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Hoby Milner, image- Jay Floyd As a Rule 5 draft pick , lefty reliever Hoby Milner got plenty of exposure in big league spring training this year, but an imperfect exhibition campaign along with limited room on the Indians' roster resulted in the 26-year-old coming back to the team that drafted him (7th round, 2012). With Cleveland in the Cactus League, Milner allowed seven earned runs in seven innings over seven appearances while striking out nine and walking three.  After the Indians decided they could not keep Milner around, he rejoined the Phillies, where he was assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to open the regular season.  Earlier this month, I spoke with Milner, who spoke on his experience with Cleveland and coming back to the Phils.  Read ahead for that interview. -What can you share about your whirlwind off-season and spring after being selected in the Rule 5 draft, going to the Indians and then coming back to the Phillies? I thought it was a great e...

Hoby Milner, image- Jay Floyd As the annual Rule 5 draft approached to wrap up this year's MLB Winter Meetings, the usual anticipation of what possible gem the Phillies could select wasn't there.  Instead, the concern about which prospect the team that has been stock piling young talent in recent years could lose to another club was the prevalent feeling.  As things turned out, the Phils lost just a single player in the big league portion of the Rule 5 draft and one additional player in the minor league portion. Cleveland selected lefty reliever Hoby Milner in the big league phase of the draft while Tampa Bay chose minor league hurler Jairo Munoz in the minor league portion. Milner, 25, was a 7th round draft pick by the Phillies in the 2012 and has displayed exceptional numbers in recent season after switching from a starting role to the bullpen.  Combined with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley last season, the Texas native sported a 5-4 record wi...

Dylan Cozens, image- Jay Floyd With the unveiling of the Double-A Eastern League All-Star rosters on Thursday, it was announced that six Reading Fightin Phils players have been honored to play in the annual exhibition that is set to take place in Akron, OH on Wednesday, July 13th. Catcher Jorge Alfaro , first baseman Rhys Hoskins , outfielder Dylan Cozens , infielder Jesmuel Valentin , starting pitcher Nick Pivetta and reliever Hoby Milner are slated to take part in the EL All-Star Game. Cozens, who is tied with teammate Hoskins for the minor league lead in home runs with 21, was thankful for the chance to represent Reading and the Phillies in the league's midsummer classic. "It feels good to get recognized and to get the opportunity to play with some of the best guys in minor league baseball," Cozens said. Overall in 77 games Cozens has a .276 average, 22 doubles and 62 RBI to go along with his remarkable home run total. The 22-year-old was the Phill...

Steve Schrenk, image- Jay Floyd Following a terrific outing in which Ricardo Pinto flirted with a no-hitter into the 7th inning in Trenton on Thursday, I spoke with his Reading Fightins pitching coach Steve Schrenk , who offered thoughts on the young hurler's effort and several other pitchers on his staff as well... -Talking about Pinto's seven shut out inning performance... You know, he gets his first win this year. He's been fighting to get one his last four outings but it's just nice to get him a win tonight. He had his good change up working for him and I like the way he pitched against a good hitting Trenton team. -Sharing more thoughts on the potential for a historic game... Obviously, you'd like to see a no-hitter. I would have loved to have seen one last night. But they hit the ball and they got their hits. I think the most important thing for me is to make sure he got that first win under his belt. I think that's important for a kid a...

To tie the Eastern League Championship Series at one game apiece, the Reading Fightins lost against the Bowie Baysox by a score of 10-3. The series will now move to Bowie's Prince George's Stadium, where Reading will need to win two out of three games. Righty hurler Ethan Martin had a poor start for Reading and took the loss, allowing five earned runs on four hits and five walks while striking out none in 2 1/3 innings. Left-hander Joely Rodriguez would follow Martin out of the bullpen, letting up three runs (two earned) in 1 1/3 innings. Ryan O'Sullivan would be charged with two additional runs in his inning of work. For a pair of bright spots among the Reading pitching staff, lefty Hoby Milber, working with a new arm angle of late, tossed 3 1/3 scoreless frames retiring all 10 batters he faced while Tom Windle threw a scoreless inning of his own. Bowie starter Nick Additon , 27, went seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) to notch the win. Infielde...

Dusty Wathan, image- Jay Floyd This week I spent some time chatting with Double-A Reading Fightins skipper Dusty Wathan . The club is well touted this year with a collection of excellent pitching prospects along with some solid producers on offense. In the interview excerpts below, Wathan shares some thoughts on Cam Perkin's dip in production this year, if the Fightin Five rotation makes his job easier and if the offense coming from his bench presents any difficulty in his role. Read ahead for this exclusive interview from the farm. -Off the top, I've got a two part question. Do you feel in any way that the solid production from some of your guys that haven't played every day, like Art Charles and Harold Martinez , makes your job more difficult? On the other side, does the starting rotation, which includes last year's top draft pick Aaron Nola along with Jesse Biddle , Zach Eflin , Tom Windle and Eastern League Pitcher of the Week Ben Lively , make your spot ...

