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On the 32nd edition of the PhoulBallz Podcast, Double-A Reading starting left-handed pitchers Jesse Biddle and Austin Wright took some time to take part in exclusive interviews.  Additionally, Tug and I talk about 2012 first round draft pick Shane Watson 's DL stint, third base prospect Cody Asche 's Triple-A success, Kelly Dugan earning a promotion to the Double-A level and Jarred Cosart making his big league debut with the Astros along with a bit of WWE chatter.  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 .

In the latest rundown of developmental notes, we'll take a glance at some top performers, several guys who aren't doing too well, a couple sidelined prospects and a group of former Phillies minor leaguers... The Hot List-  Lakewood pitcher Nic Hanson Lakewood righty Nic Hanson has not been scored upon in two outings (11 total innings) since moving from the BlueClaws' bullpen to their starting rotation. A 16th round pick in last year's draft out of Golden West College, Hanson, 21, has a 1-0 record with a save and a 3.38 ERA in eight games. Class A Advanced Clearwater outfielder Cameron Perkins has been performing extremely well this month.  In 10 games, the 22-year-old has posted a .385 average with six doubles, a triple, a homer and six RBI.  Perkins was selected in the 6th round of the 2012 draft out of Purdue University. Dominican hurler Gabriel Arias has looked great for the Clearwater Threshers, going 4-1 with a 1.25 ERA through nine outings (fou...

In recent seasons, the Phillies have parted ways with a considerable collection of well-regarded prospects in efforts to acquire established big league players. As time passes, those young players get closer to contributing for their new organization at the highest level and some are already doing so. As this year's trade deadline approaches, here’s a glance at how many of those former Phils’ farm hands have performed throughout the pros thus far in 2012. Jonathan Singleton , 1B, traded to Houston in the 2011 Hunter Pence deal- In 82 games with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, the 20-year-old has posted a .271 batting average with 18 doubles, 3 triples, 12 HR and 49 RBI. Jarred Cosart , RHP, also dealt in the Pence trade- In 13 starts for Corpus Christi, the righty hurler is sporting a 4-5 record with a 3.91 ERA and a .273 batting average against. Cosart, 22, made 1 start for Triple-A Oklahoma City in May, allowing 4 earned runs in 6 innings of work. Overall in 79 2/3 innin...

The deal took a while, but it's finally done. Hunter Pence is coming to Philadelphia, after the Phillies and Astros agreed to a trade on Friday night. The swap brings the 28-year-old right fielder to the Phillies in exchange for top prospect Jonathan Singleton, MLB Futures Game hurler Jarred Cosart, right-handed pitcher Josh Zeid and a player to be named later. Reports also state that the Astros will send $1 million to the Phillies. Pence, originally drafted by Houston in the 2nd round of the 2004 amateur draft, is a .290 career hitter, playing is his fifth big league season. In 100 games for the Astros this year, Pence posted a .308 batting average with 11 HR and 62 RBI. The 6-foot-4-inch 220-pounder is a two-time National League All-star. Singleton and Cosart were ranked as the Phillies' top two prospects by both the Reading Eagle and PhilliesNation over the past year. Singleton, a first baseman who has dabbled in the outfield this season, ripped up Class A South Atlan...

In recent years, the Phillies have acquired elite talent, adding Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt in separate blockbuster trades. The packages of players sent away to make those deals all included highly ranked prospects. Fans and experts alike presume the Phillies have depleted their system of prospects with the amount top minor league players traded in those deals. That's far from true, as many individuals currently in Philadelphia's developmental system have proven worthy of high recognition. If the Phillies are going to put together similar groups of players to add a key contributor at the big league level again this season, they'll surely need to send away more ascending young talent. In order to understand what type of package the Phillies would be required to deal, it's important to look at what they gave up in those previous trades. Cleveland/Lee trade...July, 2009- RHP Jason Knapp, IF Jason Donald, C Lou Marson, RHP Carlos Carrasco. Knapp was the young...

