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From the bottom of the developmental ranks to the upper levels here's all the latest this week... At the Class A level for the Lakewood BlueClaws , as I reported on Twitter on Thursday, infielder Tim Zier is out for the year after undergoing season-ending left knee surgery on Monday. The San Diego State product was injured during pre-game fundamentals/infield work recently. Zier, last year's 21st round draft pick, was batting .264 with two RBI in 15 games with the BlueClaws this year. Reliever Matt Hockenberry , a Temple product, returned from the disabled list on Thursday, after a stint on the disabled list with a right arm strain. In 11 appearances this season, the 23-year-old sports a 1-0 record with six saves, a 1.06 ERA and a .148 batting average against. Outfielder Jiandido Tromp return to action this week as well, after being on the disabled list with a hamstring strain. The 21-year-old Aruba native is batting .183 with three doubles, three triples and eig...

Sliding into a key role at the back end of the Class A Lakewood bullpen late in the season, Phillies 19th round draft pick Joe DeNato has notched his first two pro saves in recent days. Through 22 pro games combined at short-season A level Williamsport and with Lakewood, the Indiana product has tallied a 3-1 record with a 1.78 ERA and a 9.68 K/9 mark. I spoke with Joe this weekend about his first minor league save, being drafted by the Phillies and more. -DeNato commented on his initial professional save against Hickory in a 3-0 win in Lakewood on Thursday... We had the shutout going, so I just really wanted that pitchers' BP, but I mean, I just went out there, knowing that I needed to throw strikes. I kind of struggled with that with the first batter. Luckily, I didn't walk him. He ended up getting on base though, but overall I just wanted to get the job done. -I asked DeNato if the Phillies were on his radar among teams interested in drafting him after posted ...

Willians Astudillo, image- Jay Floyd As Class A Lakewood standout Willians Astudillo continues his quest toward a South Atlantic League batting title, entering the final weekend of the season, his team is backing him . The 22-year-old missed all of last season with a left knee injury, but has clearly bounced back nicely. Astudillo is 40-for-85 (.471 avg) in his last 23 games, helping to boost his league leading season average to .340. I spoke with BlueClaws personnel about Astudillo's exciting batting crown chase. Read ahead for those quotes... Manager Greg Legg - "He's played the same all year, with the same energy and intensity. I never saw him have a lull. He loves baseball. I think that's the reason he gets up in the morning is to hit. But it has added some excitement to (our final week of the season). It's definitely interesting and if we can do anything to help him, we will." "It's neat, we got Cozens, who set a franchise r...

Astudillo, image- Jay Floyd The last place Lakewood BlueClaws have been out of the playoff hunt for months, but there's another chase that the entire team is focused on that's set to go down to the wire. With the regular season winding down, blossoming star Willians Astudillo is battling to clinch the Class A South Atlantic League batting title with his entire team behind him. Following a 3-for-4 effort in the BlueClaws' home schedule finale on Thursday night, Astudillo sports a .340 average, holding a six point lead on the league's next best hitter, Delmarva's Chance Sisco . The more you watch the exciting and fun-loving Venezuela native, Astudillo, the easier it is to see why his team has his back. Behind the scenes, Astudillo keeps things loose, is a constant cheerleader in the dugout and is always the one to offer a teammate a boost, when it's needed. His teammates love him for it. "We're all on his back. He's great! We want him t...