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Some noteworthy bits of news popped up today, topped by the revelation that the Phillies' Double-A club in Reading, which recently announced an upcoming name change, will reportedly be known as the Fightin's.  Rumors circulated online, early Tuesday, and a post by Chris Creamer of SportsLogos.net confirmed that the Reading team registered some telling domain names, which included ReadingFightins.com, FightinsBaseball.com and ReadingFightinPhillies.com. This proposed new name is not bad, especially since, in recent days, fans seemed greatly displeased over the team doing away with the Phillies name after using it for 46 years.  Simply using a different form of the previous nickname allows the club to avoid getting too far away from something that so many baseball fans throughout region have grown up with as well as the heritage that local fans love and appreciate. Using "The Fightin's" does seem silly, however, as Reading's main focus in changing the nick...

Infield prospect Harold Garcia will miss much of the season for the second consecutive year as the Venezuela native underwent micro fracture surgery on his right knee. The 25-year-old is reportedly expected to miss 4-6 months. After spending so time this past off-season in the Venezuelan Winter League, Garcia reported to spring training with high hopes for a healthy year, but recurring discomfort resulted in further examination of his knee and it was decided to further repair his troubling joint. Garcia had surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee early in the 2011 season, after he began the year with Double-A Reading. It was a tough break for Garcia, whom the Phillies had grown very high on after a tremendous 2010 campaign. This marks the third straight year that Garcia will miss considerable time with a significant injury, as he began the 2010 season on the disabled list with a left hamate fracture. However, that ailment didn't stop the 5-foot-11 190-pounder f...

Harold Garcia was signed as a free agent at the age of 17 back in 2004. The 5-foot-11-inch, 190-pounder got his professional career started with three seasons in the Venezuelan Summer League before heading to the United States to continue his ascent up the developmental ranks. In three seasons playing in the VSL, Garcia’s offensive progression was evident, as he posted batting averages that increased annually- .226, .273, .296. After arriving stateside, Garcia spent the 2008 season with the Gulf Coast League Phillies, where he batted .299 with 5 homers and a .907 OPS in 50 games, leading his club to the league championship. In 2009, Garcia continued his winning ways, helping the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws lock down the South Atlantic League championship. As a member of the BlueClaws, Garcia finished third in the SAL with 42 stolen bases. He also batted .291 with 8 homers and 55 RBI with a .765 OPS in 118 games that season. At age 23 in 2010, Garcia really proved himself ...

While just the other day, PhoulBallz.com took a look at Phillies prospects taking part in the Arizona Fall League , other off-season baseball is underway as well in the form of Caribbean Winter Leagues. Several players with Philadelphia ties are staying in shape and attempting to improve their abilities in these leagues as well. Here's a quick overview of some of those individuals, who all happen to be on the Phillies' 40-man roster. Shortstop Freddy Galvis (pictured), who rose considerably in the Phillies prospect rankings this year when he posted impressive numbers for Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley (.278 combined batting average, a career high 8 homeruns, 43 RBI and 23 stolen bases), has reportedly experienced a wrist injury that has forced him out of action this week. In 4 games with Zulia of the Venezuelan League prior to the ailment, Galvis went 3-for-11 (.273 avg) with 3 runs scored. Another infield prospect, Harold Garcia , who missed much of the 2011...

In 2004, second baseman Harold Garcia was signed as a free agent approximately 6 weeks before his 18th birthday. The 5'11", 190-pounder got his professional career started by playing three seasons in the Venezuelan Summer League before heading to the United States to continue his climb toward the big leagues. In three seasons playing in the VSL, Garcia's offensive progression was clear, as he posted batting averages that increased annually- .226, .273, .296. After arriving stateside, Garcia spent the 2008 season with the Gulf Coast League Phillies, where he batted .299 with 5 homers and a .907 OPS in 50 games, leading his club to the league championship. He also went hitless in 2 at bats for the High A Clearwater Threshers. In 2009, Garcia continued his winning ways, helping the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws lock down the South Atlantic League championship. As a member of the BlueClaws, Garcia finished third in the SAL with 42 steals. He also batted .291 with 8 homers and 55 ...

The stove stays hot during the off-season, but there are Phillies and Philadelphia prospects playing games around the world. It's time for another review of the various Winter Leagues. In the Puerto Rican League- Righty hurler Julio Rodriguez has pitched very well for the Gigantes. A native of Puerto Rico, the 20-year-old Rodriguez has posted a 3-1 record and a 2.00 ERA in 11 games (9 starts) while striking out 25 batters in 40 innings pitched. In the Venezuelan Winter League- Lefty reliever Sergio Escalona , who pitched with the big league Phillies in 2009, has appeared in 22 games for the Tiburones. He has yet to record a decision and has a 4.50 overall ERA. In his last 10 games, Escalona has posted a 2.45 ERA and allowed runs in only 1 appearance. In 50 games at Double A Reading in 2010, Escalona had a 4-8 record with 10 saves and a 3.81 ERA while holding opponents to a .227 batting average. Escalona turned 26-years-old in August. Fidel Hernandez , a 24-year-old Venezuela nativ...

Sure, free agency and the Hot Stove can provide plenty of news at this time of the year, but there are actual games being played...somewhere. Let's take a look around the varying "Winter" leagues that are going on all over the world, to review how players with current Phillies ties are performing. In the Dominican Winter Baseball League... Domonic Brown was a member of the Escogido Leones, but left the team last week. After struggling in 9 games for the Leones, Brown's Winter league stint was cut short. He went 2-for-29 (.069 avg) with 1 double and 8 strike outs. 2010 Phillies rookie hurler David Herndon has looked sharp thus far out of the bullpen for the Cibao Gigantes. In 6 games, Herndon has thrown 6 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .167 average without allowing a run. Phillies lefty reliever Antonio Bastardo is also a member of the Gigantes relief corp. In 7 games, Bastardo, a native of the DR, has a 0-1 record with 7 strike outs and 1 walk in 9 innings. He...

