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The Phillies continued their trimming of the masses in minor league camp Wednesday morning by releasing another group of players. Among those who were let go was lefty pitcher Matthew Way . Right-handed hurler Eric Pettis (pictured) was also among those cut. Way was often injured during his time in the Philadelphia organization. In three seasons as a pro, including 2011 in which he did not pitch, Way posted a 13-9 record with a 3.22 ERA in 31 games (30 starts). The 24-year-old was a 5th round draft choice in 2009, out of Washington State. Pettis stormed onto the pro scene as a 35th round draft selection in 2010, going 8-0 with 7 saves and a 1.37 ERA in 20 outings (5 starts) and becoming a NY-Penn League All-Star with the Williamsport Crosscutters that year before joining Class A Lakewood for their playoff push. Last season, Pettis, now 23-years-old, continued his success, tallying a 2-3 record with 5 saves and a 2.84 ERA in 47 combined relief appearances with Class A Lakewood and Cl...

Matthew Way is a 23-year-old lefty hurler, who was drafted by the Phillies in the 5th round of the 2009 amateur draft. Thus far with the A-Level Lakewood BlueClaws in 2010, Way, a starter, has posted a 7-4 record with a 3.35 ERA in 14 games. I had a chance to speak with Matt this week. Check out the media player below to hear the interview. ________________________________________________ Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE . Share on Facebook

A 16-5 run helped the Lakewood BlueClaws overcome a 4 1/2 game deficit in the standings to the Hickory Crawdads in the Northern Division standings, since May 30th, and win the first half title for the second straight season. Lakewood led Hickory by a game headed into Sunday's action and needed to win, or for the Crawdads to lose, in order to lock down a spot in the 2010 postseason. Both occurred, as the BlueClaws were led by slugging first baseman "The Boss" Jonathan Singleton and starting pitcher Brody Colvin in a 6-3 defeat of the White Sox affiliate Kannapolis Intimidators and Hickory suffered an 11-8 loss to Greenville. Singleton stretching prior to a game over the weekend The 18-year-old Singleton gave Lakewood an early 4-1 lead with a 3-run homerun, his 8th of the season, in the first inning. He added a nice cushion for the 'Claws when he smashed his second homer of the game in the 5th inning, putting Lakewood up 6-2 at that point. Singleton's home OPS thro...

For those of you out there who are still somewhat displeased about the Phillies giving up Kyle Drabek in the Roy Halladay deal and who are concerned about the depth of starting pitching prospects in the Phillies' organization, I am here to reassure you that there is still a solid collection of pitching prospects on the way up for the defending National League Champions. Here's a rundown of guys who I feel make the system fairly deep with quality arms. Former 1st round draft pick (19th overall, 2007) Joe Savery has progressed nicely. Savery started his 2009 Double A campaign with a 9-1 record. He was 12-4 with a 4.41 ERA in 21 games at Reading, before being promoted to triple A Lehigh Valley. With the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Savery posted a 4-2 record with a 4.38 ERA in 7 starts. While his ERA's at both levels could use improving, a plus with Savery is that he allowed no homeruns after his promotion. The lefty should start the 2010 season at triple A and could be an opt...

The Lakewood BlueClaws manager is former Phillie catcher Dusty Wathan. This season he's been an all star and has been voted best managing prospect in the South Atlantic League by the league's own managers. Now, Wathan sits two wins away from managing the BlueClaws to their second ever championship in his first season at the class A level. I spoke with Dusty after the BlueClaws' SAL Championship game 1 victory. Here is what he had to say. Dusty, can I get some comments on the game 1 win, and how close you guys are to completing the season long goal? One win closer. Still a long way to go, but solid game from the guys tonight. We've been swinging the bat well for the last week or so and they continued to do it tonight. Every run means something, especially adding those 2 in the eighth inning helped us out. Gave us a little breathing room. Was there an issue with Matthew Way's control in the game, or was there a fatigue or stamina issue? I don't think it was a fat...

Monday night the BlueClaws hosted game 1 of the South Atlantic League Championship and came out victorious over the Greenville Drive by a score of 6-3. The BlueClaws were led by second baseman Harold Garcia, who had a lead off homer in the 8th inning, and catcher Travis D'Arnaud who had two hits, including a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Garcia, D'Arnaud and the other Lakewood players were joined by two big league Phillies for the series. Clay Condrey pitched a shaky inning in relief, while he continues to rehabilitate his injured oblique. The Phillies also assigned multi-time 2009 call-up Andrew Carpenter to Lakewood for the remainder of the week. Condrey's inning was difficult. He allowed the first three batters to reach base before finding a groove, becoming loose and downing the next three batters. Condrey allowed a run on a walk and two hits. Lakewood manager Dusty Wathan said of Condrey, "It's kind of a tough situation for him to be put in", hintin...

Left handed pitcher Matthew Way is a Phillies 2009 5th round draft pick who has already been promoted out of rookie ball to single A Lakewood. Originally from Alaska, Way went to Washington State, where he enjoyed a successful season this year (8-4, 2.43 ERA, 124 K's, 107 1/3 innings in 16 games). Way is currently 2-1, with a 2.88 ERA through 4 starts for the Lakewood BlueClaws. I caught up with Matthew this week for an interview. Here is how that went down. Matt, can I get some comments from you on your early success, since you've joined the BlueClaws? Well, I had two good outings when I first showed up. Basically, the last two have been kind of shaky, but other than that, it hasn't been too much different from where I've been before with the Pac 10 or in Williamsport. Just execute your pitches, keep the ball down and you can do good just about anywhere. What is your pitch repertoire like? Mainly fastballs and change ups. I'll go to the breaking ball in certain sit...