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On episode 58 of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast, Jay chats with Phillies minor leaguer Jim Murphy about his progress, his status in the system and more. Tug and Jay also chat about Passover, the return of Cole Hamels as well as loads of minor leaguers including Jay Johnson , Kenny Giles , Willie Carmona , Roman Quinn , Mitch Walding and Joey Gallo . 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 .  

Monday was a busy day for roster moves in the Phillies' organization. On top of the news that Mike Adams would return to the Phillies at the expense of Luis Garcia being sent down to Triple-A, there were several notable transactions announced throughout the system. Cameron Rupp, Image- Jay Floyd Top catching prospect Cameron Rupp was placed on the disabled list with a strained oblique suffered in Sunday's game. The 25-year-old was batting .231 with four homers and eight RBI in nine games with the Triple-A IronPigs. Sebastian Valle was promoted to Lehigh Valley from Double-A Reading to fill the void. Other backstop moves: Chad Carman promoted to the Reading roster from Class A Advanced Clearwater, Deivi Grullon activated for Clearwater from extended spring training. Also placed on the disabled list with an oblique strain for Lehigh Valley was infielder Andres Blanco . The 30-year-old infielder was batting .273 with one RBI in nine contests in the young season...

Dave Lundquist and Jesse Biddle, Image- Jay Floyd Over the weekend, I spoke with Double-A Reading Fightin Phillies pitching coach Dave Lundquist. A former big leaguer with the White Sox and Padres, "Lundy" has been coaching in the Phils system since 2008. The 40-year-old spoke openly about nearly his entire pitching staff including top prospect Jesse Biddle , David Buchanan , Mike Nesseth , Seth Rosin , Austin Wright as well as Brody Colvin . Read ahead for that full interview... - Jesse Biddle came out in Trenton over the weekend and had somewhat of a bounce back effort, following a pair of poor outings. He says it's not a good result unless he wins, but overall it's gotta be a positive step for him, right? Absolutely. If you look at his last two outings, two-thirds of an inning and then an inning and a third, to come out (on Friday) night and really to have the command, much, much better than he's had. The confidence level was much highe...

Garett Claypool in 2011, Photo- Jay Floyd Once promising righty hurler Garett Claypool was released by the Phillies on Friday morning.  The UCLA product was selected in the 11th round of the 2010 amateur draft by the Phils. The 24-year-old right-hander had a breakout season, with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws in 2011, when he posted a 5-7 record with a 3.47 ERA and led the league in strike outs over 27 outings (23 starts).  Claypool, a California native, did not show the same potential that landed him among the Phillies' top 25 prospects in 2012 upon climbing the developmental ladder to Class A Advanced Clearwater in 2012.  There, the six-foot-two 180-pounder tallied a 3-2 record with a 7.30 ERA over 20 appearances (one start). Additionally, the Phillies have continued some housekeeping among their rosters, reassigning second baseman Cesar Hernandez and relief pitcher Justin Friend to the minors .  In 11 games with the big league Phils this spring, Her...

The Phillies announced today that six additional non-roster players have been invited to big league spring training.  The list of new names extended the invitations includes former big leaguer Joe Mather , third baseman Cody Asche , lefty hurler Adam Morgan , catcher Tommy Joseph and right-handed pitchers Justin Friend and Kyle Simon . Mather, an outfielder who was signed recently as a free agent on a minor league deal, batted .209, with five homers and 19 RBI in 103 games with the Cubs last season. A third round draft pick in 2001, Mather also has Major League experience with the Braves and the Cardinals. Asche, the Phils' 4th round pick in 2011, posted great numbers in his first full pro season in 2012. The 22-year-old University of Nebraska product tallied a combined .324 average with 12 home runs and 72 RBI in 130 combined games at Class A Advanced Clearwater and Double-A Reading last season. Morgan, who was selected in the 3rd round of the 2011 draft, progre...

