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HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Kevin Gowdy, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ-- After battling setbacks, both physical and mental, for the past two seasons pitching prospect Kevin Gowdy is back on the mound, competing in full-season baseball for the first time. The Phillies selected the right-handed California native in the second round of the 2016 draft.  Difficulties with his health held him to just nine professional regular season innings until this month. After appearing in four games with the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies in 2016, Gowdy was assigned to extended spring training to open the 2017 season.  While there, the six-foot-four 170-pounder encountered some tightness in his right elbow.  Initially, the discomfort didn't strike Gowdy as serious pain, so he pitched through it.  The tightness soon became unbearable agony that he could no longer ignore...

Josh Stephen, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ-- Off to a hot start in the early going for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, outfielder Josh Stephen has used relationships, new and old, to build a level of comfort in the Phillies’ organization that he hopes will help him achieve his dream of playing in the big leagues. Hailing from southern California, a hotbed for young baseball talent, Stephen was selected by the Phillies in the 11th round of the 2016 draft and joined an organization that included some familiar faces. Even before signing his first professional contract with the Phillies, the six feet tall 185-pound lefty batter had guys that he already considered teammates in the system. Third base prospect Luke Williams, pitchers Kevin Gowdy and Bailey Falter along with first overall draft pick, outfielder Mickey Moniak are all individuals that Stephen competed with and against in his days playing youth baseball. “It makes the transition of being drafted as an 18-year-old nice...

Righty pitcher Will Hibbs enjoyed an outstanding 2017 campaign at the Class A level.  En route to an All-Star bid with Lakewood in the South Atlantic League, the six-foot-seven 245-pounder posted a 6-4 record with 20 saves, a 1.77 ERA and a .137 batting average against in 40 appearances. Hibbs, the Phillies' 19th round draft selection in 2016, also earned a promotion to Class A Advanced Clearwater in June, but he returned to Lakewood after sporting a 7.88 ERA in five relief outings. Recently, I talked with the Texas native about his off-season, getting married, encounters with the late Roy Halladay and more.  Read ahead for that full interview. -To start, just wanted to ask about the how the off-season began for you. How long did you discontinue throwing and what fitness or exercise do you work on during that stretch?  I took about three full weeks off from everything: lifting, throwing, etcetera. I did some body weight and functional fitness exercises abou...

Adam Haseley, image- Jay Floyd Selected by the Phillies with the 8th overall pick in this year's MLB draft, outfielder Adam Haseley proved to be a promising talent during his half-season as a pro. The 21-year-old lefty batter tallied a .284 average with three home runs, 28 RBI and six stolen bases in 58 games at three levels, including the final 18 contests with Class A Lakewood. This off-season Haseley, a native of Florida has spent much of his off-season in and around Clearwater, training at the Phils' facilities there.  Recently, I spoke to the Virginia product about his initial experiences in the minors, his efforts since the season ended, meeting Roy Halladay prior to his passing and more.  Read ahead for that full interview. -Was there a standout lesson you took from your first season as a professional player that you know will stick with you for years to come? I would say two things; one, getting used to playing every day, in the sense of gettin...

Cole Irvin, image- Jay Floyd Starting pitcher Cole Irvin has had a swift rise thus far in his pro career.  A 5th round selection last year, the 23-year-old lefty is the first player from that Phillies draft class to reach the Double-A level. Irvin opened his 2017 campaign with Class A Advanced Clearwater.  In 12 outings there, the California native posted a 4-6 record with a 2.55 ERA and a .265 batting average against.  In June, he was promoted to Reading, where he has tallied a 4-1 record with a 2.70 ERA and a .244 batting average against. Earlier this month, I sat down with Cole to chat about his success as a pro, which players (including a Phillie) he looked up to as a child, social media and plenty more.  Read ahead for that full interview... -It's been a swift rise through the minors.  Just a short year after making your pro debut, you're at the Double-A level and you're pitching with success.  Can you offer some thoughts on this quick pace ?...

