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Steve Schrenk, image- Jay Floyd Last week I talked with pitching coach Steve Schrenk about his staff with the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils.  The covered mostly all of the team's hurlers including JoJo Romero, Ranger Suarez, Elniery Garcia, Edgar Garcia, Luke Leftwich plus plenty more. Read ahead for my complete interview with "Schrenky". -Related to JoJo Romero (0-4 record, 6.68 ERA), seems like he's not producing the way perhaps he was expected to, thus far. Yeah, he’s not—I don’t think he’s satisfied with what he’s doing right now.  It’s been just a couple innings here and there for the most part.  It’s been a couple pitches, a couple innings.  I think for the most part he’s been throwing the ball okay.  He needs to be a little more consistent with the strike zone and using his off-speed pitches for strikes.  But, he’s done a good job.  It’s like I said, a couple innings here, a couple big hits.  I think he’ll be right out of...

Greg Legg, image- Jay Floyd Tuesday was media day in Reading, with players and the club's manager, Greg Legg, meeting with local reporters for the first time in 2018. Legg's track record with the Phillies dates back to 1982 when the team drafted him as an infielder in the 22nd round. With the season opening for Reading on Thursday at home against Erie, Legg spoke about his plans for the roster, impressions of some players and plenty more. Read ahead for that full interview. -Sharing thoughts on the strengths of his five starters, Jake Waguespack, Ranger Suarez, JoJo Romero, Franklyn Kilome and Harold Arauz... Probably, if you were going to sum up all five of them, probably their competitiveness.  They're all good athletes.  Waguespack, watching him grow, has been a lot of fun for me.  The last game he threw was four innings and he pretty much threw all fastballs in an intra-squad game and he just dominated our hitters, with the extension he's getting....

Franklyn Kilome, image- Jay Floyd One of the most promising young pitching prospects in the Phillies organization is right-hander Franklyn Kilome . Armed with outstanding velocity and a remarkable repertoire, the talented hurler looks to be pushing his way toward making an impact in the big leagues. Signed by the Phillies as an international free agent in 2013, Kilome would make his professional debut the following year. With the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, as an 18-year-old, Kilome would post a 3-1 record with a 3.12 ERA and a .235 batting average against in 11 appearances. He struck out 25 and walked 11 in 40 1/3 innings. The Dominican Republic native opened 2015 in extended spring training, then joined the short-season Class A Williamsport team when their season began in June. He helped the Crosscutters storm into the postseason with a 3-2 record with a 3.28 ERA and a .230 BAA. He struck out 36 and walked 21 in 49 1/3 innings. In 2016 Kilo...

Last week I was happy to join John Stolnis on his Felske Files Podcast to talk about many promising young players in the Phillies' developmental ranks. Included in the discussion were oft-injured Roman Quinn, slugging outfielder Nick Williams, talented hurler Franklyn Kilome and plenty more. Also on this episode, John talked with my old pal, from the Shore Sports Report days, Joe Giglio about many key Phillies related topics. Check out the show in the embedded media player below.

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...

Franklyn Kilome, image- Jay Floyd One of the most promising young pitching prospects in the Phillies organization is right-hander Franklyn Kilome . Armed with outstanding velocity and a remarkable repertoire, the talented youngster will soon be among the collection of the team's rising hurlers pushing their way toward the big leagues. Signed by the Phillies as an international free agent in January, 2013, Kilome would make his professional debut the following year. With the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, as an 18-year-old, Kilome would notch a 3-1 record with a 3.12 ERA and a .235 batting average against. He struck out 25 and walked 11 in 40 1/3 innings. The Dominican Republic native opened 2015 in extended spring training, then joined the short-season Class A Williamsport team. He helped the Crosscutters storm into the postseason with a 3-2 record with a 3.28 ERA and a .230 BAA. He struck out 36 and walked 21 in 49 1/3 innings. Last year, Kilome w...

Franklyn Kilome, image- Jay Floyd Led by standout hurler Franklyn Kilome 's seven scoreless frames, the Lakewood BlueClaws downed the Rome Braves by a score of 5-0 to earn a win in the opening game of the Class A South Atlantic League Championship Series in Georgia on Monday night. The dominant nine-strike-out effort by the 21-year-old right-hander combined with two perfect innings from this year's Phillies 8th round draft pick and righty reliever Grant Dyer marked Lakewood's second combined one-hitter this month. Alberto Tirado , Blake Quinn and Sutter McLoughlin made up the previous contingent that accomplished the feat on September 1st . The Dominican born Kilome entered the 2016 season as the 10th ranked Phillies prospec t.   On offense, right fielder Jose Pujols recorded two hits while first baseman Wilson Garcia slammed a home run, his first of the postseason. Monday marked the first time this year that Lakewood and Rome, which are separated by an a...

Brian Sweeney, image- Jay Floyd Last week I sat down with Lakewood pitching coach Brian Sweeney to chat about his Class A BlueClaws pitching staff. He talked about the progress of his hurlers, the improvements made by rising prospect Franklyn Kilome , Alberto Tirado changing roles and levels this season and plenty more. Read ahead for that full interview... -The starting rotation has had some good success lately. What are your thoughts on that? We’re on a good little roll right now. Guys are doing things right, attacking the zone with clean deliveries and confidence. They’re fun to watch and I’m glad to see them succeed. -Is there anyone on the staff you have noticed making the most progress since the season opened? Everybody’s made improvements and that’s really exciting. At the beginning of the year we had our struggles, so really any step forward was an improvement, but these guys are really embracing the process and I see good things especially from guy...

