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Ben Brown, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ- In the inagural contest under their new moniker and their initial contest as a Class A Advanced level club, the Jersey Shore BlueClaws were victorious, as they downed the Hudson Valley Renegades by a score of 6-2 on Tuesday night. Starting pitcher Ben Brown, who underwent Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2019, tossed four scoreless frames, striking out six and walking one.   After the Renegades took a 1-0 lead on an RBI double by third baseman James Nelson off of reliever Tyler McKay in the top of the 5th inning, the BlueClaws did not wait long to clap back.   A looping opposite field single by right fielder Jhailyn Ortiz plated two runs to give the BlueClaws the lead.  Catcher Logan O'Hoppe launched a homer in convincing fashion, plating Ortiz, to pad the home club's lead. Jersey Shore's third and fourth batters in the lineup lead the offense again in the 7th inning when Ortiz plated another run on a single and O'Hop...

Jhailyn Ortiz with Lakewood in 2018, image- Jay Floyd The Phillies signed outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz , who was the top ranked international free agent, at the age of 16 in 2015 for a reported $4 million. Teams don't make that sort of investment or shell out the largest signing bonus for an international player in organization history without a boat load of high hopes.  With four years in professional baseball down, Ortiz still has a very long way to go. The powerful Dominican Republic native made his regular season pro debut as a member of the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies in 2016. In 47 games there, Ortiz batted .231 with eight home runs, 27 RBI and eight stolen bases. In 2017 Ortiz was with the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters. He sported a .302 batting average with 15 doubles, a triple, eight homers and 30 RBI in 47 contests en route to an All-Star nod.  His .961 OPS would have been good enough to lead the league if he has notched...

This week I made my long awaited (by me only, I'd bet) to the Hittin' Season Podcast hosted by John Stolnis . The show's home is over on TheGoodPhight.com, of course, and I've contributed to the show plenty of times, appearing as a guest and contributing exclusive interviews to the program. The latest episode features John recapping the Phillies' series against the Tigers and a preview of the series to come against the division rival Braves. He also talks about what to expect as the MLB trading deadline approaches. Then I join John to discuss several promising Phils prospects such as Alec Bohm , Mickey Moniak , Bryson Stot t , Spencer Howard , Adonis Medina , Francisco Morales and others. Check out the embedded media player below to stream or download the episode and, if you like what you hear, subscribe to the show!

Kyle Glogoski, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON and get early access to nearly all my content along with exclusive interviews just for patrons- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz For Kyle Glogoski , his Class A Advanced debut on Saturday will be one that he and many others remember for a long time, as he combined, along with relievers Tyler Carr and Keylan Killgore , to toss a no-hitter against division rival Daytona. In five innings, the 20-year-old right-hander struck out five Tortugas batters and walked a pair.  He threw 64 pitches, 45 for strikes. The New Zealand native, Glogoski, made way for 23-year-old righty Tyler Carr, who worked the next three frames.  Carr, the Phillies' 31st round draft pick last year out of South Alabama, struck out four, while walking one. Left-hander Keylan Killgore tossed the last inning to close it out with a one-two-three effort thanks to a remarkable catch...

Jhailyn Ortiz, image- Jay Floyd The Phillies signed outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz , who was the top ranked international free agent, at the age of 16 in 2015 for a reported $4 million. Teams don't make that sort of investment or shell out the largest signing bonus for an international player in organization history without a boat load of high hopes. It seems the talented youngster is well on his way to living up to those expectations. The powerful Dominican Republic native made his regular season pro debut as a member of the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies in 2016. In 47 games there, Ortiz batted .231 with eight home runs, 27 RBI and eight stolen bases. In 2017 Ortiz was with the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters. He sported a .302 batting average with 15 doubles, a triple, eight homers and 30 RBI in 47 contests.  His .961 OPS would have been good enough to lead the league if he has notched enough plate appearances to qualify. Last season with the C...

The Comeback 'Claws were not able to match their tremendous resilience of one night prior when they fell to Lexington in game two of the South Atlantic League finals. It was familiar territory as the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws trailed their opponent by a score of 5-0 in the late innings.  Much like Monday's affair that saw Lakewood pound three straight ninth inning homers to climb back into that contest, they got their scoring started on Tuesday with a Rodolfo Duran roundtripper. That blast came in the 8th inning in game two, but those were the only runs that crossed the plate for the visitors and they fell to the Legends by a final of 5-2.  BlueClaws starting pitcher Kyle Young tossed four innings, allowing a pair of earned runs while striking out two and issuing two walks to take the loss.  Reliever Julian Garcia was tagged for three earned runs over 2 2/3 innings.  James McArthur, this year's 12th round draft pick by the Phillies, went 1 1/3 innings w...

On Monday night in Lexington, Lakewood had mustered just a lone hit entering the ninth inning and trailed 5-0.  Five straight hits, three of them consecutive home runs, tied the game, buying the visitors new life and the chance they needed to lock down an extra-inning victory and take charge in the best-of-five South Atlantic League Championship Series. With the game on the line, the BlueClaws' power (the club's 95 regular season home runs were the largest single season total in team history) was on display in the top of the 9th Following base hits from pinch hitter Josh Stephen and first baseman Jake Scheiner, catcher Rodolfo Duran mashed a deep fly ball for a three run homer that put the BlueClaws within two runs at 5-3.  Slugging right fielder Jhailyn Ortiz then slammed a fly ball the opposite way that hit near the right field foul pole for a round tripper.  Then a third straight big fly from shortstop Nick Maton tied the contest at 5-5. Madison Stokes, i...

