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Ben Brown, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ- In the inagural contest under their new moniker and their initial contest as a Class A Advanced level club, the Jersey Shore BlueClaws were victorious, as they downed the Hudson Valley Renegades by a score of 6-2 on Tuesday night. Starting pitcher Ben Brown, who underwent Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2019, tossed four scoreless frames, striking out six and walking one.   After the Renegades took a 1-0 lead on an RBI double by third baseman James Nelson off of reliever Tyler McKay in the top of the 5th inning, the BlueClaws did not wait long to clap back.   A looping opposite field single by right fielder Jhailyn Ortiz plated two runs to give the BlueClaws the lead.  Catcher Logan O'Hoppe launched a homer in convincing fashion, plating Ortiz, to pad the home club's lead. Jersey Shore's third and fourth batters in the lineup lead the offense again in the 7th inning when Ortiz plated another run on a single and O'Hop...

Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this post.  Thank you. Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd With a cancelled minor league season last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic, it's fairly difficult to find bright spot in the prospect rankings from 2020.  Catcher Logan O'Hoppe is one of those rare highlights from last year. In need of an extra backstop to work with the pitching staff assigned to the organization's taxi squad, which served as the team's reserves throughout the shortened major league season, the Phillies took a risk plucking a 20-year-old with less than 80 games of professional experience to fill that void.  A 23rd round draft selection in 2018, O'Hoppe made a splash online in July when the Long Island native flashed a smile and more excitement than might be permitted in...

Erik Miller, image- MiLB.com Lefty hurler Erik Miller is widely regarded as one of the Phillies most promising prospects.  Selected in the 4th round in last year's draft out of Stanford, he quickly made an impact as a professional and was promoted twice in his brief stint in the minors. At three levels as a 21-year-old, Miller notched a 1-0 record with a 1.50 ERA, a .188 batting average against, a 1.11WHIP along with a 13.0 K/9 mark in 11 appearances in the minors.   Listed at six-feet-five, 240-pounds, Miller was outstanding in college as well.  In his junior season (2019), Miller was named as a Baseball America second team Preseason All-American. In 16 starts that season, he posted an 8-3 record with a 3.48 ERA, a .224 batting average against and an 11.1 K/9 mark.   Miller likely could have made it to the Double-A level this year, if the pandemic had not preempted the minor league season. Recently, I spoke with the 22-year-old Missouri native about his ...

Dom Pipkin, image- Jay Floyd Righty pitcher Dominic Pipkin spent the 2019 season with the Class A BlueClaws.  In 24 appearances he tallied a 3-4 record with a 5.15 ERA, a 1.62 WHIP along with a .261 batting average against. Pipkin was a 9th round draft selection in 2018 and is among the organization's most promising hurlers. This week I spoke with the 21-year-old (his birthday is today!) California native about his time at Fall Instructs and more.  Read ahead for that interview. -What can you share about the benefits of Fall Instructs this year following a cancelled regular season?   Instructs after a cancelled season allowed the few players that went to  get live reps in after 6 months of nothing, it was good to get the rust  off and feel that first inning jitter again. -Did you or other players there go harder during your month at Instructs as opposed to a regular fall exhibition schedule that follows an action-packed regular season? We definitely tried a li...

Image- MiLB.com Out of action since last May when it was determined he required Tommy John surgery, righty pitching prospect Ben Brown is using the downtime of the pandemic hiatus to continue his physical recovery.  A 33rd round draft selection of the Phillies back in 2017, Brown made his professional debut that same year, posting a 2.57 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in 10 appearances in the rookie level Gulf Coast League.  The following season, Brown began to make a name for himself in the GCL, striking out 16 batters in one July appearance.  He would post a 3.12 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 10 games (eight starts) before earning a promotion and finishing the season with a pair of outings with Class A short-season Williamsport. Brown, a Long Island, NY native, opened last year with Class A Lakewood.  In four appearances with the BlueClaws, he struck out 20, walked four and allowed no runs in 13 2/3 innings and looked well on his way to making an impact on betting odds and avai...

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Logan O'Hoppe was the subject of a recent player feature I posted here three days early.  When I talked with Logan, he was kind enough to not only chat about some serious baseball related topics, he also had some fun with me and answered Nine Silly-Ass Questions! In this interview, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, offered his thoughts on his experiences playing in Australia last off-season, super powers, some surprising movies he's never seen, teammate Albertus Barber and plenty more.  Read ahead for some excerpts from this Silly-ass interview... -You can 4-for-4 and your team loses, or you can get hit in the groin and your team wins...which do you choose? I mean, if we win, then the whole team has a good night, so I have to go with that one.  That really benefits everybody. -Tell me, if you can, four words to describe Albertus Barber . One,...

