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We're more than a week into the minor league season and there are some players performing at a level that is what one may expect based on a guy's previous performance and reputation.  There are also players widening eyes and tilting heads...some in a good way...others not in a good way.   Here's a list of names doing well, as should be expected...we'll call this list an excited "OH, FOR REAL?!" Left-hander Damon Jones is doing Damon Jones things with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  Two appearances, 3 1/3 innings, one hit allowed, zero runs, one walk surrendered, five strike outs.  The Phils' 18th round pick from 2017 has a 3.29 career ERA, a .218 batting average against and an 11.1 K/9 mark in his professional career to date. Matt Vierling is off to a great start.  In eight games with Double-A Reading, the righty hitting outfielder sports a .310 average with two homers and two stolen bases.  He was a 5th round draft selection by the Phillies in 2018. ...

Matt Vierling, image- Jay Floyd I invite you to check out my Patreon page , where you can read exclusive interviews and get early access to other posts, news and information from the Phillies minor league levels. Phillies prospect Matt Vierling was among the minor leaguers that participated in this year's Florida Instructional League, which an annual series of exhibitions and training with team coaches. While there, Vierling, an outfielder, got a chance to add first base to his skill set.   In two pro seasons in his career, the 5th round draft choice out of Notre Dame in 2018 sports a .263 average with 12 HR, 72 RBI and 29 stolen bases.  He spent the 2019 campaign with Class A Advanced Clearwater and likely would have opened this year with Double-A Reading if the season had taken place. Recently, I talked with Matt about his time at Instructs, trying first base, how his family has done in the face of the pandemic and more.  Read ahead for that interview.   -Wh...

Cornelius Randolph, image- Jay Floyd On Sunday, the Adelaide Giants of the Australian Baseball League announced that Phillies outfield prospect Cornelius Randolph will be part of their team for the coming season. Supporters of my Patreon site were aware of that news nine days ago.   The 23-year-old Georgia native was the Phils' first round draft selection in 2015.  In his five minor league seasons, Randolph sports a .255 batting average with 31 home runs, 190 RBI and a .719 OPS.   Randolph's 2018 and 2019 seasons were spent playing for Double-A Reading. Randolph will join several other Phils prospects on the Giants roster this coming season, including native Australians Rixon Wingrove and Mitchell Edwards as well as New Zealander Kyle Glogoski .  A list of seven other American Phillies prospects set to be part of the Adelaide roster is available by supporting my work over at Patreon.com/PhoulBallz .   Also available on the Patreon page is a r...

Subscribers of my Patreon site have gotten some details from the Phillies' Fall Instructs in recent days.   The Florida Instructional League is an annual month-long off-season combine that will feature workouts as well as practices and regularly pits players from different organizations against one another in exhibition games.  This year's version in a pandemic impacted world won't see different teams facing one another, but the Phillies' players will see exhibition competition, as the organization is slated to have some intrasquad games in the coming weeks. Players that are currently in Clearwater, FL seeing some long overdue time on the field include this year's first round draft selection Mick Abel.  The high school hurler inked a deal for over $4 million dollars after  being taken with the 15th overall pick in June. Francisco Morales, image- Jay Floyd Highly touted Venezuelan pitcher Francisco Morales is also in attendance.  The 20-year-old right-han...

Vierling w/ Lakewood in 2018, image- Jay Floyd Phillies outfield prospect Matt Vierling enjoyed some success during the Phillies' abbreviated Grapefruit League campaign this spring.  In seven games, the 23-year-old went 3-for-7 with a pair of RBI and three walks.  The righty batter spent the entirety of last season as a member of the Class A Advanced Clearwater.  Overall in his brief pro career to date, Vierling, who was the Phils' 5th round draft selection in 2018 out of Notre Dame, has tallied a .263 average with 12 home runs, 72 RBI and 29 stolen bases.   Recently, I talked with Vierling about his experience with the big club this spring, the halt to the baseball schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic, being at home with his brother Mark, a collegiate second baseman for the University of Missouri and more.  This interview is available exclusively for Patreon subscribers.  Please consider supporting my work by visiting Patreon.com/Pho...

Vierling w/ Lakewood in 2018, image- Jay Floyd Outfield prospect Matt Vierling took some time recently to offer some thoughts on his off-season. The 23-year-old was a 5th round draft selection by the Phillies in 2018.  This year, in his first full season in professional baseball, the Notre Dame product posted a .232 average with five home runs, 41 RBI and 22 stolen bases in 118 games with Class A Advanced Clearwater. Last week I asked Matt, a Missouri native, to offer some details on his workout routine in the fall and winter months, his thoughts on Major League Baseball's proposed elimination of certain affiliated minor league teams and plenty more.  Read ahead for that interview. - How much down time do you allow yourself before you get back to picking up a bat and/or taking swings? I try to give myself at least one to two months off from swinging. This year I was on the longer end because I was coming off of my first full year and felt like I needed the b...

Kevin Gowdy, image- Jay Floyd Season's greetings to all!  Around here, we surely adore 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 TENTH annual Christmas favorites survey are pitchers Albertus Barber , Tyler Carr , Keylan Killgore , Kevin Gowdy , Connor Hinchliffe and Jonathan Hennigan .  Additionally, outfielder Matt Vierling took time to share his thoughts as well. Inquiries and responses regarding each player's holly jolly favorites lie ahead... -What is your favorite Christmas song? Barber- It’s Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas. Big fan of the song. Hinchliffe- ​All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey. Gowdy- My favorite Christmas song is Mele Kalikimaka by Jimmy Buffett. My parents have always been huge Jimmy Buffett fans, so it was always on d...

