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JD Hammer, image- Cheryl Pursell HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL YEAR LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to my posts plus EXCLUSIVE interviews & other content- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Recently I published a feature on reliever J.D. Hammer , who spent some time with the big league Phillies before returning to the minors with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. In the piece, Hammer and the IronPigs' coaching staff speak about the righty pitcher's current path and what he's focused on to return to the majors. During my time chatting with the talented prospect he spoke on some topics that didn't make the cut in the feature.  Topics included the variance in the baseball at the upper levels, the IronPigs' catchers and more.  Read ahead for those interview excerpts. I asked Hammer about the difference in the baseball from the lower levels of the minors to Triple-A and the majors.  The variance in the balls is said to take ...

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...

Joe Jordan, image- Jay Floyd On Sunday, Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan took some time to talk with me about plenty of prospects throughout the Phils developmental levels. Topics discussed include injury updates for several hurlers including Jose Taveras , Nick Fanti , Bailey Falter and a critical note on Triple-A reliever Brandon Leibrandt .  Also mentioned are outfielders Jhailyn Ortiz and Jose Pujols , catcher Deivi Grullon , Lakewood starters Will Stewart and David Parkinson as well as impressive Double-A reliever Kyle Dohy along with Triple-A reliever Tyler Gilbert. Read onward for much of my interview with Joe and check back in the coming days for his thoughts on some other names that are worthy of interest.  -Kyle Dohy's graduated out of Lakewood and Clearwater, landing in Reading.  He's started to get some attention, after he was a 16th round draft pick and pitched in short-season Class A last year.  Can you talk...

Hammer, image- MiLB.com Acquired as part of the return from Colorado in last summer’s Pat Neshek trade, right-handed pitcher J.D. Hammer has stood out as a promising prospect that could prove valuable in the near future for the Phillies.    Originally a 24 th round draft pick on the Rockies in 2016, Hammer made his professional debut that year in the Rookie level Pioneer League for Grand Junction.  In 27 relief outings there, the Marshall product posted a 0-2 record with three saves, a 3.92 ERA while striking out 52 batters and walking 11 in 43 2/3 innings.   Following the 2016 season, Hammer, who had previously dealt with vision challenges and struggled with reading signals from his catchers, had an examination and was prescribed glasses, according to reports.  In a short amount of time, the new frames have become what Hammer is known for and have helped him excel.    Last year, Hammer pitched at multiple levels during ...

Running down some numbers from a crop of Phillies players participating in the prestigious Arizona Fall League. Statistics listed are through games played on Saturday, November 11 th .   In the AFL, which wraps up at the end of this week, Phillies minor leaguers play on the Glendale Desert Dogs along with players from the Dodgers, Indians, Pirates and White Sox.  The team is managed by 2017 Clearwater Threshers skipper Shawn Williams.  Typcially, the Arizona Fall League features many prospects on the verge of the big leagues.  With close proximity to the majors, it's not far-fetched to think that it won't be long before some of these players aren't far from making an impact at BetOnline.ag Sportsbook .   Right-handed pitcher J.D. Hammer is having tremendous success in the AFL.  The six-foot-three 215-pounder has a 0.00 ERA and is holding opponents to a .081 average through nine appearances.  Hammer, 23, was acquired from the Rocki...