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Australian pitcher Josh Warner began the 2013 season as a member of the starting rotation for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. Through six starts, the 20-year-old right-hander posted a 1-3 record along with a 7.50 ERA. Phillies brass decided to reassign Warner to extended spring training so he could make some adjustments to his delivery aimed at enhancing his deception toward hitters. The Queensland native, who pitches for the Brisbane Bandits in the Australian Baseball League during the off-season, was signed by the Phils as an amateur free agent in 2010. Combined over the past two seasons, since making his affiliated pro debut, Warner has split his time with the Gulf Coast League Phillies, the Williamsport Crosscutters and Lakewood, posting a combined 7-13 record along with a 5.28 ERA. Early this season I spoke with Josh for Phillies Nation TV, but the segment went unused on the television program. During the interview, Josh spoke about the growth of baseball down under, his ...

It's our weekly rundown of notes from the minor leagues.  For the most part, I'll serve up some quotes from Class A Lakewood manager Mickey Morandini , as I spoke with him on Sunday. On his BlueClaws team, that sports a 9-20 record, as a whole: "Even though the record's not where we want it to be, we're still seeing a lot of good out there, out of the young kids, so, that's the main thing here, is getting these kids better and having them progress as best they can." On Australian right-hander Josh Warner (1-3 record, 7.50 ERA in six starts), who was demoted to extended spring training on Sunday: "We just wanted to get Josh down there and get his confidence back.  We're gonna make a few adjustments with where he's standing on the rubber and things, so we just wanted him to go down there and work on that. He's only 20-years old.  He's got a good breaking ball, a good change up.  He just got in a situation where he was ...

It's time, once again, to travel around the globe as we review how Phillies talents are performing in off-season and winter leagues.  Be warned that news is becoming quite limited, as the closer things get to spring training, the less there is to report.  In the Caribbean Leagues, teams have begun playing in their second wave of the season, as the top four teams from the Dominican and Puerto Rico leagues as well as the top five from the Venezuelan Winter League meet in a round robin style stretch of contests in their respective leagues, with the top two advancing to each league's finals.  Shortstop Freddy Galvis (pictured) has been steadily batting lead-off with Zulia during their run in the VWL’s round robin semi-finals. In eight contests in the semi’s, the 23-year-old is batting .353 with 11 RBI. Galvis has seemed rusty in the field this month, after taking some time off at the close of the regular season, committing four errors in his first six round robin game...

It's another edition of our weekly off-season league review. Read ahead, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents including Antonio Bastardo , Raul Valdes and plenty of others, who are participating in various winter league action.  Venezuelan League- Second baseman Cesar Hernandez (pictured, left) ended his VWL regular season batting .226 with a home run, 16 RBI and 14 steals in 44 games for Margarita, as his team did not advance to the semi-final round.  The 22-year-old switch-hitter batted a combined .291 with two homers and 57 RBI in 133 games for Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley during the 2012 regular season. Shortstop Edgar Duran , also with Margarita, batted .240 with a home run and nine RBI in 36 games.  In 121 games for Class A Advanced Clearwater in 2012, Duran, 21, sported a .253/.310/.357 line. Shortstop Freddy Galvis wrapped up his regular season with a 10-game hitting streak, during which he posted ...

We're back with another edition of the (usually) weekly off-season league rundown. Read ahead, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter league action. Venezuelan League- Freddy Galvis (pictured, right) is batting .296 with 11 doubles, two triples, five homers and 28 RBI along with four steals through 57 games. The switch-hitting 23-year-old is riding a nine-game hitting streak, during which he is 13-for-39 (.333 avg). Galvis has been playing shortstop exclusively with Zulia. Catcher Humberto Quintero , 33, has posted a .314 batting average with five doubles, one home run and nine RBI in 23 games for Zulia. The righty hitting Quintero was signed by the Phillies last month after playing in 43 games with the Royals last season. Rule 5 draft choice Ender Inciarte , 22, is batting .234 with five doubles and a triple along with three steals through 44 games for Zulia. The lefty hitting center fielder b...