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On the 67th edition of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast, Tug and Jay are joined by former minor league slugger Tagg Bozied, who chats about his college career, his time in the Phillies system, playing in China and much more. The guys also discuss the releases of Brody Colvin and Jiwan James , Jesse Biddle 's struggles as well as the hot output from the Williamsport Crosscutters' offense. 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 .

Jiwan James with Reading in 2012, Image- Jay Floyd For the third straight week the Phillies have cut a former well-regarded prospect that has fizzled at the upper levels, as outfielder Jiwan James was released by the Phillies on Thursday. The 25-year-old was a 22nd round draft choice in 2007 and was originally a pitcher, going 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA in his initial season as a pro with the Gulf Coast League Phillies. After missing 2008 with a right biceps injury, the athletic James shifted to the outfield, where he became a promising talent. A member of the 2010 South Atlantic League champion Lakewood BlueClaws team, James set that club's hit streak record when he notched at least one safety in 24 consecutive contests. James joins former "Baby Ace" Brody Colvin and 2008 first round draft pick Anthony Hewitt on a list of names the Phillies have given up on this month. After returning from a knee injury that kept him on the shelf for the opening two months of th...

Chace Numata, Image- Jay Floyd Just a few quick notes on some injuries throughout minor league camp… Catcher Chace Numata confirmed with me today that he will miss at least a few months following a fractured hamate and surgery to repair triangular fibrocartilage in his left wrist. The 21-year-old Hawaiian was a South Atlantic League All-Star for Class A Lakewood last season, posting a .231/.307/.305 line in 94 contests. Third baseman Mitch Walding is on the shelf as he continues to deal with the rib issue that shortened his season last summer. Walding was dealing with a misdiagnosed fracture when he suffered a more severe break while getting off the couch in the Lakewood locker room last August. Walding told me today that he is scheduled for surgery to fully remove the rib and is likely to miss at least six weeks. The 21-year-old was the Phils’ 5th round draft pick in 2011. Outfielder Jiwan James , who missed a considerable portion of last season following knee surgery, ...

I sat down with Double-A Reading manager Dusty Wathan on Thursday to chat about several key names in the Phillies' developmental ranks.  Among the topics of discussion were top Phils prospect lefty pitcher Jesse Biddle , fast rising third base prospect Maikel Franco, struggling left-handed starter Austin Wright and outfielder Tyson Gillies , who earned a promotion from Reading to Triple-A Lehigh Valley this week. Read ahead for all the quotes, plus some bonus Fightins related news blurbs at the end... - Lefty pitcher Jesse Biddle has now gone eight straight starts without a win.  As good as Jesse is, can this sort of stretch be disruptive or discouraging for a young player? Well, I think a lot of times, every year you can look and see one guy who pitches well and doesn't get the wins to show for how well he's pitched.  And a lot of it comes down to run support.  It's a difficult situation sometimes, but it's just, every year it seems like one of the...

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 .

The disassembling of the prospect group known as the Baby Aces continues, as the Phillies have traded once highly regarded righty hurler Julio Rodriguez to Baltimore for outfielder Ronnie Welty . Rodriguez once dominated Class A ball, but looked far more human with Double-A Reading last season. Drafted in the 8th round of the 2008 amateur draft, the Puerto Rican born pitcher finished with an overall record of 7-3 with a 1.89 ERA and a .175 batting average against in 20 outings with Williamsport and Lakewood in 2010. The following season, Rodriguez was named a Florida State League All-Star, as he finished with a league leading 16 wins, a 2.76 ERA that was second best in the league and a .186 batting average against. Over those two seasons, he averaged a 10.71 K/9 mark. Last year in the Eastern League, Rodriguez wrapped up his 2012 regular season campaign with a 7-7 record, a 4.23 ERA and a .243 batting average against, following a difficult eight-game stretch (6.81 ERA) that go...

It's the season 2 premiere of the show (episode 18). In this edition Tug and Jay discuss Tug's wedding, some surprising releases from Phils minor league camp, Roy Halladay 's health, fast rising prospects Roman Quinn and Carlos Tocci , the Reading rebranding, Lehigh Valley's new alternate jersey, and much more! Check out the media player below to hear the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .

We’re just under a month until pitchers and catcher are due to report to Clearwater for spring training. That means it’s time to kick off our annual countdown of the top 25 prospects in the Phillies organization. Gradually, in the coming weeks, leading to the kickoff of the 2013 regular season, I will be unveiling player reviews for each of the top developmental talent that you, as Phillies fans, should be familiar with. Taken into consideration when reviewing these young talents will be age, minor league performance relative to levels played, value to the organization as well as future potential. These rankings will not include players over 25-years-old or individuals that have spents lengthy and multiple stretches in the big leagues. Thus, players such as Austin Hyatt , Darin Ruf , Justin De Fratus , Phillippe Aumont and Jake Diekman will not appear on this year’s list. Some very talented youngsters did not make the cut simply because other individuals ranked higher...

