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Carlos Tocci, image- Jay Floyd Just as the big league postseason is heating up, minor league players have gotten action rolling in the international off-season leagues, with top outfield prospect Carlos Tocci and promising backstop Gabriel Lino leading the way in the Venezuelan Winter League. With Aragua on Wednesday, the 20-year-old Tocci went 3-for-6 with a stolen base. All of his hits were singles. Tocci, widely ranked among the Phillies' top 10 prospects, posted a .287/.339/.363 combined slash line in 127 games with Class A Lakewood and Class A Advanced Clearwater in 2015. Also for Aragua in the VWL, outfielder Herlis Rodriguez went 1-for-1 with two RBI as a pinch hitter and later played right field. The 21-year-old lefty batter tallied a .284 average with 10 home runs, 61 RBI and 16 steals in 120 games for Lakewood this season. Lino, who was acquired from Baltimore in 2012 for Jim Thome, went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strike out for Lara in the VWL on Wednesday...

From the bottom of the developmental ranks to the upper levels here's all the latest this week... At the Class A level for the Lakewood BlueClaws , as I reported on Twitter on Thursday, infielder Tim Zier is out for the year after undergoing season-ending left knee surgery on Monday. The San Diego State product was injured during pre-game fundamentals/infield work recently. Zier, last year's 21st round draft pick, was batting .264 with two RBI in 15 games with the BlueClaws this year. Reliever Matt Hockenberry , a Temple product, returned from the disabled list on Thursday, after a stint on the disabled list with a right arm strain. In 11 appearances this season, the 23-year-old sports a 1-0 record with six saves, a 1.06 ERA and a .148 batting average against. Outfielder Jiandido Tromp return to action this week as well, after being on the disabled list with a hamstring strain. The 21-year-old Aruba native is batting .183 with three doubles, three triples and eig...

Baseball goes year-round.  All across the globe, Phillies players are in action and we've got the rundown on how they are performing.  Read ahead for all the details. Venezuelan Winter League- Willians Astudillo , a corner infielder and backstop who has been playing a lot of outfield of late, is batting .314 with a homer and four RBI in nine games for Anzoategui. The 23-year-old was the catalyst for the Class A Lakewood team this year, where he finished second in the South Atlantic League with a .333 average. Odubel Herrera , who was selected by the Phillies in this month's Rule 5 draft, leads the Venezuelan Winter League in average with a .373 mark.  He has also mashed five homers, driven in 25 runs and stolen seven bases in 52 games for La Guaira.  The 22-year-old played second base primarily in the regular season at Double-A Frisco, but has been playing center field in the VWL. Infielder/outfielder Cesar Hernandez is batting .307 with seven ...

Throughout the autumn and winter months, we'll be bringing you weekly roundups of how various Phillies players are performing in off-season leagues around the globe. This edition includes details on top pitching prospect Jesse Biddle 's Puerto Rico debut, OF Roman Quinn , who shined in the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars Game on Saturday as well as plenty more. Read ahead for all the details. Puerto Rico/ Roberto Clemente League- Jesse Biddle, image- Jay Floyd Lefty pitcher Jesse Biddle allowed two earned runs, striking out three and walking two in three innings of work in a start for Mayaguez in his season debut on Friday. The 23-year-old was the Phils' top draft choice in 2010. Biddle posted a 5-10 record with a 4.58 ERA in 19 starts in the minors this year. Also with Mayaguez, Jesmuel Valentin , who was acquired from the Dodgers by the Phils in the Roberto Hernandez trade this year, is hitless with a walk in two at bats in two games. The 20-year-old infie...

Earlier this weekend, I sat down with Class A Lakewood manager Greg Legg , who has been in the Phillies organization for the past 33 years, after being drafted by the club in 1982. He managed the BlueClaws in their inaugural season in 2001, managed Double-A Reading from 2002 to 2004, was the skipper for Class A Advanced Clearwater from 2005 through 2006 and managed short-season Class A Williamsport in 2007. He then acted as hitting coach in Lakewood from 2008 through 2013. The former infielder played in the big leagues for just a handful of games in 1986 and 1987. He now grooms the Phillies' stars of the future. Greg spoke with me about the roles of some of his players including Gabriel Lino , Carlos Tocci , Samuel Hiciano and Willians Astudillo , the BlueClaws' start to the new season, his own goals for this year plus plenty more. Read ahead for his thoughts. -The team started the season on the road before having its opening home stand this weekend. What were your t...