On the 75th edition of the PhoulBallz Podcast, Tug and Jay are joined by Phillies and minor league blogger "Baseball Betsy", who shares some stories about being an American parent to some of the Phils' up and coming Latin prospects and gives some updates on the likes of Perci Garner , Adam Morgan , Grenny Cumana and Carlos Alonso . Lefty hurler Hoby Milner takes time to answer Nine Silly-ass Questions. The guys also discuss the Phillies diving into the analytics era at long last, Kelly Dugan 's injury, questionable Twitter etiquette and plenty more. Use the media player below to stream the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes . Additionally, thanks to the thousands of you for being part of the growing process as our previous episode featuring an interview with the aforementioned Alonso was our most downloaded episode ever.

Three players will represent Reading in the Double-A Eastern League's All-Star Game later this month in Curve, PA. Infielders Carlos Alonso and Albert Cartwright along with lefty hurler Hoby Milner were honored and will participate in the annual event on July 15-16. Carlos Alonso, Image- Jay Floyd Alonso, a minor league Gold Glove winner last season, is batting .271 with eight homers and 25 RBI in 77 games this year. The 26-year-old University of Delaware product was a 32nd round pick by the Phillies in 2010. Cartwright, who also dabbles in the outfield, sports a .257 average with three home runs, 12 RBI and 15 steals in 71 games this year. The 26-year-old was also an All-Star last season with Reading. Milner sports a 5-5 record with a 4.55 ERA and a .252 batting average against in 16 starts. The 23-year-old University of Texas product was a 7th round draft choice in 2012 by the Phillies. The Altoona Curve, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, will host the 20...

The latest semi-weekly rundown of your top performers from the Phillies developmental ranks and those that need to turn some things around includes a few injury notes on some key prospects. Read ahead on the latest from the minors. Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs (25-24 record, 4th place in the International League North division)- Who's hot... Third baseman/first baseman Maikel Franco has tallied a .301/.389/.482 slash line in 21 games this month. The 21-year-old, who is rumored to be a candidate to join the big league roster this week, missed two games over the weekend due to a respiratory illness. Outfielder Steve Susdorf is having quite a month, sporting a .344 average with seven doubles and nine RBI in 22 games. The 28-year-old lefty batter went 1-for-7 in three games with the big league Phillies last season. Who's not... Catcher Cameron Rupp is batting .208 with a home run in seven games since returning from the disabled list following an oblique strai...

On episode 58 of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast, Jay chats with Phillies minor leaguer Jim Murphy about his progress, his status in the system and more. Tug and Jay also chat about Passover, the return of Cole Hamels as well as loads of minor leaguers including Jay Johnson , Kenny Giles , Willie Carmona , Roman Quinn , Mitch Walding and Joey Gallo . Use the media player below to stream the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .  

Here's another weekly rundown of the Phillies' minor leagues with details on some recent noteworthy performers... Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs... In eight games since returning to the IronPigs' lineup, following a wrist injury, second baseman/center fielder Cesar Hernandez has gone 11-for-26 (.423 avg) with a double, a triple, two RBI and two steals.  The 23-year-old batted .250 in nine games with the big league Phillies earlier this season. Third baseman Tyler Henson is batting .375 with seven doubles, four home runs and 17 walks in 22 games since joining the 'Pigs.  The 25-year-old was signed as a minor league free agent last off-season. Double-A Reading Fightins... Maikel Franco , Image- Jay Floyd In his last six games, Maikel Franco , who turns 21-years-old today, is 8-for-22 (.367 avg) with a double, three home runs and seven RBI.  The Dominican native began playing first base for the Fightins over the weekend after being strictly a third b...

It's another weekly rundown of the Phillies' minor leagues with details on some recent noteworthy performers... Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs- Cesar Hernandez w/ Reading in 2012 International League All-Star Cesar Hernandez is back in action after missing a few weeks with a wrist injury.  In three games since rejoining the Pigs' starting lineup, Hernandez has gone 3-for-9.  Overall this season, the switch-hitting 23-year-old has posted a .315 average with two homers, 35 RBI and 31 stolen bases in 95 minor league games. Righty hurler Tyler Cloyd in his last seven starts has tallied a 4-1 record with a 0.77 ERA while striking out 32 and walking five in 47 innings.  In 12 big league starts, the 26-year-old is 4-4- with a 4.14 ERA.  Cloyd was the Phils' 18th round draft selection in 2008. Double-A Reading Fightin Phillies- Left-hander Jesse Biddle struck out seven and walked none while allowing three earned runs in six innings in his latest star...

