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Ricardo Pinto, image- Jay Floyd With a couple considerable nods of recognition over the past couple of seasons, right-handed hurler Ricardo Pinto has proven to be a prospect on the rise in the Phillies' organization. Two seasons ago, the Phils honored the native Venezuelan as one of their Paul Owens Award winners, an honor given to the top offensive and pitching performers in the team's developmental ranks each season, and last year Pinto represented the World team in the MLB All-Star Futures Game.  Signed as an international free agent in December, 2011, Pinto debuted in affiliated pro ball in the Venezuela Summer League the following year. In 15 games (10 starts) he sported a 7-3 record with one save, a 2.74 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He repeated the VSL in 2013, posting a 3-5 record with a 2.85 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in 14 games, strictly as a starter. In 2014, Pinto moved north, pitching with the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters, where he posted a 1-5 reco...

On Friday, Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan took time to chat about several promising youngsters that have taken part in off-season leagues. Read ahead for the full interview. M Imhof, image- Jay Floyd - During the season, Threshers pitcher Matt Imhof drew a lot of attention after he suffered a significant injury that resulted in the loss of one of his eyes.  Do you have any updates to share on Matt's progress toward recovery? I really don't have a whole other than I've spoken with him, he's taking classes and it seems like he's adapting.  He seems to be doing well.  That's what he told me.  Right now, I think that's what matters.  You know, just taking some classes and trying to, you know, I would guess just trying to make the adaptations that he needs to make.  But I really don't have a lot more than that to offer. He seems to be doing well.  - Is the goal for him to return to the game? That will be something that if...

November is the time of year when the Phillies begin to refine their 40-man roster in preparation for the annual MLB Winter Meetings and the corresponding Rule 5 draft. Fans will see players "activated" from the 60-day disabled list, players opting for free agency as well as minor leaguers added to the roster in order to protect them from being scooped up by the competition. Players are initially eligible for selection in MLB's Rule 5 draft when they are not on their major league organization's 40-man roster and 1) were signed to a contract at age 19 or older and have played in professional baseball for four years, OR 2) were signed at age 18 or younger and have played in pro ball for five years. Like the annual amateur draft, teams draft in reverse order of the regular-season standings. A team that does not have any vacancies on its 40-man roster may not make a selection in the Rule 5 draft. Once a player is chosen, that player is automatically assigned to his...

Ricardo Pinto, image- Jay Floyd TRENTON, NJ-- In a game that seemed like a struggle from the moment they fell behind, the Reading Fightin Phils fell behind 0-2 in the best-of-five Double-A Eastern League division playoffs to the Trenton Thunder with a 9-4 defeat at ARM & HAMMER Park on Thursday. Reading scored first in the contest, taking a 1-0 lead in the opening frame when Roman Quinn , who singled, stole second and moved over to third on a ground out, scored on a sacrifice fly by catcher Jorge Afaro. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, Trenton went ahead 2-1 on a sac fly by Dustin Fowler and an RBI double by Miguel Andujar against Reading starter Ricardo Pinto . Pinto would start the 4th inning, but would not record an out as he left the game after opening the frame surrendering a walk, a single and an RBI double. Jesen Therrien would enter the game at that point, surrendering a sac fly to former Phillies prospect Sebastian Valle that put Trenton up 4-1. Readi...

Dylan Cozens, image- Jay Floyd Outfielder Dylan Cozens and pitcher Ricardo Pinto represented the Phillies as Major League Baseball kicked off its All-Star week festivities on Sunday with the MLB All-Star Futures Game in San Diego. The pair had minimal impact on the game that saw the World team pound the United State team by a score of 11-3. Cozens was 0-for-1 in a single plate appearance for the US, while Pinto retired both batters he faced for the World club. The Phils prospects would serve up a pair of defensive gems as Pinto allowed a deep fly ball to the second batter he faced that could have been a home run if not for a spectacular over-the-wall catch by Padres center field prospect Manny Margot. In his turn at bat, Cozens would lace a drive toward the right field corner that was also caught in tremendous fashion by Cubs prospect Eloy Jimenez. Cozens, a powerful lefty batter, has had an outstanding season with Double-A Reading, where he's been honored as a...

Logan Moore, image- Jay Floyd Last week prior to his promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill the void left by J.P. Arencibia , I spoke with minor league backstop Logan Moore , who began the season with the Double-A Reading Fightins. The 25-year-old was a 9th round draft selection by the Phillies in 2011 out of Northeastern Junior College. Serving mainly as a backup to catching prospects Jorge Alfaro and Andrew Knapp , Moore has posted a .239 average with a home run and seven RBI in 23 games overall this season. Moore shared thoughts on filling the void during Alfaro's injury this season, playing off-season ball and some of the Figthins' top starting pitchers. Read ahead for that interview. -During Jorge Alfaro's recent time on the shelf with an oblique strain, you served as the team's only true catcher, with Jake Fox , who has caught in the pros before, serving as the emergency option, for some time. What was that stretch like? I mean, I knew comi...

Steve Schrenk, image- Jay Floyd Following a terrific outing in which Ricardo Pinto flirted with a no-hitter into the 7th inning in Trenton on Thursday, I spoke with his Reading Fightins pitching coach Steve Schrenk , who offered thoughts on the young hurler's effort and several other pitchers on his staff as well... -Talking about Pinto's seven shut out inning performance... You know, he gets his first win this year. He's been fighting to get one his last four outings but it's just nice to get him a win tonight. He had his good change up working for him and I like the way he pitched against a good hitting Trenton team. -Sharing more thoughts on the potential for a historic game... Obviously, you'd like to see a no-hitter. I would have loved to have seen one last night. But they hit the ball and they got their hits. I think the most important thing for me is to make sure he got that first win under his belt. I think that's important for a kid a...