Last week I talked with Lakewood hitting coach Tyler Henson about his club's offense.  Among the key topics discussed were powerful outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz and promising second baseman Daniel Brito , who spent much of the season with the BlueClaws.  Read ahead for some exclusive quotes. -Talk about how tough the grind of a full season can be for players that haven't gone through it before. The guys that have never been through it, they don't understand how to-- physically it gets tiring, but the mental part is the biggest part of it at this point and not being too hard on yourself when you when you make outs, 'cause everybody wants to finish the season on a good note.  So, when these guys make outs and they get mad or get frustrated and carry it over to the next at bar, for me right now that's the biggest focus is to calm down and take it one at a time at this point.  So, for the most part, these guys are handling it well, but it's still a l...

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...

Here we go with a rundown of top performers of late throughout the Phillies minor league levels.  Statistics and standings are current through games on Wednesday.  Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs (57-38, 1st place in the International League North Division)- Joey Meneses, image- Jay Floyd Outfielder Joey Meneses continues with his strong efforts for the 'Pigs.  Among the league leaders in batting with a .304 mark, the 26-year-old Mexico native has 17 home runs and 55 RBI through 87 games.  The righty batter was a free agent signing over the off-season. Left-handed starting pitcher Cole Irvin continues to rank among the top three in ERA this season in the International League with his 2.73 mark.  Through 18 starts, the 24-year-old is holding opponents to a .233 batting average while posting an 8-3 record and a 7.5 K/9 mark. Since he was signed as a free agent this month, infielder Ryan Goins has tallied a .300 average with three doubles, a homer a...

Marty Malloy, image- Jay Floyd The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws have a four-game win streak intact entering the weekend.  The team's pitching staff ranks third in the South Atlantic League with a 2.67 staff ERA.  Their offense, however, ranks last in the league with a .221 batting average.  On Friday, I talked with BlueClaws' manager Marty Malloy about a few of his key pitchers and some of the disappointments at the plate.  Prospect discussed include standout starters Will Stewart and Ramon Rosso as well as closer Addison Russ.  Position players Gregori Rivero and Daniel Brito were topics of discussion as were injured offensive contributors Jhailyn Ortiz, Simon Muzziotti and Cole Stobbe.  Read ahead for my full interview with Malloy.  -Left-hander Will Stewart is off to a great start with the team.  He's 20 years old and has a 4-0 record with a 1.46 ERA through six starts.  What can you share about how outstanding he has been? Al...

Tyler Henson, image- Jay Floyd The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws are off to a fair start, posting a 7-7 record through the first couple weeks of the season.  The guy in charge of the offense (2nd lowest OPS in the South Atlantic League entering action on Friday, with a .636 mark) is former Phillies farm hand Tyler Henson. A 5th round pick of Baltimore in 2006, Henson, 30, took the field in the Phillies organization from 2013-2015 on the end of a 10-year playing career. Henson began his coaching tenure in 2016 fresh out of retirement.  Last year, he coached with short-season Class A Williamsport.  During his time in affiliated minor league baseball, Henson posted a .263/.323/.393 slash line. Last week I talked with Coach Henson about his team's lineup, including outfielders Josh Stephen, Jhailyn Ortiz and Simon Muzziotti, along with infielders Daniel Brito, Cole Stobbe, Jake Scheiner and first baseman Quincy Nieporte, plus more about his transition into coaching. ...

Jhailyn Ortiz, image- MiLB.com The Phillies signed outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz at the age of 16 for a reported $4 million.  Teams don't make that sort of investment or shell out the largest signing bonus for an international player in organization history without a boat load of high hopes.  It seems the talented youngster is well on his way to living up to those expectations. The powerful Dominican Republic native made his regular season pro debut as a member of the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies in 2016.  In 47 games there, Ortiz batted .231 with eight home runs, 27 RBI and eight stolen bases. In 2017 Ortiz was with the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters.  He sported a .302 batting average with 15 doubles, a triple, eight homers and 30 RBI in 47 contests.  Having turned 19 years old in November, he was among the youngest players in the New York-Penn League last year.  His .961 OPS would have been good enough to lead the league if h...

As a new year begins, so does my annual prospect ranking, which counts down the Phillies organization’s top 25 rising minor league talents. Over the next several weeks, with the organization in the midst of a rebuild, primed to give many young talents the opportunity to break into the major leagues and show what they can do, I’ll be serving up reviews for each of the top developmental talents that appear to have the brightest futures for the Phillies. Taken into consideration when compiling the list is age, minor league performance relative to levels played, value to the organization as the player’s future potential and proximity to the big leagues. These rankings will not include players over the age of 25 or individuals that have spent lengthy stretches in the big leagues. For example, left-handed reliever Joely Rodriguez, who spent the final month of the regular season on the big league Phillies roster, will not appear on this countdown. Tyler Goeddel (12th on this list a ye...

Here's a quick rundown of the Phillies minor league hot list. Details are up to date prior to game action on Tuesday, July 26th. Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs (61-41, 2 nd place North Div. International League) Right-handed Jake Thompson continues his tremendous stretch for the IronPigs and remains the top option for a promotion if a vacancy opens up in the Phillies’ rotation. In his last nine starts, the 22-year-old sports a 6-0 record with a 0.58 ERA and a 5.3 K/9 mark. In 19 starts this season, Thompson, who was acquired from Texas as part of last summer’s Cole Hamels trade, has a 9-5 record with a 2.29 ERA and a .224 batting average against. Righty pitcher David Buchanan has allowed just two earned runs in 22 innings (0.82 ERA) over his last three starts. In 19 games (18 starts) this season for the Pigs, the 27-year-old has a 7-5 record with a 4.05 ERA and a .257 batting average against. In 11 games since the Triple-A All-Star Break, outfielder Nick Williams ...