PhoulBallz.com

As was announced last week , Major League Baseball is set to return from hiatus in July with each team permitted to designate a player pool of up to 60 individuals that can play in games. Via Twitter on Sunday night, the Phillies announced their collection of talent that will be able to take the field in red pinstripes this year. Ready for Summer Camp. #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/om4nTEFocY — Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 29, 2020 Included on the Phils' list of player that will be in the big leagues or on the club's taxi squad, are the top two prospects in the organization, righty hurler Spencer Howard and corner infielder Alec Bohm . Spencer Howard, image- Jay Floyd Howard, who is known for his fastball that reaches triple digits pitched last year in the Arizona Fall League, where he faced many of baseball's top minor league talents. In six appearances for Scottsdale, the 23-year-old notched a 1-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Ad...

Deivy Grullon, image- Jay Floyd Please visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone.  Plus you'll get interviews as well as other exclusive content you won't be able to enjoy anywhere else.  I could use, and I would value, your backing.   At the time of his signing with the Phillies at the age of 16, backstop Deivy Grullon was one of the top baseball prospects in the Caribbean. Following a lengthy tenure in the minors, Grullon made his big league debut last season and it could be very difficult to deny him a roster spot at the top level any longer. Grullon, who signed for a reported $575,000 in July 2012, looked very good upon making his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League Phillies in 2013, posting a .273 batting average with eight doubles, a home run and 14 RBI in 41 games at the Rookie level. He followed up that campaign with a season in which he saw action at three ...

So you've been wondering about off-season baseball leagues and how Phillies players are doing. Well, except for the Arizona Fall League , which started and ended its schedule earlier than normal this year, there has been very limited action thus far. Deivy Grullon, image- Jay Floyd The Dominican Winter League features Deivy Grullon competing for the Aguilas. In just four games, the catcher has posted a .143 average with two RBI. Roughly 10 days into its schedule, the Venezuelan Winter League hasn't seen any Phillies impact. Catcher Gregori Rivero, who played in the Phils system last year, is 0-for-1 with a walk for Zulia. The other leagues in Australia and Puerto Rico are set to open their schedules soon. On Friday night, the Roberto Clemente League in Puerto Rico will get underway. Lefty pitcher Gabriel Cotto is expected to be featured on the Carolina roster while catcher Willie Estrada is included on the Mayaguez roster. Cotto pitched in the Gulf Coast L...

Over the off-season, sometimes this site can go stretches of several days without a post or an update, but if you're looking for constant news, stats and insight on what is taking place with Phillies developmental talents throughout the autumn and winter months, follow me on Twitter or simply bookmark my Twitter profile page ( https://twitter.com/PhoulBallz ) to get daily alerts and details. In the Dominican Winter League thus far, catcher Deivy Grullon and shortstop Malquin Canelo have each posted a .143 batting average in four games for their respective teams. In the Arizona Fall League, where Phils prospects are playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions, corner infielder Alec Bohm is sporting a .361 batting average with a pair of homers, nine RBI and five walks in 19 contests. Righty pitcher Spencer Howard has notched a 1-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and an 11.4 K/9 mark in six starts. In eight appearances left-hander JoJo Romero has posted a 1-0 record, a 0.84 ERA and ...

JD Hammer, image- Cheryl Pursell HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL YEAR LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to my posts plus EXCLUSIVE interviews & other content- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Recently I published a feature on reliever J.D. Hammer , who spent some time with the big league Phillies before returning to the minors with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. In the piece, Hammer and the IronPigs' coaching staff speak about the righty pitcher's current path and what he's focused on to return to the majors. During my time chatting with the talented prospect he spoke on some topics that didn't make the cut in the feature.  Topics included the variance in the baseball at the upper levels, the IronPigs' catchers and more.  Read ahead for those interview excerpts. I asked Hammer about the difference in the baseball from the lower levels of the minors to Triple-A and the majors.  The variance in the balls is said to take ...

Recently I chatted with Lehigh Valley pitching coach about his staff.  Topics included in the discussion were Ramon Rosso , Enyel De Los Santos , Cole Irvin , JoJo Romero , Josh Tols , as well as catcher Deivy Grullon and more. Read ahead for that interview... Deivy Grullon, image- Jay Floyd -Catcher Deivi Grullon is having a very good season, continuing his development.  How has Deivi been for you this year? Great. Had him for the last four years. I’ve had him for the past four years. Every year he gets better. He’s gotten better calling games. He’s gotten better working with the staff. He’s getting to know these guys. He knows a lot of them. And he’s been hitting, ripping the cover off the ball. He made the All-Star team, so—tremendous job blocking. Does a good job, I mean, some of the stuff, the new analytical stuff, he’s learning, as far as the heat maps and different things, but he’s doing a good job with them. -JoJo Romero has a rough go o...

Deivi Grullon, image- Jay Floyd It was announced on Thursday that catcher Deivy Grullon and LHP Austin Davis will represent the Lehigh Valley IronPigs as International League All-Stars next month. Grullon, one of four catchers on the IL team, has had a strong season for the 'Pigs.  The 23-year-old righty batter sports a .307 average with 14 doubles, 10 home runs and 44 RBI in 64 games.  Grullon was signed by the Phillies as an international free agent in 2012. Davis, who has spent time with the big league Phillies this season and last season, sports a 2-0 record with two saves, a 2.64 ERA, an 11.2 K/9 mark in 20 relief appearances for the IronPigs. Davis was a 12th round draft selection in 2014.  In 38 career big league appearances to date, the 26-year-old has notched a 1-2 record with a 4.33 ERA. The annual Triple-A All-Star Game is set to take place on July 10th in El Paso, TX, home of the Chihuahuas, the Padres' affiliate. The winning team earns the right...

