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Please visit  Patreon.com/PhoulBallz  in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone.  Plus you'll get interviews as well as other exclusive content you won't be able to enjoy anywhere else.  At a valued position, backstop  Rafael Marchan   is one of the Phillies' most valued prospects as he has built a reputation as an intelligent and physically talented player. Signed in the same off-season that the Phils dished out a $4 million signing bonus to outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz, Marchan inked a deal for a reported bargain price of $200,000, as a 16-year-old in 2015. He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2016, posting a .333 average with seven doubles, a triple and 34 RBI in 44 games. In 2017, Marchan tallying a .238/.290/.298 slash line in 30 games in the short-season Rookie level Gulf Coast League. The following year as a 19-year-old, the Venezuela native played with Class A short-season Williamsport and...

Rafael Marchan, image- Jay Floyd With an injury to J.T. Realmuto , the Phillies were forced to call up a promising young prospect to fill a void on the big league roster.   In his big league debut on Monday at Miami, Rafael Marchan went 1-for-3, as he singled in his first at bat to notch his first hit in the majors. Marchan, 21, was ranked at the Phils' number 16 prospect heading into the 2020 season.    Signed in the same off-season that the Phils dished out a $4 million signing bonus to outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz, Marchan inked a deal for a reported bargain price of $200,000, as a 16-year-old in 2015. Last year, Marchan, a native of Venezuela, played much of the season with Class A Lakewood.  In 63 games, he tallied a .271 batting average with 16 doubles and 20 RBI.  He would miss a few weeks with an injury in May, but bounced back to complete the season, earning a promotion to Class A Advanced Clearwater at the end of July. Wrapping up his 201...

Rafael Marchan, image- Jay Floyd I invite you to visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone else and get access to interviews as well as other exclusive content you can't get anywhere else. At a valued position, backstop Rafael Marchan is one of the Phillies' most valued prospects as he builds a reputation as an intelligent and physically talented player. Signed in the same off-season that the Phils dished out a $4 million signing bonus to outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz, Marchan inked a deal for a reported bargain price of $200,000, as a 16-year-old in 2015. He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2016, posting a .333 average with seven doubles, a triples and 34 RBI in 44 games. In 2017, Marchan notched a .238/.290/.298 slash line in 30 games in the short-season Rookie level Gulf Coast League. The following year as a 19-year-old, the Venezuela native played with Class A short...

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to articles like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and more- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Lakewood's roster sports two buzz worthy prospects right now with outfield Malvin Matos on an extremely hot streak and pitcher Francisco Morales continuing to draw plenty of interest from prospect heads. Malvin Matos, image- Jay Floyd Matos, a 22-year-old righty batter, wrapped up, on Sunday, a 17-game stretch in which he went 27-for-62 (.436 average) with five doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, nine walks and seven stolen bases.  He notched an 0-for-4 effort on Monday, but rebounded Tuesday with a pair of hits, including a solo homer, and a walk.  Morales, a 19-year-old right-hander, is one of the Phillies' most well-touted prospects. In 23 outings this year, the talented Venezuelan has posted a 4.05 ERA with a .227 batting average against and an 11.9 K/9 mark. ...

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to my posts and EXCLUSIVE interviews- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Marchan and Marrero, image- Jay Floyd The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws are among the weakest offenses in the South Atlantic League. Overall, at the time of this writing, the team ranks last in the league in runs scored at 301 (29 runs fewer than the next closest team). The club also sits last in hits, batting average and OPS. This week I talked with Lakewood's hitting coach and former Phillies minor leaguer Christian Marrero. He offered his thoughts on several of Lakewood's standout names including catcher Rafael Marchan , middle infielders Jonathan Guzman and Luis Garcia as well as outfielder Malvin Matos , plus his thoughts on the lineup's overall struggles. Read ahead for that full, brief interview. -Rafael Marchan has been solid of late. He notched three separate three-hi...

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz   Following the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws' exciting walk-off victory in the 10th inning against West Virginia (Mariners affiliate) on Thursday night, I spoke with the team's manager Mike Micucci about several of his team's standouts including starting pitcher Dom Pipkin, who had a less than ideal performance, middle infielder Luis Garcia, who notched the game's big hit and others.  Micucci also talked about the recent promotion of top prospect Alec Bohm, who opened this season with Lakewood and is headed to Double-A Reading.  Read ahead for those interview excerpts. Dom Pipkin, image- Jay Floyd -Not a very good start from Dominic Pipkin , who only lasts an inning and a third, gave up three earned runs and threw more balls than strikes... He looked a little rusty (coming off of the All-Star break), I thought.  Had a hard time getting ...

Here's a quick rundown of some top performers from around the Phillies' full season minor league clubs. Glogoski, image- Jay Floyd Of late Class A Lakewood has been led by pitcher Kyle Glogoski .  The native New Zealander has a 3-1 record with a 0.96 ERA, a .123 batting average against and a 15.9 K/9 mark in six appearances.  Last weekend I interview the promising 20-year-old.  Click here to listen to that interview. Corner infielder Luke Miller has performed very well in seven games since joining the BlueClaws.  The 22-year-old has tallied a .308 batting average with a double, a home run, four RBI and four walks.  Miller, 22, was the Phillies' 22nd round draft choice last year out of Indiana.  Left-hander Ethan Lindow had a remarkable May, posting a 2.96 ERA and a .221 batting average against in six appearances.  The Georgia native was a 5th round draft pick in 2017 by the Phillies.  Overall with the BlueClaws, the 20-year-old sport...

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...

Mike Micucci, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz This season Mike Micucci took over as the 13th manager of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. A draft pick of the Cubs in 1994, Micucci played six season in the professional ranks and has been coaching or working in the developmental ranks virtually since that time. Recently, I sat down with the BlueClaws' new skipper to get to know him a bit.  He chatted about his local ties, his family and several of his players, including last year's Phillies first round draft pick Alec Bohm .  Read ahead for that interview. -Firstly, I want to ask you about Alec Bohm.  Some people are surprised he landed at this level, on this roster.  What have you seen from him? I mean honestly, we had talked a little bit. He basically showed up to our group on the last day of spring training. So, we haven’t even seen much of him...

Each year I compile my annual prospect rankings and count down the Phillies organization’s top 25 rising minor league players. In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting reviews for each of the top developmental talents that appear to have the brightest futures for the Phils organization. Taken into consideration when compiling the list is age, minor league performance relative to levels played to date, value to the organization as well as the player’s future potential along with proximity to the big leagues. These rankings will not include players over the age of 25 or individuals that have already spent lengthy stretches in the big leagues. For example, pitchers such as Victor Arano and Yacksel Rios, who exceeded rookie qualification limits last season will not be considered for this year's rankings.  Additionally, a hurler like Austin Davis that did not exceed rookie caps, but appeared in more than 30 big league contests will not be ranked here. Individuals that had shor...