Throughout the fall and winter seasons, our weekly rundown reviews how Phillies players are performing in the various off-season leagues around the globe. Read ahead for the latest on many familiar names, some top prospects and plenty more. Mexican Winter League... Sebastian Valle, Image- Jay Floyd Catcher Sebastian Valle - The righty batting 23-year-old had a big day on Sunday for Los Mochis.  Playing right field, Valle went 3-for-4 with a homer and an RBI.  Overall in 36 games, Valle is batting .286 with with seven doubles, two home runs and seven RBI.  Valle posted a .203 batting average with 12 homers and 41 RBI in 98 games with Double-A Reading this year. RHP Kevin Munson - The 24-year-old, who was picked up by the Phillies in last week's Rule 5 draft from Arizona, has posted a 1.59 ERA with no decisions in five relief outings with Hermosillo.  Munson was a 4th round draft choice by Arizona in 2010. Dominican ...

Roy Halladay and Chace Numata talk prior to Tuesday's game, image- Jay Floyd These quotes, from prior to Phillies hurler Roy Halladay 's rehab appearance with Class A Lakewood, were initially intended to be posted on the site before Tuesday's game got underway.  WiFi connection issues at the ballpark resulted in some delay, but here they are, in a delayed fashion. Questions for Halladay's battery mate Chace Numata , BlueClaws manager Mickey Morandini and pitching coach Aaron Fultz are all included.  Chace Numata... - You're probably the most excited guy out here on the side of the field, being paired up with Roy Halladay for his rehab game.  Talk about that a bit. Most definitely.  I get to catch Roy Halladay.  He's a great pitcher and he's coming back off his injury.  I'm hoping to learn a lot tonight.  You know, just how he throws and what his thinking is about the game and how he throws. - Typically, batteries will meet prio...

Zach Green, image- Tri-City ValleyCats Prior to Tuesday's New-York Penn League All-Star Game, rising Phillies third base prospect Zach Green took down his short-season Class A competition, which included his Williamsport teammate Gabriel Lino , to lock down the league's annual home run derby title. In the opening round, Green, the Phils' 3rd round draft choice last year out of Jesuit High School in California, slammed three homers while tallying 290 points. The total was good enough to knock off six others, advancing the 19-year-old to the finals where he faced Lino, a catcher that was acquired last year from Baltimore in the Jim Thome deal.  The 20-year-old Venezuelan also had three home runs in the initial round while posting 240 points. The pair of Crosscutters went homerless in the finals, but Green, the league's leader in home runs (10) and total bases (101) edged Lino on points, by a margin of 170-100 to lock down the crown. In the actual game, the A...

From all throughout the Phillies' developmental ranks, here's our weekly rundown of top performers and those players that have struggled recently. Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs- Who's hot... Cody Asche, image- Jay Floyd Third baseman Cody Asche had four multi-hit games over a five-game stretch last week, including a 5-for-5 effort against Pawtucket on Wednesday.  The 23-year-old International League All-Star is batting .288 with 10 homers and 56 RBI in 93 games this season.  Asche was the Phils' 4th round draft choice in 2011. The IronPigs' other All-Star, second baseman Cesar Hernandez , is batting .333 with three doubles, a triple and five RBI in 13 contests this month.  Due to the Phillies' void in center field, as Ben Revere suffered a broken foot over the weekend, Hernandez will not participate in the IL All-Star events, instead, he's been assigned to Double-A Reading to get extra work in the outfield in case the Phils choose to ...

From all throughout the Phillies' developmental ranks, here's our weekly rundown of top performers and those players that haven't done much as of late.  Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs- Who's hot... Outfielder Steve Susdorf has been on a tear lately, going 10-for-24 (.417 avg) with a double, a home run and four RBI in his last seven games.  The 27-year-old lefty batter was the Phils' 19th round draft choice in 2008 out of Fresno State.  Susdorf is batting .326 with a home run and 23 RBI in 51 games this year. First baseman Josh Fields has five multi-hit games in his last seven contests.  The 30-year-old is 10-for-25 (.400 avg) during that stretch.  Overall this season, Fields, who was signed as a minor league free agent last November, is batting .316 with four homers and 26 RBI this year.  Who's not... Infielder Pete Orr is 3-for-23 (.130 avg) with two doubles in his last seven games.  Orr, who has spent time in the big leagues wit...

I'm back with another semi-weekly minor league review, where we take a look at the various developmental levels of the Phillies' organization and some noteworthy players from each club. This time, it's a glance at some top performers of late, as well as those that aren't doing so well. Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs… Who’s hot: RHP Jonathan Pettibone (pictured, right) has posted a 3-0 record with a 1.80 ERA in three starts this month for the IronPigs. Overall, combined with his time at Double-A Reading this season, Pettibone has tallied a 12-7 record with a 3.10 ERA and 100 strike outs in 142 1/3 innings. The 22-year-old was the Phillies' 3rd round draft selection in 2008. Who’s not: IF Cesar Hernandez is 5-for-31 (.161 avg) in his past eight games. In 16 games since his promotion to Lehigh Valley, the 22-year-old Hernandez has posted a .231 batting average. Right-handed starting pitcher Scott Elarton has gone 0-3 with a 6.98 ERA in four starts this month...