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On episode 56 of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast, Tug and Jay chat about the minor league promotions that stand out for the coming season, plus several Phillies transactions including the team moving on from Bobby Abreu , Mike Stutes and Kevin Frandsen . Also news related to former Phils Seth Rosin , Vance Worley and Carlos Carrasco is discussed. 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 . 

Following Wednesday's 3-0 victory over the Miami Marlins, the Phillies announced that reliever Phillippe Aumont had been demoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, with a corresponding move to follow prior to the team's next game on Friday. For a club that entered that evening's contest with a bullpen ERA that ranked 4th worst in all of Major League Baseball, surely some adjustments were in order.  However, Aumont was not the problem.  As recently as Sunday, the 24-year-old righty's season ERA was 2.92 and sat at 2.25 last Friday. After coughing up two earned runs in 2/3 of an inning on Monday, Aumont's season ERA rose to an unlucky 4.15 in 16 games. Surely Aumont, who gave up runs in each of his two most recent appearances and who sported the worst WHIP (2.08) on the pitching staff, hadn't been sparkling as of late, but he had an ERA better than the Phils' stud 8th inning guy Mike Adams just last weekend. And even with his recent efforts, or lack there...

After taking a series off from interleague play, due to MLB scheduling, the Phillies (47-29) return home to play host to the team that was once Philadelphia's other big league club, the Athletics (34-42). The A's will be making their first visit ever to Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies will see a few familiar faces in the series, as Hideki Matsui (2009 World Series MVP, when the Yankees defeated the Phillies in 6 games) and Josh Outman (10th draft pick by the Phillies in 2005) come to town. Former Phils prospect Gio Gonzalez, a starting pitcher, is also on the Athletics' roster, but he is not due to see action in the series. Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco, who leads fan voting at his position for the 2011 All-star Game, excels against Oakland, as his .376 average in 42 games against the A's is his best mark against any team he has faced. The Athletics have won 5 of 9 all-time interleague meetings between these two clubs. Read ahead for details on the pitching ...

The following tale, originally posted on June 21st, 2011 at 2:30 AM, is not accurate. Read the update at the end of this post for more details. However, I know multiple sources linked to this piece, so I shall let it live. Occasionally, a sensation will take the Nation of Phils tweeters by storm. This past weekend, it was the move by Phillies right-handed reliever Mike Stutes to join the online Tweetfest. Interestingly, Stutes had a bit of a wager going when he decided to create his own Twitter account last Friday. Scott Mathieson, who has pitched in relief for the Phillies this season but is currently settling into the role of starter for the first time in four years with the Triple A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, felt that Stutes could not collect 1,000 followers on the social networking site within the first 24 hours. Not only did Stutes exceed the 1,000 mark, but he more than doubled that goal after a single day. Mathieson, who last week had to watch his hometown Vancouver Canucks...

Having lost their second closer to an injury, the Phillies will look to continue rolling through National League opponents as they continue their road trip and head to Arizona for a three-game series. On Sunday, the Phillies placed righty hurler Jose Contreras on the disabled list with a strained elbow in his throwing arm. Contreras was 5-for-5 in save opportunities this season in a substitute role for primary closer Brad Lidge, who has not pitched this season due to a strained shoulder. The Phillies have called up Mike Stutes , the Phillies' 11th round draft pick in 2008, to fill the void on the roster. Ryan Madson, who saved two games for the Phillies in San Diego in the Phillies' last series, will take over the closer duties in Contreras' place. The Phillies (15-6), who sport the best record in Major League Baseball, will take on the Diamondbacks (8-12), who are in fourth place, 5 1/2 games behind first place Colorado in the NL West division. The D-Backs won 2 of 3 mee...

The season is still brand new, but there have already been plenty of performances worth noting throughout the Phillies developmental system in the early going. A reputation that has become attached to the Philadelphia organization is that the club is stacked with extremely good talent, but only at the lower levels. From the looks of things this year, the Phillies have players at every level that can and will help the big club in the future. Here is your report on the Phillies' minor league system through games played on Wednesday, April 20th. The Triple A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs have a 7-6 record, which ranks them third in the International League's North Division, 1 game behind first place Scranton and 1/2 game behind second place Pawtucket. Infielder Ronnie Belliard leads the team in batting, with a .348 batting average through 13 games played. Belliard was an American League All-star in 2004 with Cleveland. Delwyn Young's 3 homers lead the IronPigs club, but he is bat...

Friday morning, the Phillies trimmed their roster in Major League camp by sending seven men across the complex to minor league camp. Pitchers Mike Stutes, Juan Perez , Vance Worley and Dan Meyer , infielders Freddy Galvis and Jeff Larish as well as outfielder Brandon Moss will all report and be assigned to their respective teams. Stutes, a right-hander, was extremely impressive in Grapefruit League action with the Phillies. Stutes appeared in 5 games (1 start) and allowed just 1 earned run in 9 innings pitched (1.00 ERA), while he struck out 9 batters and walked just 1 batter. Stutes is likely to see some time with the big club this season, as needs arise in the bullpen. Left-handed hurler Juan Perez appeared in 5 games with the Phillies this spring and allowed 1 earned run in 5 1/3 innings, while striking out 5 and walking 4. The 32-year-old Perez was signed as a free agent in November. Righty Vance Worley , an Eastern League All-star each of the past two seasons for the Phillies...