Here's a quick rundown of some top performers from around the Phillies' full season minor league clubs. Glogoski, image- Jay Floyd Of late Class A Lakewood has been led by pitcher Kyle Glogoski .  The native New Zealander has a 3-1 record with a 0.96 ERA, a .123 batting average against and a 15.9 K/9 mark in six appearances.  Last weekend I interview the promising 20-year-old.  Click here to listen to that interview. Corner infielder Luke Miller has performed very well in seven games since joining the BlueClaws.  The 22-year-old has tallied a .308 batting average with a double, a home run, four RBI and four walks.  Miller, 22, was the Phillies' 22nd round draft choice last year out of Indiana.  Left-hander Ethan Lindow had a remarkable May, posting a 2.96 ERA and a .221 batting average against in six appearances.  The Georgia native was a 5th round draft pick in 2017 by the Phillies.  Overall with the BlueClaws, the 20-year-old sport...

After nearly a month of minor league action, here is a rundown of some top names throughout the Phillies developmental ranks.  Some would be considered hot, while others are yet to warm up in the early stages of the long season. Class A Lakewood BlueClaws (8-18 record, last place in SAL Northern Division)... The team’s catchers have been contributors at the plate, each batting .300 or better.  Right-handed hitter Abrahan Gutierrez is batting .340 with three doubles and four RBI in 13 games while switch-hitter Rafael Marchan has a .310 average with six doubles and seven RBI in 17 games. Both backstops are natives of Venezuela. Kevin Gowdy, image- Jay Floyd Righty starter Kevin Gowdy has performed well for the BlueClaws, posting a 1.84 ERA with no decisions and a .140 batting average against through four starts.  He has, however, walked 13 while striking out 13 in 14 2/3 innings pitched.  Gowdy was the Phillies’ 2 nd round draft choice in 2...

Deivi Grullon, image- Jay Floyd At the time of his signing with the Phillies at the age of 16, backstop Deivi Grullon was one of the top baseball prospects in the Caribbean. Following six years in the minors, the 22-year-old is still looked at as a very promising player. Grullon, who signed for a reported $575,000 in July 2012, looked very good upon making his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League Phillies in 2013, posting a .273 batting average with eight doubles, a home run and 14 RBI in 41 games at the Rookie level. He followed up that campaign with a season in which he split time at three levels in 2014. Grullon started his season in mid-April with Class A Advanced Clearwater out of extended spring training. He notched two hits in ten at bats in two games there. A move to Class A Lakewood, where he would get more playing time, followed. In 24 games as a BlueClaw, Grullon posted a .237 average with five doubles, a home run and seven RBI. Grull...

This weekend, the Phillies announced news of eight players that will be included in big league camp during this year's upcoming Spring Training workouts.  The list includes mostly familiar names including the top overall pick from the 2016 MLB draft. Left-handed pitchers Tyler Gilbert , JoJo Romero and Cole Irvin will join the team from the start as will outfielder Austin Listi , the organization's offensive Paul Owens Award winner from last season.  Backstop Deivi Grullon , infielder Malquin Canelo as well as outfielders Adam Haseley and Mickey Moniak are also set to take part in sessions with the big league team. Romero and Irvin, both starters, are steadily ranked among the Phillies top pitching prospects.  Gilbert, a reliever, has flown under the radar a bit, but took advantage of his 2018 campaign and made a name for himself.  The Southern California product sported a combined 7-2 record with five saves a 3.25 ERA and a .211 batting average ag...

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 ...

I'll be posting rundowns throughout the off-season to shine a light on Phillies prospects making an impact in various leagues around the world.  This is the first of my regular updates throughout the colder months touching on action in the Arizona Fall League, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and other places.  Statistics are current through games on Saturday. Arizona Fall League (all Phillies representatives here play for the Scottsdale Scorpions)- Luke Leftwich, image- Jay Floyd Righty pitcher Luke Leftwich has not allowed a run in 5 2/3 innings over four appearances.  He has notched eight strike outs and surrendered two walks.  Leftwich, 24, posted a 3.73 ERA in 44 appearances for Double-A Reading this year.  The Wofford College product was a 7th round draft choice of the Phils in 2015. Lefty hurler Jonathan Hennigan has allowed two hits and an earned run in three innings of work.  He tallied a 2.39 ERA in 37 combined games for Class A La...

Aaron Brown, image- Jay Floyd Aaron Brown was a two-way player at Pepperdine, standing out both as an outfielder as well as a pitcher.  The Phillies' 3rd round draft selection in 2014 was slated to play exclusively on the offensive side after signing that year.  After reaching the Double-A level and seeing his batting average come in under .225, he was switched back to the pitching role last year. During the final week of the 2018 season, I talked with the 26-year-old left-hander about the transition and his first full year pitching in the professional ranks. Read ahead for my exclusive interview with Aaron. -It’s been more than a year since your transition from outfielder to pitcher took place. Talk about the past year with the move that you made. Honestly, it was a big opportunity for me to make that transition at the time and I just took full advantage of it. It was towards the end of the year last year. I started my pitching program June 2nd, I believe,...