Inciarte In the Rule 5 draft portion of the MLB Winter Meetings, on Thursday, the Phillies selected outfielder Ender Inciarte from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Inciarte, who has played 310 career minor league games in center field, posted a career high OPS of .797 combined at two levels, the Class A Midwest League and the Class A Advanced California League, in 2012. Additionally, Inciarte uses speed as a key to his offense, as he stole 46 bases in 58 opportunities last season and sports a 73% success rate in stolen base attempts during his pro career. Comparatively, Phillies' outfield prospect Tyson Gillies , who has had a considerable amount of injury issues since joining the organization, had an OPS of .809 at three levels in 2012 (.822 in 68 games at Double-A), which ranked as his third best season in that department through his minor league career. Gillies came over from Seattle in the December 2009 Cliff Lee trade after being picked in the 25th round of the 2006 dr...

In the Reading Phillies' home game against Bowie (Baltimore affiliate) on Saturday, June 14th, outfielder Jiwan James put forth an effort that resulted in one of the plays of the year. In the 3rd inning, James approached the outfield wall and leaped to rob the Baysox' Jonathan Schoop of a home run. In the process, James' mitt landed behind the wall, while the ball was next seen in James' bare hand, after he fell to the ground on his back. James drew national attention with the remarkable catch ( seen here ) that displayed great athleticism, determination and luck. Despite a nagging injury that has hindered his progress at the Double-A level this year, James has proven to be a tough player that can make an impact on any given day. Originally drafted in the 22nd round of the 2007 draft as a pitcher, James, who was converted to an everyday player in 2009 after dealing with an arm injury, isn't normally a very big fan of the sort of attention that his catch garnered. ...

It was the talk of Twitter on Saturday night and clinched top play status on ESPN and Comcast SportsNet...Reading Phillies outfielder Jiwan James climbed the wall at FirstEnergy Park to rob Bowie second baseman Jonathan Schoop of a home run. See the video below. Pretty remarkable, as James loses his mitt over the wall and retrieves the ball with his bare hand! Was it a trap? Ahh, who cares?! That effort was simply outstanding. Susquehanna Bank should hook Jiwan up with an endorsement bonus of some kind for all the exposure their ad is getting thanks to his athleticism. Also on Saturday, lefty pitcher Douglas Parada tossed a complete game no-hitter for the Phillies' Venezuelan Summer League team, striking out 14 batters and walking none in nine innings against the Rays' club. The victory takes the 19-year-old Parada's record to a remarkable 7-0 and lowered his ERA to 0.69 on the season, through 11 starts. At 38-16, the Phillies team holds the top spot in the Vene...

On Saturday night, as part of the Reading Phillies' Yuengling Post-Game Concert Series, right-handed hurler Trevor May performed as his alter ego DJ Hey Beef, following the club's 7-2 victory over the Harrisburg Senators (Washington affiliate). May, who has DJ'd publicly in his home state of Washington, has never had the opportunity to spin music for fans in the Philadelphia region before. When a spot opened up on the schedule in the R-Phils' weekend concert schedule, May welcomed the opportunity to display his musical hobby to a game day crowd.  The Phillies' 4th round draft selection from 2008 had previously reached out to the team about hosting a show in some fashion. "It should be a lot of fun.  That's one thing that he's really big into. I was his roommate on the road, earlier this year, and that's all he was talking about. He was on the computer, trying to find a gig to do...and it should be a lot of fun, Reading outfielder Jiwan Ja...

Originally drafted as a pitcher in the 22nd round of the 2007 draft, Jiwan James was converted to an everyday player in 2009. The switch-hitter has since earned recognition as a superb athlete and a rising star within the Phillies developmental ranks. In his first season as an everyday player, James played in 30 games with short-season Class A Williamsport. As a member of the Crosscutters in the NY-Penn League, James batted .264 with a homer and 13 RBI. The following season, James helped the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws lock down a second straight South Atlantic League title. The 6-foot-4-inch 185-pounder shined atop the batting order for SAL champs, setting a club record 24-game hitting streak in July. In the longest season of his career to that point, James posted a .270 average with 26 doubles, 6 triples, 5 homers and 64 RBI in 133 games played. With the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers in 2011, the Williston High School (Florida) product had another good season. In 130 games...