In Clearwater Friday, the Phillies began to trim their big league roster, by sending 16 players off to minor league camp. With games scheduled to begin for the minor league clubs on Monday, this will allow the players to get acquainted with the coaches and teammates briefly, over the weekend. The following players were assigned to minor league camp- Brian Bass , RHP Eddie Bonine , RHP Andrew Carpenter , RHP Ryan Feierabend , LHP Michael Schwimer , RHP Joel Naughton , C Tagg Bozied , 1B Robb Quinlan , IF Matt Miller , OF The following players were optioned to minor league camp- Justin De Fratus , RHP Matt Rizzotti , 1B Drew Naylor , RHP JC Ramirez, RHP Harold Garcia , IF Cesar Hernandez , 2B Carlos Rivero , 3B Quinlan, who batted .121 last year with the Angels and posted a .111 average with the Phillies this spring, asked for and was granted his release, rather than report to minor league camp. Rizzotti, who is 25 years old, saw limited game action but slammed a double and a HR in his 5...

Spring training officially began for Phillies minor leaguers last Friday, but several prospects have been in camp with the big club since last month and have seen game action along side established red pinstripe rocking stars. While their minor league peers won't begin their own exhibition games until next Monday, prospects such as Justin De Fratus , Mike Stutes , Vance Worley and Scott Mathieson have been tackling relief innings with the Phillies on the parent club's preseason schedule. Also, position players like Matt Rizzotti , Josh Barfield , and Michael Martinez have gotten some time to show off their offensive and defensive abilities. De Fratus, is a righty hurler that has been on the rise in the Phillies organization since he was drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 amateur draft. Recently ranked as the Phillies' number 5 prospect , De Fratus has had a bit of a tough spring, getting hit around somewhat in his outings. In 3 games, De Fratus has a 0-1 record, with ...

Oregon State product Mike Stutes is a righty hurler that has been impressive throughout his minor league career with the Phillies. Stutes, who stands 6'1" and weighs 185 pounds, was in Philadelphia for two days this week, as the Phillies hosted several prospects for team seminars at Citizens Bank Park. Formerly a starter, Stutes moved to the bullpen in 2010. Stutes earned a promotion in June after posting a 3-0 record and a 3.79 ERA in 25 games as a member of the Double A Reading Phillies. After moving to Triple A Lehigh Valley, Stutes stayed sharp, going 4-1 with a 3.10 ERA, while holding opponents to a .200 batting average in 28 outings for the IronPigs. Prior to 2010, Stutes looked solid as a starter. In 2009, Stutes became one of two pitchers, along with Vance Worley, to accomplish the rare feat of beginning the season with Double A Reading the year after he was drafted. They were the first Phillies hurlers to do that since Randy Wolf in 1998. As a starter with the R-Phils...

On Tuesday, I took part in a roundtable discussion with PhilliesNation.com. The subject at hand was "Of the currently available free agent relief pitchers, who should the Phillies attempt to sign?" While some folks feel that names like Scott Downs, Dan Meyer and others are suitable fits for the Phillies bullpen, I disagree. Read what I had to say below, and click HERE to check out what the other PhilliesNation contributors had to say about this matter. Which free agent relievers should the Phillies target? NONE OF THEM. Free agent relievers are too hit or miss, as the Phillies and their phans saw last season when Jose Contreras and his statistics were a pleasant surprise, while Danys Baez and his weak production proved to be money virtually wasted. With the Phillies’ current crop of solid pitching prospects, I don’t feel it is necessary to sign a potentially costly free agent. Sure, there seems to be a need for an additional lefty reliever, but is Scott Downs and the draft p...

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...

Manager of the Reading Phillies Steve Roadcap took some time to speak with PhoulBallz this week. Roadcap is the 23rd manager for the Reading team. He had spent the previous two seasons managing the Lakewood BlueClaws and prior to joining the Phillies organization, he managed in the Seattle Mariners system. As a player, Roadcap played in the minors for the Cubs. Here is how the interview with Steve Roadcap went down... Coach Steve, can I get you to comment on the ups and downs with the pitching staff this season? Yeah, I made the comment earlier in the season...we're young, we're gonna have some bumps in the road, and we've had some bumps in the past month with (Vance) Worley and (Mike) Stutes. Their last outings are positive and we need to build on that. It's a learning experience for them. They had some success early, and they weren't making pitches like they were early, and some things caught up to them. But they continued to work and that's a credit to them t...

Mike Stutes completes "The Reading Phils Mike Tri-fecta" over three days, here on PhoulBallz.com. Stutes, a 22 year old, was an 11th round selection by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Stutes, a right handed starting pitcher, helped lead Oregon State to the College World Series championship in both 2006 and 2007. Stutes and teammate Vance Worley are the first players to begin a season at Reading the year after being drafted since Pat Burrell did it in 1999. Stutes was the Phils' minor league pitcher of the month in August '08, when he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts. Check out my Q&A with the third Mike below. Can I get you to talk about the coaching staff and how they help you deal with ups and downs? They've been real positive with me. I started out good and then I hit a rough patch. They've stuck with me through it all. I haven't heard any negative words from them. Every day they try to come out, work with me, try to get me turned around...