Here's our weekly rundown of top performers and those players that have cooled off as of late.  Stats and notes current through games played on Saturday. Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs... Who's hot- IronPigs Third baseman Cody Asche Third baseman Cody Asche is 13-for-34 (.382 avg) with two doubles, a triple, a homer and three RBI in his last nine games.  Asche, a lefty batter, was the Phillies' 4th round draft pick in 2011.  The 22-year-old is batting .281 with seven home runs and 40 RBI in 65 games this year. Upon making his Triple-A debut, catcher Cameron Rupp went 4-for-11 (.367 avg) with three RBI in his first three contests.  Rupp, 24, was the Phillies' 3rd round draft choice in 2010 out of the University of Texas. Who's not- In his last nine games, outfielder Leandro Castro is 6-for-35 (.171 avg) with a double, a triple and four RBI.  The Dominican native celebrated his 24th birthday this weekend.  Overall, Castro is sporting a ...

We're back with episode 29 of the PhoulBallz Podcast. This week, Jay and Tug interview Clearwater Threshers radio man Ben Gellman, who discusses all the team's top performers including Aaron Altherr , Kelly Dugan and Hoby Milner . The guys also share updates on Jiwan James ' road to recovery following knee surgery, discuss the future of the Phillies' third base position with prospects Maikel Franco and Cody Asche , plus Jay dishes some juicy rumors about catching prospect Sebastian Valle . Use the media player below to stream the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .

It's another sometimes-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. Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs… Who’s hot- Tyler Cloyd (pictured, right) continued his dominance of the year 2012 in his latest start. The 25-year-old righty notched the win against Pawtucket on Thursday, allowing just one earned run in seven innings of work. The victory took Cloyd’s record to 14-1 and his ERA in 1.91 in 22 combined starts at Double-A and Triple-A this season. The Phillies’ 18th round draft pick in 2008 has been making it extremely difficult for the Phillies to not promote him to the big league roster. Recently promoted second baseman Cesar Hernandez headed into action on Saturday posting the following numbers over the previous week- .476 batting average, three doubles, one triple and the RBI. Additionally, Hernandez hit safely in seven consecutive games beginning last Friday. Th...

Left-hander hurler Hoby Milner was selected by the Phillies in the 7th round of this year's amateur draft out of the University of Texas. In his time thus far in the pros, the 21-year-old Milner has posted a 2-2 record with a 4.55 ERA in seven combined games with the short-season Williamsport Crosscutters and the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. Recently, I authored a feature detailing how Milner and former Big 12 Conference rival Josh Ludy (8th round draft choice this year) have begun to bond as battery mates with the BlueClaws. Check out that piece by clicking here . In addition, I spoke with Milner about his pitch repertoire, signing with the Phillies, which players he looked up to while growing up and plenty more. Listen to the interview by using the media player below. _________________________________________ You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE . Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE .

Rivals in college, two Phillies draft picks from this year have paired up as battery mates with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. University of Texas product Hoby Milner (pictured, right) and Baylor graduate Josh Ludy regularly faced off, in one of college baseball's top conferences, but now they must rely on one another to advance in the pros. Milner, the son of former Major League catcher Brian Milner, earned honors as a second team All-Big 12 Conference representative this season, when he posted a 7-4 record with three saves and a 2.64 ERA in 34 games for the Longhorns. According to Milner, the transition from facing Ludy to taking signs from him has been a welcome one. "I'm glad he's behind the plate and not at the plate, hitting," Milner said with relief. "I mean, he's a great hitter and he's a good catcher too. He hit a 480-foot home run off of me in the last conference series of the year. The next (time) I faced him, I intentionally walked hi...

With their first pick on day 2 of the 2012 MLB amateur draft, the Phillies selected outfielder Dylan Cozens with the 77th overall pick. The 6-foot-5-inch 230-pounder attended Scottsdale Chapparal High School in Arizona, where he posted a .520 batting average with a state-best 19 home runs and 52 RBI this season. The youngster, who has a scholarship in place to play football at the University of Arizona next year, is expected to sign with the Phillies. Cozens was a defensive end in high school and also had football scholarship offers from Boise State and Washington. The Phillies also chose right-hander Alec Rash with the 95th overall pick. Rash, from Adel Desoto Minburn High School (Iowa), stands 6-feet-5-inches tall and weighs 195 pounds.  His fastball reaches 95 MPH and he is armed with some solid secondary pitches. Rash is a Missouri recruit. In round 3, the Phils selected high school shortstop Zach Green. The Jesuit High (Carmichael, CA) product batted .417 this season. ...