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Odubel Herrera In the major league portion of the yearly Rule 5 draft that took place this morning at the MLB Winter Meetings, the Phillies selected 2B/SS Odubel Herrera from the Texas Rangers and lefty hurler Andy Oliver from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Each player must remain on the Phillies' big league roster for the entire 2015 season or would have to be offered back to the team they were selected from. Last season combined at Class A Advanced and Double-A in the minors, the 22-year-old posted a .315/.383/.388 slash line with 21 steals in 125 games. He has played 135 of his 574 pro games at the position that is of most concern with the reported trade of Jimmy Rollins , shortstop. Defensively, it is said that Herrera has some progress to make with the glove, but with 10 games played in the outfield last year, he touts the versatility that enhances his value as a bench player, if the Phils are to keep him on their roster next year. Currently playing in the Venezuelan W...

With the new year upon us, it’s time to kick off our annual countdown of the top 25 prospects in the Phillies organization. In the coming weeks, as a fresh season approaches, I will be unveiling player reviews for each of the top developmental talents that you, as Phillies fans, should be familiar with. Taken into consideration when reviewing these developing talents will be age, minor league performance relative to levels played, value to the organization as well as future potential and possible proximity to the big leagues. These rankings will not include players over 25 years of age or individuals that have spent lengthy and multiple stretches in the big leagues. Some very talented youngsters did not make the cut simply because other individuals ranked higher. Players that drew consideration included righty pitcher Mitch Gueller , lefty hurler Hoby Milner , and catcher Andrew Knapp . Gueller, the Phils' supplementary first round pick in 2012, has failed to crack the r...

Throughout the autumn and winter months, we'll have a weekly rundowns of how Phillies players are performing in the various leagues around the globe.  Read ahead for the latest on many familiar names, some top prospects and plenty more. Venezuelan Winter League-  In news that I first mentioned on Twitter over the weekend, minor league slugger Jim Murphy was released by the Aragua Tigres last Thursday.  Through 20 games, the first baseman batted .274 with three doubles, two homers and 10 RBI.  The release came as a surprise to the 28-year-old, who was planning to play through the full season, into late December, but will now be home in time for Thanksgiving Day. Murphy remains signed with the Phillies. Second baseman Cesar Hernandez - The 23-year-old switch hitter has gone 5-for-32 (.156 avg) in his last eight games.  Overall in 26 games for Margarita, Hernandez, who has also been playing center field, has posted a .242 average with two hom...

Throughout the autumn and winter months, we'll have a weekly review of how Phillies players are performing in the various leagues around the globe.  Read ahead for he latest on many familiar names, some top prospects and plenty more. Dominican Winter League... 3B Maikel Franco -  The trial of Franco at first base continued as the slugger played his fourth straight game there on Monday.  Franco played eight games at first in the closing weeks of the 2013 regular season with Double-A Reading.  The 21-year-old sports a .328 average with four doubles and seven RBI in 17 games with the Gigantes.  The righty batting Franco had a bust-out 2013, slamming 31 homers and droving in 103 runs in 134 games with Clearwater and Reading this year. LHP Antonio Bastardo - In two appearances, the 28-year-old has pitched two scoreless innings, striking out four and walking one without surrendering a hit.  In 48 big league games this year, before m...

Throughout the autumn and winter months, we'll have a weekly run down of how Phillies players are performing in the various leagues around the globe.  Read ahead for loads of details on some familiar names, prospects and more. Arizona Fall League (seven Phils prospects play together on the Peoria Javelinas)...  Catcher Cameron Rupp - Thus far in seven games, Rupp, who made his big league debut with the Phillies in September, is batting .300 with two doubles and four RBI.  Rupp has also been solid on defense, gunning down multiple runners in a game twice in AFL play.  The 25-year-old was the Phils' 3rd round pick out of Texas in 2010. RHP Kenny Giles - The 23-year-old, who regularly throws his fastball in the high 90's, sports a 10.80 ERA through five outings with Peoria.  One disastrous outing (six ER without recording an out) takes away from how Giles has looked in his other appearances (five innings, no runs, two hits allowed, eight strike...

