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-Both the Triple-A Lehigh Valley and Double-A Reading coaching staffs openly addressed an organization-wide focus on small ball prior to both clubs opening their seasons. The directive, handed down by new Phils skipper Ryne Sandberg , will have the entire Phillies system playing a more aggressive style of baseball. Dusty Wathan, Image- Jay Floyd "I think we're going to utilize a National League style of baseball dating back to the 70's a little bit. You'll see some triples, some hit-and-run and some bunting. I think it's kind of an organizational philosophy since Ryne has taken over. You're going to see it implemented not only at the big league level, but at the minor league level. It's something we really stress, is base running, being aggressive, taking extra bases, sacrifice bunting, hitting and running. So, you're going to see a very aggressive game and it's going to be a lot of fun to watch," Reading manager Dusty Wathan said ...

Throughout the winter season, our weekly rundown reviews how Phillies players are performing in the various off-season leagues around the globe. Read ahead for the latest on many familiar names, some top prospects and plenty more. Dominican Winter League... Maikel Franco, image- gigantessfm.com Maikel Franco -  In 37 games the righty batting Franco has tallied a .237 average with seven doubles, two home runs, 12 RBI and three steals for the Gigantes.  The 21-year-old had a standout 2013, mashing 31 homers and driving in 103 runs in 134 games with Clearwater and Reading during the regular season. 3B/1B LHP Antonio Bastardo - The 28-year-old has a 0-1 record with a 0.84 ERA ERA in 11 relief outings for the Gigantes.  Through 10 2/3 innings, Bastardo has struck out 19 batters while walking two.  In 48 big league games this year Bastardo sported a 3-2 record with two saves and a 2.32 ERA. Catcher Tommy Joseph - The 2...

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...

The Phillies have begun planning for spring as news dropped today that they've requested the presence of four non-roster invitees, two of which are new additions, at camp in February. Outfielder Leandro Castro and lefty hurler Cesar Jimenez are two talents who spent this past season in the organization that will be with the big league club when spring training begins next year. Additionally, newly signed veterans Shawn Camp , a righty pitcher, and outfielder Clete Thomas will be included in the Phillies' early plans in Clearwater as well. Castro, a right-handed hitter who was signed as an amateur free agent in 2007, has steadily been criticized for his focus and cockiness during his time in the Phillies' organization. This year in the regular season, the 24-year-old posted a .256 batting average with eight homers and 55 RBI in 117 games at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Jimenez, 29, has a 2-3 record with a 4.96 ERA and a 6.47 K/9 mark in 62 big league games. The Ven...

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...

Dave Brundage, Image- Jay Floyd Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs manager Dave Brundage returned the Phillies' organization this season after a 26-year absence.  Previously, Brundage managed the Braves' Triple-A affiliate for the last six seasons.  Prior to his time in the Atlanta system, the 48-year-old spent 19 season in the Mariners organization as a player, coach and manager.  The Georgia resident was originally drafted as a fourth round pick in 1986 and played at three levels with the Phillies, reaching as high as Double-A Reading before he was traded to Seattle. The IronPigs hung close in the International League wild card standings through the latter portion of the season, but a loss to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday officially eliminated them from the postseason hunt. This weekend, I spoke with Brundage about several of his players, including Adam Morgan , Tyson Gillies as well as Cameron Rupp and he also chatted about September call-ups among other ...

We’re just under a month until pitchers and catcher are due to report to Clearwater for spring training. That means it’s time to kick off our annual countdown of the top 25 prospects in the Phillies organization. Gradually, in the coming weeks, leading to the kickoff of the 2013 regular season, I will be unveiling player reviews for each of the top developmental talent that you, as Phillies fans, should be familiar with. Taken into consideration when reviewing these young talents will be age, minor league performance relative to levels played, value to the organization as well as future potential. These rankings will not include players over 25-years-old or individuals that have spents lengthy and multiple stretches in the big leagues. Thus, players such as Austin Hyatt , Darin Ruf , Justin De Fratus , Phillippe Aumont and Jake Diekman will not appear on this year’s list. Some very talented youngsters did not make the cut simply because other individuals ranked higher...

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 the (usually) weekly off-season league rundown.  Check it out, as we take a tour around the globe for a look at Phillies talents participating in various autumn and winter league action. Dominican League- Antonio Bastardo (pictured, right) made his DR League season debut on Saturday, throwing a scoreless frame and allowing no baserunners for Cibao.  Bastardo tossed a 1-2-3 inning against Este, closing it out by getting Phils catcher Steven Lerud to fly out.  The 27-year-old lefty was 2-5 with a 4.33 ERA and a save in 65 games for the Phillies in 2012. Lerud sports a .200 batting average with a double, a home run and four RBI in 19 games.  The 28-year-old made his big league debut with the Phils during the 2012 regular season. Veteran lefty Raul Valdes has tallied a 1-2 record with a 3.81 ERA in seven starts for Este.  The 35-year-old had a 2.90 ERA and held opponents to a .168 batting average against in...

Inciarte In the Rule 5 draft portion of the MLB Winter Meetings, on Thursday, the Phillies selected outfielder Ender Inciarte from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Inciarte, who has played 310 career minor league games in center field, posted a career high OPS of .797 combined at two levels, the Class A Midwest League and the Class A Advanced California League, in 2012. Additionally, Inciarte uses speed as a key to his offense, as he stole 46 bases in 58 opportunities last season and sports a 73% success rate in stolen base attempts during his pro career. Comparatively, Phillies' outfield prospect Tyson Gillies , who has had a considerable amount of injury issues since joining the organization, had an OPS of .809 at three levels in 2012 (.822 in 68 games at Double-A), which ranked as his third best season in that department through his minor league career. Gillies came over from Seattle in the December 2009 Cliff Lee trade after being picked in the 25th round of the 2006 dr...