Each January, big league organizations bring several of their brightest prospects to their home city in order to provide the youngsters with a crash course on life at the Major League level. It is known as the MLB Rookie Career Development Program. As a way for the players to witness a live Philadelphia crowd first-hand, the Phillies provided tickets for Wednesday night's Sixers overtime loss to Denver for several of their young talents. Outfielder Jiwan James shot the video featured below of infielder Cesar Hernandez , righty pitcher Julio Rodriguez and catcher Sebastian Valle (in order, left to right) cheering for the hometown team and banging their thunder sticks. Other players in attendance for the program include right-handed hurlers Trevor May , Jonathan Pettibone and Phillippe Aumont . Each of the players named in this post will be included in the currently-in-progress 2012 Top 25 Phillies Prospects countdown. Check back here in the coming weeks to see where ...

The 2011 Baseball Winter Meetings are underway in Dallas and while the greatest amount of buzz has surrounded some major free agents like Albert Pujols and Jimmy Rollins , there's a minor portion of the annual event that has drawn some interest as well. The Rule 5 draft took place on Thursday and resulted in relocation for a group of selected prospects. Players are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft when they are not on their major league organization's 40 man roster and 1) were signed to a contract at age 19 or older and have been in that organization for 4 yrs, OR 2) were signed at age 18 or younger and have been in that organization for 5 years. Rumors out of the meetings on Wednesday night had Phillies minor league outfielder Jiwan James (pictured) on multiple teams' lists of talented young players who fit that bill. James, a 22-year-old Florida native, is a converted pitcher who was ranked as the Phillies' tenth best prospect in a survey of a dozen mino...

Phillies minor league third baseman Moose Mattair spoke with PhoulBallz.com's & PhilliesNation's Jay Floyd once again, to provide an inside glance at spring training in Clearwater. Mattair was the Phillies' second round draft pick in 2007 out of Southridge High School in Washington state. He later helped the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws win the South Atlantic League championship in 2009. After a rough spring training in 2010, Mattair, who was an all-state basketball player during his high school days, retired from baseball to chase his dream of playing Division I college hoops . After trying his hand with Boise State University, Mattair has returned to Clearwater to continue his baseball journey. Read ahead to check out what Moose had to say on various subjects, live and direct from Clearwater. On his first official day of minor league camp since he left the Phillies organization last year to dabble in college basketball. The first full official day was full of meetings. ...

Switch-hitting Phillies prospect Jiwan James earned plenty of recognition last season, as he set the Class A Lakewood hitting streak record at 24 straight games and led the team in runs scored with 85. James, who will turn 22 years old in April, has reported early to Clearwater, well ahead of the March 1st report date for minor league spring training camp. Drafted out of high school as a pitcher in the 22nd round of the 2007 amateur draft, James made the switch to the outfield in 2009 where he played in 30 games with the short season Williamsport Crosscutters. As a member of the Cutters, James batted .264 with a homer and 13 RBI. The positional switch was necessary due to a lingering arm issue that James dealt with during 2008. In 2010, while helping the Lakewood BlueClaws lock down a second straight South Atlantic League title, James, who stands 6-feet-4-inches tall and weighs around 185 pounds, shined batting at the top of the order in manager Mark Parent's lineup. In the longes...

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...

LAKEWOOD, NJ- In a game pushed back one day due to rain, it took until the very last at bat to decide who would have the advantage heading into the final day of the South Atlantic League Postseason, as the Phillies affiliate, the Lakewood BlueClaws, played host to the Red Sox affiliate, the Greenville Drive. The team affectionately known around the region as "The Cardiac 'Claws" locked down their 14th walk-off win of the season when mid-season All-star Jeremy Barnes singled to drive home the go ahead run that gave Lakewood a 2-1 win. In the home half of the 9th, Jiwan James led off with a single and was moved over the 2nd on a Michael Dabbs sacrifice bunt. Slugger Jonathan Singleton was intentionally walked, to set up a force play with one out. Lakewood catcher Sebastian Valle then flied out, setting the stage for Barnes' shining moment against Greenville reliever Dennis Neuman. "To have a walk-off hit in a game like this is huge. This is the highlight of my seas...

The Lakewood BlueClaws are in the midst of the South Atlantic League playoffs. One of their offensive leaders all season has been outfield prospect Jiwan James. In 133 regular season games this season, James posted a .270 batting average, hit 5 homeruns, drove in 64 runs, scored 85 runs and set a BlueClaws franchise record 24-game hitting streak. James, a 21-year-old, is a converted pitcher and is often described as the best athlete in the Phillies minor league system. In a recent poll of minor league experts, conducted by the Reading Eagle , James was ranked as the 9th best prospect in the Phillies' system. I spoke with Jiwan about the BlueClaws' confidence level in the post-season, slumping and plenty more. Check out the media player below, to listen to the full interview. ______________________________________________________ Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE .