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Gary Jones, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to posts like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and plenty more- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Last week I sat down with Lehigh Valley IronPigs manager Gary Jones to talk about some of his team's players. Below are some excerpts from my chat with him in which he discusses backstop Deivy Grullon , lefty starting pitcher Damon Jones , infielder/outfielder Austin Listi and more. -Deivy Grullon has been a key contributor for the 'Pigs this year. An All-Star for you guys. What have you seen from Deivy this year? I mean Deivy’s doing a good job. He’s working his tail off every day. He’s improving behind the plate. The relationship with the pitchers is good. He goes out on a daily basis and those guys work and talk about the game plan, so he’s getting better and he’s doing what all these guys are doing. They’re here developi...

J.D. Hammer, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to articles like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and more- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz An expressionless stare from the seated reliever began to wear a hole in the floor following J.D. Hammer ’s most recent outing for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Teammates did not speak to him. It was processing time. It was how he will improve. Hammer, one of the Phillies’ prospects that has taken the most strides this season, is back in the Triple-A International League after a recent trade to acquire pitcher Mike Morin left Hammer without a spot on the big league roster. In nearly two months with the Phils, Hammer appeared in 20 games. He posted a 1-0 record with a 3.79 ERA, a .217 batting average against while striking out 13 and walking 12 in 19 innings. The strike out rate and walk rate aren’t gleaming and will need to improve if Hammer is t...

On Thursday, the Phillies announced their minor league coaching staff for the 2018 season, including a few big additions.   At the top of the developmental levels, Gary Jones has been hired as the manager of the Phils’ Triple-A affiliate the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.  Jones, 57, spent the previous four seasons as the third base coach for the Cubs.  He has also coaches in the A’s, Padres and Red Sox organizations. Jones makes the third individual that the Phillies have hired away from the 2016 World Series champions this off-season.  John Mallee, the team's new hitting coach at the big league level, held that position with the Cubs for the previous three seasons and new first base coach Jose Flores served as Chicago's minor league field coordinator (virtually a second-in-command of the minors) for a handful of seasons.     Former Phillies infielder Wes Helms will also be added to the IronPigs’ staff as a coach.  Hitting coach Sal R...