On this week's edition of the PhoulBallz Podcast Tug and Jay are joined by Phillies pitching prospect Mike Nesseth who discusses the Arizona Fall League, the Phillies' focus on throwing strikes and a proposed street fight between Cameron Rupp 's goatee and Kyle Simon 's mustache.  The guys also chat about the MLB postseason, Yasiel Puig , off-season leagues and plenty more. 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 .

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...

Here's a reminder to tune into Phillies Nation TV on Tuesday evening at 6 PM. In addition to the great analysis you expect, this week's episode features a load of terrific interviews from last week's Celebrity Hitting Challenge which was part of the Class A South Atlantic League All-Star events hosted by the Lakewood BlueClaws. It's unclear what will make the cut, but guys I spoke with included Phillies post-season legend Matt Stairs , Cy Young Award winner Dwight Gooden , members of the 1993 Phillies Mitch Williams and Mickey Morandini as well as comedians Artie Lange and Jim Florentine. Check out my full uncut interview with Double-A Reading reliever Kyle Simon , who was acquired from Baltimore last year in the Jim Thome trade. The clip in the media player below features footage not seen in last week's episode of PNTV.

On this week's edition of Phillies Nation TV, Pat and Corey run down all the key storylines going on at the big league level, with details on Ben Revere 's offensive contributions, Cole Hamels ' struggles, Cliff Lee 's trade value and plenty more. Additionally, the program features an interview I did with Double-A Reading reliever Kyle Simon , who was acquired from the Orioles last year in the Jim Thome trade. A fun parking lot trivia contest is also featured. Check out the full episode in the media player below and look for new episodes each Tuesday at 6PM on The Comcast Network, as well as replays all throughout the week on TCN and Comcast SportsNet. Your browser does not support iframes.

I spent some time this week chatting with the Phillies minor league pitching coordinator Gorman Heimueller , who offered his thoughts on several talented young hurlers in the Phils' system. Heimueller, who has been the Phils' minor league pitching coordinator since 2002, pitched 14 seasons as a pro, including parts of two with the Athletics. Prior to his current position, Heimueller was a pitching coach at the Double-A and Triple-A level for the Phillies. Gorm shared his opinions on several prospects including Brody Colvin , Austin Wright , Shane Watson , Jake Diekman and he even danced around a question about when Phils fans might expect to see Phillippe Aumont back with the big club after his recent demotion to Triple-A.  Read ahead for the full interview. - Austin Wright's been a guy that missed some time with an injury and has allowed a lot of runs in his two starts (0-2, 22.22 ERA) with Reading since being activated.  Is there much concern with h...

Right-handed pitcher Kyle Simon was acquired last June by the Phillies in the trade that sent Jim Thome to the Baltimore Orioles.  His side-angled delivery, sweet mustache and excellent numbers made him stand out after joining the Phils organization. The 22-year-old sports a repertoire that features a low-90's fastball with sinking movement, a split and a plus slider. Simon is as automatic of a ground ball out in key situations as the Phillies have in their developmental ranks. Simon, who stands 6-foot-5 and is listed at 225 pounds, was moved to the bullpen upon joining the Phillies organization, tallying a 3-0 record with a 1.26 ERA in seven outings for Class A Advanced Clearwater.  Soon after, he was promoted to Double-A Reading, where he went 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA in 13 regular season outings.  Overall with the Threshers and R-Phils, Simon held opponents to a .165 batting average against.  Additionally, Simon starred in a playoff outing for Reading in Sept...

It's another edition of our off-season league updates. Each week, we'll take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter action.  Venezuelan League- Shortstop Freddy Galvis (pictured, left) is batting .321 with two doubles, a triple and three home runs through 14 games with Zulia. The switch-hitter is just 2-for-16 (.125 avg) against lefty pitchers. Infielder Harold Garcia has been playing some third base for Zulia. The 26-year-old is 4-for-12 with a double and a triple through five contests. Outfielder Tyson Gillies returned to action on Wednesday after missing nine days with a hamstring strain.  Gillies, who turns 24-years-old this week, is batting.385 with a double, a triple and two RBI in seven games for Lara.  Gillies has been plagued by injuries throughout his career, since joining the Phillies organization as part of the Cliff Lee trade with Seattle in December, 2009. Phillies rookie Dar...