For the second straight year, Phillies pitching prospect Jarred Cosart was named to the MLB All-star Futures Game's Team USA roster. This time around was different, however, as Cosart was injured last season and unable to attend the game. With a clean bill of health this year, the Texas native saw action in the premiere annual exhibition for all of the sport's top prospects. In Arizona on Sunday night, Cosart and his battery mate for the past two seasons, Sebastian Valle , showed why each of them are highly regarded prospects. The 21-year-old righty Cosart sparkled in relief, throwing a perfect 8th inning, in which he struck out 2 batters. Valle, a 20-year-old Mexico native, slapped a game tying RBI double for the World Team in the 6th inning and later flied out in the contest. Valle's run scoring hit pulled the game even, at 3 runs apiece, before the World Team went ahead in the 8th inning, but Yankees prospect Double A Trenton Thunder catcher Austin Romine put the USA T...

In Sunday's Clearwater Threshers contest against the Dunedin Blue Jays, highly regarded starting pitcher Brody Colvin was pulled from the game after pitching just 2 innings in his High A level debut. In the game, Colvin's pitch count was reportedly on the high side and he gave up 3 hits, walked 1 batter, struck out none and was charged with 3 runs, 2 of which were earned. According to two sources within the Phillies organization, the circumstances related to Colvin's brief outing were "not serious". Those who follow the minors closely might recall top pitching prospect Jarred Cosart 's brief 2/3 inning outing last June in Delmarva, when he was a member of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. The initial statement on Cosart's early removal was that the decision was simply related to his high pitch count. However, it was later revealed that Cosart left the game with elbow discomfort and he missed the remainder of the season, as he allowed the ailment to heal....

Top Phillies pitching prospect Jarred Cosart took to his Twitter account on Sunday evening to compare the Phils' High A Level Clearwater Thresher pitching staff to the highly regarded pitching staff of the Major League parent club. In a tweet, Cosart declared that the Threshers' pitching staff was loaded. Cosart stated that the core of the pitching staff, which helped lock down a South Atlantic League title for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws last season, Brody Colvin , Jonathan Pettibone , Trevor May as well as himself, were "The Fab Four". An image of the statement is featured below. Interestingly enough, just as so many experts and fans stated their affinity toward the Phillies' pitching staff and left out the fifth man, Joe Blanton, Cosart also neglected to include Clearwater's proposed fifth starter, Julio Rodriguez . A Puerto Rico native, Rodriguez split time with Lakewood and short-season Williamsport last season, but became a key addition to the ...

Righty hurler Jarred Cosart was selected in the 38th round by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Cosart, who turned 20 years old during the 2010 season, has been extremely impressive since joining the Phillies organization, despite some physical hindrances. Cosart's draft position is quite deceiving. He was projected as an early round talent, but the Texas native's firm commitment to attend the University of Missouri had Major League teams avoiding him throughout the selection process. The Phillies took a gamble later in the draft, then followed Cosart, who played outfield and pitched as an amateur, around as he played rec league baseball during the Summer months. At the signing deadline, the Phillies made a hefty $550,000 offer, that both sides view as an investment, and coaxed Cosart to sign a contract. In 2009, Cosart, who stands 6-feet-3-inches and weighs around 180 pounds, made his professional debut as a member of the Gulf Coast League Phillies, but was limited to j...

As many fans know, not every baseball player gets a huge signing bonus or a large salary. Many minor league players find themselves working in the Autumn and Winter months to supplement their income and to stay busy. A question often wondered by fans: What do prospects do during the off-season? The answer is simple...pretty much anything and everything. Phillies first base prospect Matt Rizzotti is an individual who typically finds himself working during his time away from the baseball diamond. However, Rizzotti is not working this Winter as a result of having spent much of this off-season continuing to play baseball. Following the 2010 regular season, Rizzotti went to instructional ball in Clearwater for a month, then spent another five weeks playing for Mesa in the Arizona Fall League, where he batted .333 with an .865 OPS in 19 games. Last year, however, Rizzotti, who was a physical education major at Manhattan College, went back to his roots and worked as a full-time teachers assis...