The Venezuelan Winter League got underway on Thursday and Phillies infielder, Freddy Galvis saw organized game action for the first time since June, when he was sidelined with a back injury.  The 22-year-old played shortstop and laced four hits in five at bats, while slugging a homer and driving in two runs en route to helping Zulia lock down a 10-3 victory over Aragua. As a rookie with the Phillies this year, Galvis, who was signed as an amateur free agent in 2006 at the age of 16, batted .226 with 3 home runs and 24 RBI in 58 games.  Galvis tested positive this year for a banned substance and was suspended for 50 games as a result.  He was able to serve the suspension while on the disabled list and would be eligible for game action at the start of the 2013 regular season. Other Phillies players participating in the VWL include second baseman Cesar Hernandez, who went 1-for-3 in Margarita's 7-4 win over La Guaira.  Hernandez, 22, had a breakout season in 201...

Righty hurler Justin Friend stood out as the top reliever in the Phillies' development ranks this year. The Oklahoma State University product was acquired by the Phils in the minor league portion of the 2010 Rule 5 Draft. This season, in 38 games with the Double-A Reading Phillies, the 26-year-old Friend posted a 2-0 record with a 0.23 ERA while successfully converting all 24 of his save opportunities. From late June through the month of July, Friend pitched with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. As a member of the 'Pigs' bullpen, Friend went 2-1 with a 4.40 ERA and 1 save in 12 games. In each of his two seasons in the Phillies system, Friend has been named an All-Star, first in the Class A Advanced Florida State League in 2011, then in the Double-A Eastern League this year. This month, during the EL playoffs, I spoke with Justin about his All-Star season, Phillies fans, his pitch repertoire and plenty more. Check out the media player below to hear the full intervi...

"Fear the 'Hawk" is the motto of Reading Phillies closer Justin Friend, who sports a hairstyle that has made him stand out in the past. With the sides of his head cropped closely and the center section of his head, from front to back, left longer and shaggy, the Double-A closer has some new mohawk-mates on his team. Outfielders Tyson Gillies (pictured on the left) and Leandro Castro (on the right) currently rock similar 'do's, with Gillies' version matching Friend's a bit and Castro's shaved to the skin on the sides being more reflective of Mr. T's famed cranium. A survey of teammates which included Tommy Joseph, Jiwan James, D'Arby Myers, Darin Ruf, Cody Asche and Miguel Abreu on Friday, regarding who had the better mohawk, was fairly balanced. Friend, of course, is recognized by teammates as the father of the trend. The 26-year-old, who was acquired by the Phillies in the 2010 Rule 5 draft, was dominant for Reading this year, as he is perfect...

Prior to tonight's game 2 of the Eastern League division series, I spoke with R-Phils manager Dusty Wathan about several subjects. Read ahead for Wathan's quotes... On who would be the starting pitcher for Reading, if the series reaches game 5- It'll probably be Mario Hollands . He's done a great job in the organization this year, bouncing all around. And, you know, we got him back from Lehigh Valley, put him on the roster. We'll probably use him out of the bullpen tonight, if we need him maybe. So, he's available out of the bullpen tonight, but if we go to a game 5, we'll use Hollands. On his confidence level in set-up man Tyler Knigge , who worked out of a jam in the 8th inning of game 1- It's huge. One thing he had to work on to get to this level was his slider. He has to continue to work on it, and he has. I thought he was throwing the ball well last night. It was a situation where they didn't hit the ball hard the first couple singl...

A trio of Reading Phillies launched solo home runs to power the club to a 4-2 victory in the opening game of the best-of-five Eastern League division series at FirstEnergy Stadium on Wednesday night. Trenton kicked off the scoring in the top of the 4th, when Reading starter Austin Hyatt allowed a two-run homer to left fielder Ramon Flores , who was promoted to Trenton this week after spending the season with Class A Advanced Tampa. Reading clapped back in the 5th inning when a lead-off homer by minor league veteran Jake Fox and a run scoring ground out by Jiwan James knotted the game at two runs apiece. The right-handed Hyatt, the Phillies' 15th round draft choice in 2009, went 6 2/3 innings and allowed just those two earned runs, while striking out four and walking two in the process. After Hyatt walked two batters in the 7th, righty reliever Tyler Knigge (pictured) took over, quickly inducing a double play grounder from Thunder first baseman Kevin Mahoney. The 23-year-o...