With many individuals from the Phillies' organization playing in the Caribbean "Winter" leagues, there is still plenty of baseball action to keep tabs on. Below is a run down of all the key players spending time trying to sharpen their skills and gain some extra experience during the North American offseason. Dominican Winter Baseball League- David Herndon , a 2010 rookie that spent the entire season on the Phillies' big league roster, is pitching for the Cibao Gigantes. In 2 relief outings, Herndon has pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He hasn't walked or struck out a batter in his limited game time, to this point. Herndon, 25, was a Rule 5 draft pick by the Phillies last off-season. In 47 games in the Majors this season, Herndon posted a 1-3 record with a 4.30 ERA, while allowing just 2 HR in 52 1/3 innings pitched. Antonio Bastardo , a teammate of Herndon with the Phillies this season, continues to occupy the same bullpen as Herndon. In 5 relief outings with the...

This week I took part in a media survey, conducted by The Reading Eagle's Mike Drago, that was designed to rank the top 20 prospects in the Phillies system. Twelve individuals who are very close to the Phillies minor league system were asked to rank their own personal top 20, which Drago tabulated and averaged to determine the list of 20. Normally, these sorts of lists are done by one source, who is not necessarily close to a solitary organization (IE- a national outlet that has correspondents who occasionally view the analyzed players). In this instance, surveying a dozen analysts, who have seen these players on a regular basis, makes this catalog of Philadelphia prospects the most accurate and reliable one available. Here are the rankings, including brief reviews for the top half: Jonathan Singleton 1. Jonathan Singleton : Just 18 and in his first full professional season, the eighth-round pick out of Long Beach, Calif., got off to a sizzling start with Lakewood, hitting over .40...

A pregame conference, between starting pitcher Drew Naylor and catcher Kevin Nelson, on how to handle Thunder lead-off man Justin Christian didn't prove as successful as the pair from Reading would have liked. Christian bested the Reading Phillies battery, delivering a 3-run homerun to lead Trenton to their third straight victory over the R-Phils, by a score of 4-3. Naylor and Nelson were able to force Christian to ground out to shortstop Freddy Galvis in each of his first two at bats, but their game plan didn't stop Christian from pulling a long drive over the left field wall that gave the Thunder the lead for good on Saturday night. Christian drove in Marcos Vechionacci and Jack Rye, who began the Trenton half of the 5th inning with back-to-back singles. Reading bagan the scoring in the second when Kevin Nelson laced an RBI single that scored Cody Overbeck. Trenton clapped back in their half of the frame when Daniel Brewer singled to drive home Brandon Laird, who led off the ...

Thursday night, Jiwan James hit safely for the 22nd straight game, which set a team record for the Phillies A-Level affiliate Lakewood BlueClaws. No doubt, James' conversion from pitcher to every day player has been successful. The milestone was locked in the first inning, when the switch hitting James led off the game against the Kannapolis Intimidators with a single to center field. James, a 22nd round draft selection by the Phillies in 2007, was ranked as the 11th best prospect in the Phils' system by Baseball America last off-season. James pitched in 9 games with the Phils' Gulf Coast League team in 2007 and reemerged as an outfielder with the short season Williamsport club in 2009, where he batted .264 in 30 games. According to James, his recent success can be attributed to some adjustments in his approach. "The difference between the first half and now is I shortened up my swing a little bit," James told PhoulBallz.com in an exclusive interview. "I feel...

Harold Garcia is establishing himself as a solid prospect in the Phillies' system and, in the process, has locked up a place in the High-A level Clearwater Threshers' record book. Monday night against the Dunedin Blue Jays, Garcia extended his hitting streak to 31 consecutive games, when he slammed a triple in the 4th inning off of Philadelphia native Frank Gailey. Clearwater won the game, 7-3. The 23-year-old Garcia extended his streak to 32 games with a hit in Tuesday's game against Dunedin. The switch hitting second baseman was safe on a bunt hit off of pitcher Chad Jenkins. Garcia, who helped the Lakewood BlueClaws win the 2009 South Atlantic League championship, is batting .340 through 40 games this season. Garcia has had 14 multi-hit games during his record streak and has only gone hitless twice this season. Clearwater faces Dunedin again at noon on Wednesday and Garcia will hope to extend his streak to 33 games. The previous record was held by outfield prospect Quint...

Monday night the BlueClaws hosted game 1 of the South Atlantic League Championship and came out victorious over the Greenville Drive by a score of 6-3. The BlueClaws were led by second baseman Harold Garcia, who had a lead off homer in the 8th inning, and catcher Travis D'Arnaud who had two hits, including a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Garcia, D'Arnaud and the other Lakewood players were joined by two big league Phillies for the series. Clay Condrey pitched a shaky inning in relief, while he continues to rehabilitate his injured oblique. The Phillies also assigned multi-time 2009 call-up Andrew Carpenter to Lakewood for the remainder of the week. Condrey's inning was difficult. He allowed the first three batters to reach base before finding a groove, becoming loose and downing the next three batters. Condrey allowed a run on a walk and two hits. Lakewood manager Dusty Wathan said of Condrey, "It's kind of a tough situation for him to be put in", hintin...