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Shawn Williams, image- Jay Floyd Recently, I sat down with Class A Lakewood BlueClaws manager Shawn Williams to ask about several of his team's rising prospects. Among the topics of discussion were impressive lefty reliever Zach Morris , well regarded backstop Deivi Grullon , outfielder Jose Pujols and several others. Read ahead for that full interview. -Zach Morris has been so consistent for this team dating back to late April, with an ERA under one during that stretch. What are your thoughts on him? I mean he’s been outstanding all year. He’s done every single role for us, whether it’s setting up, closing, he’s been huge for us when he’s picked up three or four innings he’s saved out bullpen. All around he’s done an outstanding job to help us and help our bullpen. -With other guys performing well and moving up, is there something that Zach is missing or needs to be doing to earn a promotion? I think it’s more that there are a lot of guys doing well up above, so it’s...

Josh Tobias, image- Jay Floyd It didn't take long for second base prospect Josh Tobias to make an impact with the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers following his promotion there earlier this week. On Thursday, in his second game in the Florida State League, the switch-hitting 23-year-old notched a 4-for-4 game while drawing a walk. Tobias was part of a chain reaction series of promotions for second basemen that saw Taylor Featherston come to the big leagues, Jesmuel Valentin go to Triple-A and Scott Kingery join the Double-A ranks after Phillies utility man Andres Blanco was sidelined with an injury this week. An All-Star for Class A Lakewood this season, Tobias, who was the Phillies' 10th round draft choice last year, posted a .304 average with seven home runs and 55 RBI in 93 games in the South Atlantic League. Prior to his promotion, I spoke to Josh about his All-Star experience, his progress this season, a certain BlueClaws promotion and plenty more. ...

Jose Pujols, image- Jay Floyd On Tuesday, rosters for the Class A South Atlantic League All-Star teams, including two Phillies propsects, were announced. Lakewood second baseman Josh Tobias and outfielder Jose Pujols were honored and will represent the Northern Division roster when the game takes place at Whitaker Ballpark in Lexington, KY on June 21 st . Tobias, who was a 10 th round draft selection by the Phillies last year out of the University of Florida, has a .2868 average with five home runs and 33 RBI through 52 games for the BlueClaws. The switch-hitter has 14 multi-hit games this season. The 20-year-old Pujols sports a .243 average with a league-best 10 home runs and 34 RBI through 53 games this season. The righty slugger was recently profiled by Phillies Nation ( click here for that feature ). In that interview, the Dominican born Pujols was asked about the possibility of being nominated as an All-Star. "It would be great," Pujols stated. ...

Shawn Williams The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws have been exciting to watch this season, despite a disappointing 6-16 overall record thus far this season. This week I spoke with team skipper Shawn Williams about several talented young prospects such as righty pitcher Shane Watson , outfielder Jose Pujols and infielder Josh Tobias . Additionally, I asked him about the injuries his team has dealt with so far in the early going. Read ahead for the exclusive comments. -The BlueClaws have had quite a few injuries with some key offensive contributors like Deivi Grullon , Zach Coppola and Cornelius Randolph missing time. How is the team able to deal with this kind of shake up? For me, it gives an opportunity for a lot of these other guys to get a chance and they've taken full advantage of it and we've still-- I mean, we've been swinging the bats well overall all season and, like I said, it's giving them a chance to get in there and show what they can do and they...

Tobias, image- Jay Floyd Second baseman Josh Tobias has been an offensive catalyst for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws thus far in the young season. The 23-year-old switch hitter entered action on Sunday among the South Atlantic League leaders in hits, batting average, OPS and RBI. A 10th round draft selection out of Florida last year, Tobias had a solid pro debut with short-season A level Williamsport, batting .321 with four home runs and 37 RBI in 61 games, helping to lead the Crosscutters into the playoffs. Recently, I chatted with the man known around the clubhouse as "Toby" about playing with Lakewood, players he looked up to as a child, how he spends his free time and plenty more. Read ahead for that interview. -You've got some teammates that have played in Lakewood before. Did anyone prepare you for what to expect before coming here in regards to the fans, the facilities or the town? Yeah, a lot of guys that are playing in Clearwater now talked to ...