On behalf of myself and The Shore Sports Network, I'd like to wish a happy Christmas to all of our readers that celebrate it. In recent weeks I've checked in with a several Phillies minor leaguers from various levels of the organization, as holiday spirit was building, to inquire about some of the players' favorite Christmas things. Check out the list of answers from the players I spoke with below. Santa De Fratus FAVORITE CHRISTMAS FOOD- RHP Jarred Cosart..."Favorite food during Christmas is chicken, ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, okra, salad. Ha ha...you name it, I'll eat it." RHP Justin De Fratus..."My favorite holiday food would have to be tamales. I don't know how many Phillies fans would know what those are, but if you are ever in Southern California during Christmas time, you have to have some." RHP Jake Borup..."Father-in-law makes red chile enchiladas!" LHP Nick Hernandez..."My favorite food, or dessert I should say, now wh...

With the release of Baseball America's list of top ten Phillies prospects on Monday, some players will be receiving some much deserved attention. One in particular, Jarred Cosart , is a fireballing right-handed starting pitcher with the potential to move up the organizational rankings very quickly. The 20-year-old Cosart has excellent command and a superior fastball that regularly hits 97 MPH. As a member of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws in 2010, Cosart posted a 7-3 record with a 3.79 ERA and 77 strike outs in 71 1/3 innings pitched. He projects to be the type of pitcher whose presence could effect the odds involved in Sports Betting some day, much like Cliff Lee did when news leaked that the Phillies were preparing to sign him this week. Cosart missed much of the 2010 season with an elbow injury, but the Phillies did a superb job of catching the injury, before it was too late, and shutting him down to prevent further damage. Cosart was was back to 100% in time to spend the mont...

This piece I wrote was previously seen on Chicks Dig the Long Ball earlier this week. If you paid close attention to certain national analysts this season, you probably heard them talk or write about how deep the Phillies low minor league teams are with great prospects. The Phillies’ Class A affiliate, the Lakewood BlueClaws, won the club’s second straight South Atlantic League title and became the first club since Savannah in 1994 to repeat as league champions. They also became the very first team in league history to win their division in the first and second halves and then go on to win the league championship. Lakewood was loaded with prospects this season. One, short stop Jonathan Villar, was held in high enough regard that he was part of the collection of players that was sent to Houston in a trade for Roy Oswalt in July. The Phillies had plenty of home grown talent come through their system in the 2000s. Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and Cole Hamels are all current Phillies stars wh...

Jarred Cosart has been sidelined with an elbow injury since he left a late June start after pitching just 2/3 of an inning. Eventually diagnosed as a mere strain that would heal with physical therapy, the Phillies organization shut down Cosart for the season to avoid a strenuous work load and allow the 20-year-old right-hander the opportunity to heal fully and avoid further aggravation of the ligaments in his elbow. As his baseball activities wrapped up in Clearwater, Florida this month, where Cosart had been doing his therapy and throwing sessions, Cosart was assigned to return to the Lakewood BlueClaws and join his teammates for their playoff push, as they attempt to repeat as South Atlantic League champions. With the BlueClaws this season, Cosart went 7-3 with a 3.79 ERA and 77 strike outs in 71 1/3 innings pitched. Cosart's sick fastball (often measured at 97 MPH) and exceptional command got him recognized recently as the #2 prospect in the entire Phillies minor league system, ...

LAKEWOOD, NJ- With a chance to clinch a spot in the South Atlantic League finals, the Lakewood BlueClaws couldn't muster the offense it was going to take to get themselves an extra day off before travelling to the host city for the next round's opening game. Struggling to put the ball in play when it counted against the Rangers affiliate Hickory Crawdads, the BlueClaws stranded 4 runners in scoring position, with the game tied in the 7th and 9th innings. Lakewood fell short again when they came to the plate trailing in the 10th inning and lined themselves out of a chance to tie the game or walk off with a victory. A lead off walk for Leandro Castro and a double by Jeremy Barnes, that began the 7th inning, were wasted when Hickory reliever Miguel De Los Santos refocused and struck out the next 3 batters. This occurred in the midst of a stretch where 13 of 14 outs made by BlueClaws batters were on strike outs. In the 9th inning Castro led off again drawing a walk. Barnes bunted ...

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...