Shawn Williams, image- Jay Floyd I recently sat down with Class A Lakewood manager Shawn Williams to discuss his BlueClaws team. Topics ranged from injured players, a returning pitcher, a pitching prospect's improvements, his team's backstops and plenty more. Read ahead for the full interview. -Firstly, I wanted to start out by asking about a pair of guys that have been on the disabled list for a while. Last year's Phillies first round pick Cornelius Randolph (shoulder) and outfielder Zach Coppola (hamstring) have been sidelined for a while. Any update on those guys nearing a return? The only thing I have is that Randolph has started doing some hitting stuff, some tee stuff and I don't know what the time table is for him. I just know he's hitting again, so I probably couldn't even tell you. I know Zach is a lot closer than Cornelius. I think he's almost into games here in the next couple days, probably just getting his legs going, I mean, po...

Franklyn Kilome, image- Jay Floyd Widely ranked among the Phillies' top 10 prospects , right-handed pitcher Franklyn Kilome was one of the most excited inclusions on the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws' roster heading into the season. A disappointing effort in the early going hasn't shaken the youngster's frame of mind though and he's focused on showing the skills that got him loads of attention. The Dominican Republic native, touting an upper-90's fastball, had an impressive campaign with the short-season A level Williamsport Crosscutters last year, posting a 3-2 record with a 3.28 ERA and a 6.6 K/9 mark in 11 regular season outings. This season did not get off on a similar foot for Kilome, however. In three starts for the BlueClaws, the 20-year-old has a 0-3 record along with a 15.83 ERA and a .435 batting average against. Control has been a concern for Kilome, as he has walked 10 batters in 9 2/3 innings. The poor numbers haven't fazed the young...

With a new season underway, the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws' pitching staff is being led this year by a brand new coach, former big leaguer Brian Sweeney . Following the 'Claws' home opener on Thursday, Sweeney sat down to talk about his pitching staff including prospects Tyler Gilbert , Franklyn Kilome , Alberto Tirado and several others. Read ahead for that full interview. Tyler Gilbert, image- Jay Floyd -Tyler Gilbert had some moments, despite taking the loss in the home opener. What are your thoughts on his outing? He was fantastic for four innings. I mean, I love what I saw. Four pitches for strikes, in command and attacking the zone. And the wheels fell off after a few hits in the fifth inning. You know, that’s unfortunate because he had a pretty good outing going for him. -Is Gilbert dealing with any changes, such as updates to his grips or repertoire after a successful debut as a pro last year? Yeah, everything’s— we’re always building. We’re buil...

Entering his second season in the role, Class A Lakewood manager Shawn Williams took time to comment on various topics before and after the BlueClaws' home opener on Thursday. Read ahead for the skipper's remarks Jiandido Tromp, image- Jay Floyd Speaking about outfielder Jiandido Tromp , who got off to a hot start this season... He's just been having good at bats. Really battling with two strikes. He's been getting into hitters counts and he's not missing his pitch. You can just tell his whole mindset- he's on a mission right now. Commenting on backstop Deivi Grullon and if his improvements are a direct relation to repeating the level... I think it's a combination of a lot of things. You get older you get more mature, you get smarter, you keep learning the game and I think even a lot of times, like we saw last year with Tocci, guys coming back, you come back and it gives you some confidence and it gives you something to work for, because yo...

Franklyn Kilome, image- Jay Floyd One of the most promising young pitching prospects in the Phillies organization is right-hander Franklyn Kilome . Armed with great velocity and a remarkable repertoire, the talented youngster will soon be among the collection of the team's pitching prospects pushing his way toward the big leagues. Signed by the Phillies as an international free agent in January, 2013, Kilome would make his professional debut the following year. With the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, as an 18-year-0ld, Kilome would post a 3-1 record with a 3.12 ERA and a .235 batting average against. He struck out 25 and walked 11 in 40 1/3 innings. The Dominican native opened 2015 in extended spring training, then joined the short-season Class A Williamsport club. He helped the Crosscutters charge into the postseason with a 3-2 record with a 3.28 ERA and a .230 BAA. He struck out 36 and walked 21 in 49 1/3 innings. Consistency was something that stood out...

Franklyn Kilome, image- Jay Floyd STATEN ISLAND, NY- Coming into the 2015 season, Franklyn Kilome wasn't among the buzz names in the land of Phillies prospects. But as some of the top ranked talents in the organization have successfully climbed the developmental ladder, the 20-year-old righty pitcher has begun to stand out. With an excellent season thus far for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters, Kilome has begun to draw plenty of attention. In seven starts, the six-foot-six 175 pounder sports a 2-1 record with a 1.74 ERA and a 7.26 K/9 mark. It's not just the numbers that have caught people's eyes. It's his blazing fastball and solid secondary offerings, a strong change up and a curve ball that features good break, as well. "Kilome throws upper-90's, touching 100 every once in a while," Crosscutters manager and former big league catcher Pat Borders stated. "He's got some velocity. He's very talented and one to...

On Sunday, Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan took time to answer questions about many topics throughout the minors, including injured players Jonathan Pettibone , Roman Quinn , Zach Green and Aaron Brown . He also provided feedback on the rise of pitching prospects Aaron Nola and Franklyn Kilome , the return of 2012 top draft pick Shane Watson and the release of lefty pitcher Yoel Mecias . Read ahead for the full interview with Joe... Quinn, image- Jay Floyd -Outfielder Roman Quinn was having a great season in Double-A prior to missing time to due a hip tear. He's been named an Eastern League All-Star. Will he have to stay in Florida and continue rehabbing during the All-Star festivities? He's staying in Florida to continue his rehab. Very disappointing that it happened, 'cause he, I mean everything was coming together for Roman. He was starting to figure himself out as a player. But, you know, he's getting better. It's going to take a f...