Right-handed starting pitcher Ricardo Pinto (pictured, center) had a breakout season in the Phillies organization last year. Honored as the top pitcher in their minor league ranks, the 21-year-old is very promising and will look to continue his success this year, as he moves up. Boasting a mid-90's fastball and a plus change up, Pinto has looked great at the lower levels of the minors. Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan states that Pinto's is the best change up among the organization's righty prospects. Development of a third offering, his slider, will be the determining factor of the type of progress he'll see. Signed as an international free agent in December, 2011, the Venezuela native debuted in pro ball in the Venezuela Summer League the following year. In 15 games (10 starts) he sported a 7-3 record with one save, a 2.74 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He repeated the VSL in 2013, posting a 3-5 record with a 2.85 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in 14 games, s...

Andrew Knapp, image- Jay Floyd The Phillies announced the honorees for the annual Paul Owens Award this year, with catcher Andrew Knapp and pitcher Ricardo Pinto being named as the top performers in the organization's developmental ranks. Knapp, began the 2015 campaign with Class A Advanced Clearwater where he posted a .262 batting average with two home runs and 28 RBI in 63 games en route to being named a Florida State League All-Star. Promoted to Double-A Reading in late June, Knapp would really turn things on offensively, collecting a .360 average along with 11 homers and 56 RBI in 55 games. Knapp was the Phils' 2nd round draft pick out of Cal in 2013. Phillies Nation recently aired a feature on Knapp. That video can be viewed by clicking here . Pinto, a 21-year-old righty, tallied a 15-4 record with a 2.97 ERA and a 6.5 K/9 mark in 24 combined starts with Class A Lakewood and Clearwater this season. For the Venezuelan, 2015 was just his second season pitchi...

On Tuesday night in the opener for the Florida State League playoff, the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers would lose to Daytona. There were two outs in the 7th frame before the Threshers would collect their first hit, a single by first baseman Rhys Hoskins . They would wrap up the contest with just two singles, the other coming off the bat of third baseman Mitch Walding . Right-hander Ricardo Pinto took the loss, allowing three runs in six innings of work while striking out six and walking three. Lefty pitcher Amir Garrett notched the win for the Tortugas, as he fanned 12 Threshers batters without a walk over seven shutout innings.

Aaron Fultz, image- Jay Floyd Former big leaguer Aaron Fultz is in his fourth season coaching in the Phillies' developmental ranks. In his career, the lefty Fultz tallied a 25-15 record with a 4.26 ERA and three saves over eight major league seasons. Now, the 41-year-old is leading the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws' pitching staff toward their dream of reach the top level of the sport. Recently, I chatted with Fultz about various topics related to his young prospects. Read ahead for those interview excerpts. -What are you impressions of your pitching staff in the early going this year? So far, I've been really pleased with the amount of strikes that we've thrown. We haven't walked many guys. There's still some mistakes here and there, but overall very pleased with the way we're going about the game. - Matt Hockenberry 's got a true closer mentality and persona, as he mans the late innings for the BlueClaws.  He's a Temple guy with loc...

After roughly a week and a half of the minor league schedule has past, so here's a quick run down of the top performers from the Phillies' developmental ranks thus far in the young baseball season. Triple-A Lehigh Valley... 3B/1B Maikel Franco - The righty hitting slugger sports a .386 average with a homer and eight RBI through 10 games. After going 0-for-3 on opening day, the 22-year-old has put together a nine-game hitting streak with at least one extra-base hit in eight of those games. RHP Phillippe Aumont - In three appearances, the 26-year-old has allowed one earned run in eight innings (1.13 ERA) while striking out 10 and walking four. Aumont has a career 6.13 ERA in 45 big league outings. Double-A Reading... RHP Zach Eflin - In two starts, the 21-year-old right has a 2-0 record while throwing 14 scoreless frames, having struck out seven and walked two. Eflin was acquired over the off-season from the Dodgers in the Jimmy Rollins trade. LHP Jesse Biddle - T...

Joe Jordan, image- Jay Floyd Recently, I caught up with the Phillies' director of player development Joe Jordan to discuss several key subjects throughout the minor leagues. Jordan, who took over his current role following the 2011 season, commented on pitching prospects Adam Morgan and Ricardo Pinto as well as outfielders Cord Sandberg , Roman Quinn , Cam Perkins and Aaron Altherr along with catcher Tommy Joseph . Also a topic of discussion is the realignment of some minor league coaches this year plus field coordinator Doug Mansolino. Read ahead for the comments from Jordan and click here for his exclusive injury updates from last week. - Adam Morgan (0-1, 5.00 ERA in two starts) is back in action at the Triple-A level for the IronPigs. What's the outlook for Adam right now? Adam had a good camp. He just progressed all the way. We got him built up there at the end, so he was ready to go to Lehigh. Adam looks good, you know. He’s fine. He just needs to ...

Shawn Williams, image- Jay Floyd The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws got their season underway on Thursday with a new roster and a new manager. Shawn Williams, son of long-time big league coach Jimy Williams , takes over the reigns with the 'Claws after a year as skipper of the Class A Short-season Williamsport Crosscutters. Prior to their season opener on Thursday, I chatted with the 31-year-old about his club. Read ahead for comments from Williams about several names including Rhys Hoskins , Carlos Tocci , Deivi Grullon and many more. -Is there anyone on the roster that stood out in spring training as a guy that was a catalyst for the club? I look at our whole lineup and, really, all the guys are catalysts. There are guys that do the little things to help your team win. They're great guys in the clubhouse, they play hard, they give you 100 percent every night and they do everything to kind of help your team win. -Carlos Tocci returns to Lakewood for his third seas...