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Cord Sandberg, image- Jay Floyd Following the organization's announcement that Double-A outfielder Cord Sandberg retired from baseball on Tuesday, the 23-year-old teased via a pair of social media posts that he's ready to pursue a dream in another sport. Sandberg, who was a well regarded quarterback in high school and was committed to Mississippi State prior to being selected by the Phillies in the 3rd round of the 2013 MLB amateur draft, posted images of himself on the gridiron playing quarterback. I want to thank the @Phillies for allowing me to chase a dream of mine for the last 6 seasons, but it’s time to chase another one. pic.twitter.com/TsFAiK2r3F — Cord Sandberg (@sandberg_cord) July 4, 2018 The lefty batting Florida native was hitting .231 with three homers and 11 RBI through 54 games with Reading this year. In his pro career Sandberg sported a .243/.298/.348 slash line. If the Twitter and Instagram teases prove true, he'll be the third Phillies ...

Mitch Gueller, image- Jay Floyd A supplemental opening round pick in the 2012 draft (54th overall), righty pitcher Mitch Gueller has taken a considerable amount of time to reach a full-season level of pro ball. This year he made that jump and opened the season with Class A Lakewood. The six-foot-three 220-pounder has struggled somewhat in the early going, posting a 0-1 record with a 9.58 ERA through three starts. He entered 2016 fresh off a strong campaign last year with short-season A level Williamsport, where he helped lead the team to the playoffs with his 10-1 record, 2.23 ERA and .229 batting average against in 12 starts. Last week I spoke with the 22-year-old about his time table for reaching Lakewood, his pitch repertoire, his BlueClaws team, New Jersey and more. Read ahead for that full interview. -Some people would feel that after you were drafted you took a long time to reach Lakewood. How would you reply to that type of assertion? That's true, I guess. I wou...

With a new season underway, the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws' pitching staff is being led this year by a brand new coach, former big leaguer Brian Sweeney . Following the 'Claws' home opener on Thursday, Sweeney sat down to talk about his pitching staff including prospects Tyler Gilbert , Franklyn Kilome , Alberto Tirado and several others. Read ahead for that full interview. Tyler Gilbert, image- Jay Floyd -Tyler Gilbert had some moments, despite taking the loss in the home opener. What are your thoughts on his outing? He was fantastic for four innings. I mean, I love what I saw. Four pitches for strikes, in command and attacking the zone. And the wheels fell off after a few hits in the fifth inning. You know, that’s unfortunate because he had a pretty good outing going for him. -Is Gilbert dealing with any changes, such as updates to his grips or repertoire after a successful debut as a pro last year? Yeah, everything’s— we’re always building. We’re buil...

On Sunday, the Phillies' Class A short-season affiliate Williamsport lost the deciding game of their best-of-three opening round series in the New York-Penn League playoffs, dropping a 4-0 decision to the West Virginia Black Bears (Pittsburgh affiliate). With righty hurler Mitch Gueller on the mound, the Crosscutters dropped the contest in front of a home crowd following a rain out on Saturday. Gueller was tagged for the loss, alloweing one run (earned) in 5 1/3 innings of work while striking out five, walking four and surrendering two hits. Gueller, 21, had become the team's ace in recent months, posting an 8-0 record along with a 1.74 ERA over his last nine starts. He also had an ERA of 1.17 at home entering the postseason. The Washington state native was the Phils' supplemental round (54th overall) draft selection in 2012. The Cutters' offense only mustered three hits on the day, including a double from promising outfield prospect Jose Pujols , who went jus...

Fall instructional league got underway over the weekend. Instructs, as it's commonly referred to, is a month-long off-season league, generally consisting of recently drafted players and foreign signees, players that missed time due to injury, or those that participated in short-season leagues, allowing those individuals to refine their skills or add innings/at bats to their season. It also serves as an opportunity for a greater number of developmental coaches to see newly signed players and those they've not been exposed to in action. Here's the Phillies' complete roster of players listed in attendance is listed below. PITCHERS Victor Arano Kyle Bogese Ismael Cabrera Austin Davis Yan De La Cruz Elniery Garcia Scott Harris Matt Imhof Carlos Indriago Tanner Kiest Franklyn Kilome Brandon Leibrandt Sam McWilliams Adonis Medina Aaron Nola Chris Oliver Felix Paulino Ricardo Pinto Edubray Ramos Calvin Rayburn Nick Rodesky Carlos Salazar Ranger Suarez...

On the opening day of the 2012 MLB amateur draft, the Phillies had two picks and used them in a familiar manner.  With their selections, the team stuck to their usual style and chose a pair of high school players.  With the 40th overall pick in the draft, the Phillies chose Shane Watson out of Lakewood High School in California.  Additionally, the Phils took Mitch Gueller with the 54th overall selection out of William F. West High School in Washington state. Watson and Gueller, both right-handed hurlers, are committed to play college ball...Watson at the University of Southern California and Gueller at Washington State University. Watson's pitch repertoire features a fastball that is steadily clocked at 93 MPH and climbs into the mid-90's at times, a great curveball as well as a cutter and a change up.  Watson stands 6'4" and weighs around 200 pounds. As a pitcher this season, Gueller posted a 6-0 record with 2 saves and a 0.80 ERA.  Reports also state t...