Kyle Glogoski, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON and get early access to nearly all my content along with exclusive interviews just for patrons- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz For Kyle Glogoski , his Class A Advanced debut on Saturday will be one that he and many others remember for a long time, as he combined, along with relievers Tyler Carr and Keylan Killgore , to toss a no-hitter against division rival Daytona. In five innings, the 20-year-old right-hander struck out five Tortugas batters and walked a pair.  He threw 64 pitches, 45 for strikes. The New Zealand native, Glogoski, made way for 23-year-old righty Tyler Carr, who worked the next three frames.  Carr, the Phillies' 31st round draft pick last year out of South Alabama, struck out four, while walking one. Left-hander Keylan Killgore tossed the last inning to close it out with a one-two-three effort thanks to a remarkable catch...

Vierling w/ Lakewood in 2018, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Selections for the annual Class A Advanced Florida State League were announced on Friday.  Relief pitcher Jonathan Hennigan, lefty starter Damon Jones, outfielders Simon Muzziotti and Matt Vierling along with infielder Nick Maton will represent the Clearwater Threshers in the event. Hennigan, who was promoted to Double-A Reading this week after shining against FSL competition with a 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA and seven saves while striking out 27 in 20 innings of work for the Threshers.  The 24-year-old was a 21st round pick of the Phils back in 2016. Jones has a 1-3 record with a 1.80 ERA, a .179 batting average against and a 13.3 K/9 mark though eight starts this season.  His 59 strike outs are tops in the league. The 24-year-old was the Phillies' 18th round draft selection in 2017. Muzziotti, a 2...

After nearly a month of minor league action, here is a rundown of some top names throughout the Phillies developmental ranks.  Some would be considered hot, while others are yet to warm up in the early stages of the long season. Class A Lakewood BlueClaws (8-18 record, last place in SAL Northern Division)... The team’s catchers have been contributors at the plate, each batting .300 or better.  Right-handed hitter Abrahan Gutierrez is batting .340 with three doubles and four RBI in 13 games while switch-hitter Rafael Marchan has a .310 average with six doubles and seven RBI in 17 games. Both backstops are natives of Venezuela. Kevin Gowdy, image- Jay Floyd Righty starter Kevin Gowdy has performed well for the BlueClaws, posting a 1.84 ERA with no decisions and a .140 batting average against through four starts.  He has, however, walked 13 while striking out 13 in 14 2/3 innings pitched.  Gowdy was the Phillies’ 2 nd round draft choice in 2...

Matt Vierling, image- Jay Floyd Outfielder Matt Vierling was a key mid-season addition to the Lakewood BlueClaws lineup that made it to the Class A South Atlantic League finals.  In 50 games, the 22-year-old posted a .293 batting average with 15 doubles, six homers and 25 RBI. A 5th round draft selection this year by the Phillies out of Notre Dame, Vierling posted a .420/.453/.580 slash line in 12 games with short-season Class A Williamsport prior to joining the BlueClaws. Earlier this month, I talked with Vierling, a Missouri native, about his transition from college ball to the minors, heading the the fall instructional league, experiencing New Jersey for the first time and plenty more.  Read ahead for that full interview.  -What experiences did you have prior to the draft that prepared you for pro baseball? Well, going through college at Notre Dame, there's a lot of things in college with the academics and everything and the baseball, playing in a toug...

Matt Vierling, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ-- For the BlueClaws club that won the first and second half South Atlantic League Northern division titles, the destination for their bus following the season finale on Monday didn't make a difference. Confidence among this bunch has been high all season long, which is no surprise considering the Class A Lakewood team notched the most wins in their franchise's history and sported the league's best record at 87-51. It came down to the last day of the regular season to determine where the Class A BlueClaws would open the 2018 postseason. For West Virginia (Pirates affiliate), it was a "win and get in" scenario.  A win on Monday would lock them in as the dvision's Wild Card entrant.  However, a WV loss opened the door for Kannapolis (White Sox affiliate) to sneak in with a victory of their own. Thus the journey to Kannapolis, NC for the opening round of the Sally League playoffs got rolling on Sunday evening...

Here we go with a rundown of top performers of late throughout the Phillies minor league levels.  Statistics and standings are current through games on Wednesday.  Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs (57-38, 1st place in the International League North Division)- Joey Meneses, image- Jay Floyd Outfielder Joey Meneses continues with his strong efforts for the 'Pigs.  Among the league leaders in batting with a .304 mark, the 26-year-old Mexico native has 17 home runs and 55 RBI through 87 games.  The righty batter was a free agent signing over the off-season. Left-handed starting pitcher Cole Irvin continues to rank among the top three in ERA this season in the International League with his 2.73 mark.  Through 18 starts, the 24-year-old is holding opponents to a .233 batting average while posting an 8-3 record and a 7.5 K/9 mark. Since he was signed as a free agent this month, infielder Ryan Goins has tallied a .300 average with three doubles, a homer a...

Some details on the Phillies' activities during day 2 of this year's MLB Draft... With the team’s 2nd pick in the draft, at number 107 overall, the Phillies selected right-handed pitcher Colton Eastman. The six-foot-three 200-pounder looked great this year in his junior season with Cal State Fullerton. In 16 starts for the Titans, the Fresco, CA native posted a 10-3 record with a 2.20 ERA while striking out 116 and walking 27 in 110 2/3 innings pitched. He tossed a no-hitter against UC Santa Barbara in March and took a no-no into the sixth frame three other times this year. Last week, in the NCCA baseball tournament, Eastman was remarkable, retiring the first 13 batters he faced, with seven of the first eight being strike outs.  He ended up giving up two runs on four hits in that outing.   Eastman tallied a 2.20 ERA over his three year collegiate career. In the 5th round, the Phillies drafted outfielder Matt Vierling out of Notre Dame. The six-foot-two 208-poun...