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Please consider supporting my work and via my Patreon page .  For a small monthly fee, your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this feature.  Thank you.   On Friday, the Phillies added a pair of catchers to their 2020 player pool.  Minor leaguers Logan O'Hoppe (pronounced Oh-HOP-ee) and Henri Lartigue arrived in Philadelphia to help catch bullpen sessions for the team's collection of approximately 30 pitchers. The call to O'Hoppe was extremely welcome as the 20-year-old had been staying as active as he possibly could, working out with other players that have been been waiting out quarantine due to the current pandemic at his home on Long Island.  However, he had been very eager to step back onto an actual baseball field. "I just hope I can play soon.  Where ever that is or whatever form that is, that'd be aw...

Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this post.  Thank you. Recently, I posted an interview with Phillies infield prospect Kendall Simmons in which he talked about the current baseball hiatus.  In addition to sharing insight on how he's been staying in shape as well as what motivates him, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, took time to answer some less serious questions for me. In this separate interview, Simmons spoke about ice cream, super powers, teammates and other silly topics.  Read ahead to check that out... - Who is your favorite female athlete? U.S. soccer player Alex Morgan.   - Can you share three words to describe Dominic Pipkin ? Goofy, lanky, stubborn. - If you could have one super ...

Tyler Carr, image- Jay Floyd Please head on over the Patreon.com/PhoulBallz to support my work and get access to interviews like this one early as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else.   Righty pitcher Tyler Carr had an outstanding season in the minor leagues this year. The 23-year-old opened the season with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, where he notched a 0.51 ERA in 11 relief appearances before earning a promotion to Class A Advanced Clearwater. As a member of the Threshers' bullpen, Carr sported a 1.54 ERA in 27 outings, including being part of a combined no-hitter in June. Carr was then promoted Double-A Reading, in time for that club's playoff run. Overall in 39 regular season contests last season, Carr tallied a 5-4 record with six saves, a .180 batting average against along with a 9.8 K/9 mark. The talented hurler was selected by the Phillies in round 31 of the 2018 draft out of South Alabama. This week I talked with Tyle...

So you've been wondering about off-season baseball leagues and how Phillies players are doing. Well, except for the Arizona Fall League , which started and ended its schedule earlier than normal this year, there has been very limited action thus far. Deivy Grullon, image- Jay Floyd The Dominican Winter League features Deivy Grullon competing for the Aguilas. In just four games, the catcher has posted a .143 average with two RBI. Roughly 10 days into its schedule, the Venezuelan Winter League hasn't seen any Phillies impact. Catcher Gregori Rivero, who played in the Phils system last year, is 0-for-1 with a walk for Zulia. The other leagues in Australia and Puerto Rico are set to open their schedules soon. On Friday night, the Roberto Clemente League in Puerto Rico will get underway. Lefty pitcher Gabriel Cotto is expected to be featured on the Carolina roster while catcher Willie Estrada is included on the Mayaguez roster. Cotto pitched in the Gulf Coast L...

Bryson Stott, image- Jay Floyd Shortstop Bryson Stott , the Phillies' first round draft selection this year, has enjoyed a successful initial pro campaign.  En route to being recognized as an All-Star for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters the 21-year-old UNLV product has tallied a .295 average with six home runs and 25 RBI in 45 minor league contests. Last week I spoke with the lefty hitting Stott to discuss his transition to professional baseball, joining the Phillies organization and plenty more.  Read ahead for that interview.  -Obviously, your performance and the production on the field is going well, but how do you feel you have adapted to the pro life? It feels good.  You hear about the everyday grind, but you don't really believe it till you feel it. I would say that's the difference between college and the pros, is you're not practicing, you're playing games every day.  I would say that's the biggest difference.  But I...

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to articles like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and bonus quotes from Kendall Simmons in the Patreon version of this piece- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Simmons (center) w/ Bryson Stott (left) & Corbin Williams (right) The 26th of July stands out as a date that Kendall Simmons thinks he’ll remember for the rest of his playing career. It was on that day that his coaching staff offered some guidance that made a difference and helped the young infielder turn his season around. On that day, the talented 19-year-old was batting .169 with two home runs and nine RBI through 21 disappointing games with Class A short-season Williamsport. It was a funk that Simmons couldn’t shake until a reality check from a pair of former big leaguers allowed some things to start clicking for the second baseman/shortstop/third baseman. Crosscutters manager Pat Borders , a Worl...

