time of this discussion.  Read ahead for the full interview. -Huge win. Brito with a big hit there to win it.  He's had some ups and downs this year.  Can you talk about Brito a bit? Yeah, I mean, we've been working with Brito honestly to hit the ball the opposite field and he's been pulling some balls through the year.  Even Hagerstown, they shift him sometimes, which is something that's not good for hi...

The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws missed clinching the first half division title in the Sally League by mere percentage points in the Northern Division standings.  Team skipper Marty Malloy took time last week to sit down with me and chat about his team's success and commented on several of the Claws' key players, including first baseman Darick Hall, last year's top overall draft pick Mickey Moniak , outstanding reliever Will Hibbs, who was promoted to Clearwater since this interview, well regarded righty pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez and others.  Read ahead for that full interview... Darick Hall, image- Jay Floyd -Darick Hall missed a few weeks early in the season with an ankle injury and leads the league in RBI despite missing so many games.  What sort of difference has he made for the team? I mean he's had a big impact.  Obviously, hitting in the four hole every day, it doesn't matter right-handed pitching, left-handed pitching, he gives us a big pres...

Well stocked for the future at the second base position, the Phillies have a collection of talented players enjoying success at several levels. It’s, as they say, a good problem to have. According to the Phillies’ director of player development Joe Jordan the collection of talent at a key position is something the Phillies’ brass has discussed considerably. Cesar Hernandez, image- Jay Floyd At the top level, Cesar Hernandez, has become the Phillies’ most consistent offensive performer this season. The 26-year-old could be in line for his first big league All-Star nod if his exceptional efforts continue. Through 21 games this season, heading into action on Saturday, Hernandez has tallied a .318 batting average with four doubles, a triple, four home runs, 10 RBI and three stolen bases. Hernandez mashed just six homers last season in 155 games played with the Phillies. His surge in power and a solid ability to drive the ball has been attributed to a quality workout program ...

JP Crawford, image- Jay Floyd One of the primary stories out of the Phillies developmental levels in the early going this season is the weak offensive production of minor league shortstop J.P. Crawford and two poor outings from promising hurler Jake Thompson . Crawford, the organization's first round draft choice in 2013, is among the youngest players in the Triple-A International League, at 22 years old. Through 10 games for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the talented lefty batter sports a .086 average with a triple and one RBI. Thompson, who was a significant part of the return from Texas in the 2015 Cole Hamels trade, has been alarmingly ineffective in two starts for Lehigh Valley. In both outings he has lasted just 2 1/3 innings, while allowing nine earned runs on opening night and being tagged for six earned runs in his second game. In 4 2/3 total innings, the 23-year-old has allowed 15 hits and three walks while striking out three. Entering the season, Crawford ...