In a statement released in conjunction with the Eastern League, the Double-A Reading Phillies announced that six of the club's players have been named mid-season All-Stars. Among the Eastern division's representatives will be righty pitchers Justin Friend and Julio Rodriguez , along with shortstop Troy Hanzawa , second baseman Cesar Hernandez , catcher Sebastian Valle and first baseman Darin Ruf . Reading's skipper Dusty Wathan will join his six players as the Eastern All-Stars' manager. The Baseballtown All-Star Classic is set to be played at Reading's FirstEnergy Stadium on Wednesday, July 11 at 7:05 PM. Friend, a reliever that was acquired by the Phillies from the Oakland organization in the 2010 Rule 5 draft, has been tremendous this season. The 26-year-old sports a 2-0 record with a 0.33 ERA and 14 saves as Reading's closer. Rodriguez, an 8th round draft selection in 2008 by the Phils, has continued to develop this year. Following a season in wh...

We're back with another brand new edition of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast. This week, Tug and I talked about the progress of RHP Colby Shreve , Trevor May 's DJ gig the R-Phils game last Saturday, Brian Gump 's progress as a pitcher, the Charlotte Knights (Triple-A White Sox), the short-season Crosscutters' season beginning, R-Phils closer Justin Friend and BlueClaws OF Kyrell Hudson . We also provide updates on the Clearwater Threshers, including exclusive info on LHP Mario Hollands , first baseman Jim Murphy , along with notes on rehabbing Phillies, plus the progress of RHP Justin De Fratus ' elbow. Click HERE to download this episode. You can also listen to the show with the media player below. In addtion, find a backlog of episodes HERE . You can also subscribe on iTunes by clicking HERE .

Here's your weekly walk through the Phillies minor leagues.  This time we glance at some noteworthy performances from the four full season clubs as well as the Venezuelan Summer League. Venezuelan Summer League team….9-3 record, 1st place tie in the 4 team league. Catcher Rafael Fernandez has been scorching hot for the VSL Phils in the early going. Through his first 7 games, the 20-year-old posted a .458 batting average with a double and a homer while driving in 7 runs. The righty batting native of Caracas, VZ is in his 3rd season in the VSL and tallied a .220 batting average with 1 HR in 65 games over his 2 previous seasons. Through 3 starts, Douglas Parada has a 2-0 record with a 2.00 ERA while striking out 14 batters and walking only 1 in 18 innings pitched. Additionally, Parada has held opponents to a .161 batting average. The 19-year-old left-hander was signed last July and made 5 starts in the VSL last summer, posting a 0-2 record with a 5.40 ERA in his debut campa...

Plenty of Phillies players are staying in shape in the early going this off-season on the field and not just in the gym or in batting cages . Plenty of individuals contracted to the Phillies are playing ball down in the Caribbean winter leagues. Here's a run down of how various Philadelphia farm hands and a couple big leaguers are doing in the off-season leagues. -Right-hander Julio Rodriguez has made two relief appearances for the Gigantes de Carolina in the Puerto Rican Winter League. In his first outing, the 21-year-old threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings, while he allowed 2 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning in his second appearance. Rodriguez had an outstanding regular season for the Class A Adv anced Clearwater Threshers in 2011, going 16-7 with a 2.76 ERA and a .186 batting average against in 27 starts. -Shortstop Freddy Galvis hasn't looked too sharp lately for the Aguilas del Zulia in the Venezuelan league. In 10 games since returning from a right wrist injury, the 21...

On Thursday, the Class A Advanced Florida State League announced its mid-season All-star rosters. Among the players chosen were four members of the Phillies' Clearwater Threshers club. Pitchers Julio Rodriguez , Jonathan Pettibone , Justin Friend and their battery mate Sebastian Valle were all selected to represent Clearwater on the North division squad in the annual exhibition to be held on Saturday, June 18th. Clearwater will host the game at Bright House Field, the spring training home of the Phillies. Rodriguez, 20, has posted a 6-3 record with a 2.28 ERA in 10 starts this season. Despite losing a stretch of 3 straight starts recently, Rodriguez has maintained strong numbers all season long. Last year, the right-handed Rodriguez was an integral addition to the Lakewood BlueClaws roster that locked down its second consecutive South Atlantic League title. Pettibone, another 20-year-old righty hurler, is 5-4 with a 2.03 ERA in 11 starts for Clearwater. Pettibone's ERA current...