Simmons, Stott, O'Hoppe and Williams/ Image- Jay Floyd This week four Phillies prospects participated in the Class A short-season New York-Penn League All-Star Game and each of them were excited to have begun making their marks in professional baseball. Catcher Logan O'Hoppe , outfielder Corbin Williams , infielder Kendall Simmons as well as shortstop Bryson Stott represented the Williamsport Crosscutters and were part of the victorious Blue Team in Staten Island, NY, home of the Yankees affiliate, on Wednesday night. O'Hoppe (pronounced Oh-HOP-ee), is a local guy who hails from nearby West Islip.  The 19-year-old, said the game was attended by approximately 100 friends and family members. The righty batting O'Hoppe was a 23rd round draft selection last year.  In 44 games this year for Williamsport, he has tallied a .217 average with five home runs and 26 RBI. Williams, who grew up in Philadelphia, is batting .224 with three doubles, three RBI and a l...

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to articles like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and more- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Simmons, Williams & Stott/Image- Jay Floyd In what was a mess of an event, the New York-Penn League All-Star Game was won on Wednesday night by the Blue Team, which included four Phillies prospects, over the Red team, which featured representatives from the home club, the Yankees' Staten Island squad. The score at the ballpark, shown on the scoreboards and announced to those in attendance upon completion of the contest was 7-3.  This conflicted with the account reported by multiple media outlets and the score that appeared on minor league baseball's online box score, 7-4. The start of the annual exhibition was delayed by rain, which came as a deluge during a pre-game Home Run Derby, that led to an apparent cancellation of the aforementioned competition, though that wa...

Ben Brown, image- MiLB.com Right-handed pitcher Ben Brown , the Phillies' 33rd round draft selection in 2017, made a splash last year in the Rookie level Gulf Coast League, putting together a 4-2 record, a 3.12 ERA and an 11.4 K/9 mark in 10 appearances (eight starts).  Additionally, he earned a promotion to short-season Class A Williamsport and made two starts there before the end of the regular season. This week I spoke with the six-foot-six 210 pounder about his spring efforts, where he could possibly pitch this year, his relationships with other Phils prospects including last year first round pick Alec Bohm and plenty more.  Read ahead for a sampling of my chat with Ben and head on over to Patreon.com/PhoulBallz for the complete interview. -We're talking here while the Phillies' opening day game is going on and a lot of what I am hearing from people I know that are there and people online is saying that the atmosphere is exciting and different.  Once the...

Photo via Logan O'Hoppe's Twitter The Phillies Gulf Coast League West team saw a promising backstop emerge last summer as 18-year-old Logan O'Hoppe impressed with his statistics and his work behind the dish. Selected in the 23rd round of last year's draft by the Phillies, O'Hoppe quickly signed and made an impact in the Rookie level short-season GCL. In 34 games, the righty batting Long Island native sported a .367/.411/.532 slash line and was a standout leader for his pitching staff according to coaches. If O'Hoppe continues to pile on the production and enjoys some swift progress, it won't be long before the youngster is impacting betting odds, like those found on this page . Recently, I chatted with O'Hoppe about his thoughts on his initial professional campaign, an injury he suffered at Fall Instructs, how he's preparing for his first full professional season in 2019 and more.  Read ahead for that complete interview. -In hinds...

Season's greetings!  Everybody loves the holidays and, of course, baseball players are no exception. Every year at Christmas time, I survey a group of Phillies prospects about what they get excited for during the holiday season. Players taking part in this year's ninth annual player survey include the 2018 Paul Owens Award winner OF Austin Listi , slugging first base  prospect Darick Hall , Class A All-Stars (CI/OF) Jake Scheiner and (SP) Will Stewart , Triple-A reliever Tyler Gilbert and short-season rookie level backstop Logan O'Hoppe .  Additionally, taking part is Double-A Reading Fightin Phils broadcaster Mike Ventola. Questions and answers listing each individual’s holly jolly holiday favorites are listed below… -What is your favorite Xmas movie or TV special? Austin Listi: For the longest time my favorite Christmas movie has been The Santa Claus 2. However, I love just snuggling up on the couch with my wife and crushing Hallmark's Countd...