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Austin Listi, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ-- Before June, Austin Listi had never been to the northeast portion of the United States.  Two months later, the Phillies minor leaguer has made the Philadelphia region his home away from home. A 17th round pick in this year's MLB amateur draft, Listi was lucky enough to join an organization that employed some familiar faces. A pair of Listi's college teammates made the thought of his first trip to unfamiliar territory a bit more pleasant.  Listi, a first baseman, played at Dallas Baptist with outfielder David Martinelli for three seasons and first baseman/designated hitter Darick Hall for a season as well. "When I was drafted by the Phillies, they called me and texted me right away," Listi said of the excitement that Martinelli and Hall had when the Phillies drafted him.  "They found out and they welcomed me to the extended family now.  They were like, 'Welcome to the family again!'" If hav...

Nelson Prada, image- Jay Floyd Last week, I sat down to chat with the hitting coach for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws Nelson Prada about much of his team's lineup.  Key topics included second baseman and lead-off hitter Daniel Brito, the South Atlantic League's RBI leader first baseman and designated hitter Darick Hall and last year's first overall draft pick outfielder Mickey Moniak, among others.  The BlueClaws were in the midst of a four-game win streak to start the month and had just beaten division rival Greensboro in walk-off fashion at the time of this discussion.  Read ahead for the full interview. -Huge win. Brito with a big hit there to win it.  He's had some ups and downs this year.  Can you talk about Brito a bit? Yeah, I mean, we've been working with Brito honestly to hit the ball the opposite field and he's been pulling some balls through the year.  Even Hagerstown, they shift him sometimes, which is something that's not good for hi...

Damek Tomscha, image- Jay Floyd Corner infielder Damek Tomscha has been a solid performer of late for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. Overall this season, the Phillies' 14th round draft choice from 2014 has posted .270 average with four homers and 32 RBI in 77 games. Recently, I spoke with the six-foot-two 200-pound righty batter about his production, transitioning to the minor league from college ball at Auburn and his unique name. Read ahead for that full interview. -You've had some solid success recently, especially after the promotions of some teammates up to Clearwater. What can you tell me about the improved output? I mean, you just definitely have to step up. You're given the opportunity, I just feel like you need to take advantage of it and I was kind of playing here and there at the beginning of the year and then I started hitting the ball a little better and got the opportunity to start playing a little more. So, I just feel like, for the most ...

Kyle Martin, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ- Drafted by the team he grew up rooting for, first baseman Kyle Martin has found the transition to professional baseball to be an easy one, in the midst of living a dream. Through 15 games with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, the left-handed hitting Martin has had early success, sporting a .322 average with seven doubles, a triple and a homer with eight RBI. A lifelong southerner, the six-foot-two 225-pounder followed in his father's footsteps, cheering for the Phillies from far away. "South Carolina born and raised, but my dad's family and my dad was born up around the Philly area, so I kind of grew up following in his steps since there's nobody to pull for down in South Carolina," Martin shared in the FirstEnergy Park home dugout this week. Martin happily described the moment in which his family's favorite team drafted him 114th overall just last month. "I was with my whole family, my mom, my dad...

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Five Phillies prospects, including top performers Carlos Tocci and Rhys Hoskins will represent the Lakewood BlueClaws in the Class A South Atlantic League All-Star game in Asheville, NC on June 23rd. Tocci, a 19-year-old center fielder, is batting .324 with a home run, 23 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 54 games with Lakewood. According to a press release from the BlueClaws, Tocci received more votes than any other player in the SAL, marking the second straight year that the team has had the leading vote-getter, following shortstop J.P. Crawford in 2014. Rhys Hoskin, image- Jay Floyd Last year's 5th round draft pick by the Phillies, Hoskins, has a league leading .335 batting average with seven home runs and 40 RBI. The 22-year-old first baseman was recently honored as the Phillies' minor league player of the month for May, after posting a .342 average with two homers and 23 RBI in 29 games. The righty batting slugger has been a bit reserved in regards to...

Phillies beat writers reported news via Twitter today ( here , here and here ), stating that Ramon Henderson, who was set to begin his first season managing Class A Advanced Clearwater this year, has left the team due to personal reasons. To fill the void, the Phils have assigned Class A short-season manager Nelson Prada to take over as skipper for the Thresers. Replacing Prada with the Crosscutters of the New-York Penn League will be Shawn Williams , the 30-year-old son of former big league manager and Phillies coach Jimy Williams . Williamsport will now have a void to fill at hitting coach, as Williams was previously slated for that job. After a stretch of more than a decade as a major league coach for the Phillies and a demotion to the minors in 2009, Henderson was fired for reasons that were reportedly alcohol abuse related. He returned to the organization in a coaching capacity with the Gulf Coast League Phillies last year. Henderson played in the Phils' development...

The Phillies announced this past week that the manager of the short-season Class A level Williamsport Crosscutters will be 36-year-old Nelson Prada.  As a catcher, Prada played four seasons in the Minnesota organization from 1995 through 1998. Prada, a Venezuela native, went on to manage in the minors for the Twins and was skipper in the rookie level Gulf Coast League as well as in the Class A Midwest league over the past eight seasons, compiling a .511 winning percentage over that stretch. The presence of Prada at the helm of the Cutters gives the Phillies a manager fluent in Spanish at each of the two lowest levels of their developmental ranks in the United States, as Roly deArmas enters his tenth season as manager of the Gulf Coast League Phillies.  The pair will help the club's collection of strong young Latin talent, including names like Carlos Tocci , Francisco Herrera and Wilson Garcia , adapt more quickly to baseball and life in America, with a leader they can ...