Austin Davis, image- Jay Floyd Lefty reliever Austin Davis has been an exciting contributor at two levels already this season.  After opening the season with the Class A Advances Clearwater Threshers, the 24-year-old was promoted to Double-A Reading, where he is mowing down the competition. Overall in 15 appearances this season, Davis, who was the Phils' 12th round pick in 2014, has a 2-0 record with a save, a 1.82 ERA and an 11.2 K/9 mark. Last week I talked with the six-foot-four 245-pounder about his recent success, learning from Roy Halladay, early memories of the game and plenty more.  Read ahead for that full interview. -You've been having plenty of success this year.  Talk a bit about your season thus far. Yeah, I'm just out here trying to help the team and get us wins and get us saves and just do whatever I can to help the team win and so far, so good. -Excellent.  The word on you early in the season was that your velocity was up a bit from prev...

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...

The Phillies have been quiet thus far at the annual MLB Winter Meetings in Orlando FL, but one storyline impacted Philadelphia fans a great deal.  On Monday, Roy Halladay , who helped the Phils lock down two division titles announced his retirement from playing baseball. Halladay, an eight-time All-Star, signed a one-day contract with Toronto in order to retire as a member of the team that drafted him.  Proving to be a class act that he has always been regarded as, Halladay and his family took out a full-page ad in the Philadelphia Daily News thanking the Phillies organization and their fans for their dedication to him during his time in town. The text of the ad reads as follows... "To the City of Philadelphia, and Phillies fans everywhere: My family and I want to thank you for four amazing years. We have so many great memories of our time with the Phillies, on and off the field, and we will cherish those always. We want to also express our appreciation to my te...

On the 42nd edition of the PhoulBallz Podcast Tug and Jay are joined by Phillies OF/1B Darin Ruf who chats about the Phillies' disappointing 2013 season, his production this year and more.  The guys also discuss Roy Halladay 's health and future, what the Phils' pitching rotation might be like next year and the retirement of Yankees legend Mariano Rivera . 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 .

Here's a quick review of the pitching match ups for this week's three-game series between the Phillies (71-84) and the Marlins (57-99), in Miami. Monday, 7:10 PM.  Roy Halladay (4-4, 6.71 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (3-6, 3.79 ERA).  In his last five starts, Halladay is 2-0 with a 4.28 ERA.  Halladay is 9-5 with a 3.53 ERA in 17 career outings against the Marlins.  Juan Pierre is 0-for-15 in his career against Halladay.  In his last five starts, Eovaldi is 1-3 with a 3.41 ERA.  The 23-year-old Eovaldi has a 0-4 record with a 5.40 ERA in five career starts against the Phils.  Carlos Ruiz is 4-for-8 (.500 avg) with three doubles and two RBI in his career against Eovaldi. Tuesday, 7:10 PM.  Zach Miner (0-1, 3.22 ERA) vs. Henderson Alvarez (4-5, 4.05 ERA).   Miner posted a 3.90 ERA in 27 appearances with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs this season.  Opponents are batting .262 against Miner in 14 big league outings this ye...

Righty hurler Roy Halladay , who was slated to appear in another rehab outing for Double-A Reading on Sunday will return to the big league club instead, following a marathon of baseball Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park. In Saturday night's (Sunday morning's?) 12-7 defeat at the hands of the Diamondbacks, the Phillies sent nine pitchers and two position players to the mound to make it through the lengthy affair. Starter Ethan Martin could not escape the opening frame, as he allowed three hits, three walks and three earned runs. Over the 4 2/3 innings that followed, Luis Garcia and Zach Miner allowed a combined four earned runs. The remainder of the relief corps including Cesar Jimenez , Justin De Fratus , Jonathan Papelbon , Jake Diekman and B.J Rosenberg combined for 6 2/3 scoreless innings while Sunday's originally scheduled starter Tyler Cloyd was called upon to toss five scoreless frames. As the need to use Cloyd approached, the Phillies d...

Jay and Tug and back with another edition of the PhoulBallz Podcast. On episode 38, righty pitching prospect Tyler Knigge phones in to chat about his progress in the minors, baseball cards and social networking.  The guys also chat about J.P. Crawford 's promotion to Lakewood, Ichiro Suzuki 's 4,000th hit achievement and Roy Halladay 's backtracking over comments he stated about the Phillies' managerial switch. 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 .

Roy Halladay, image- Jay Floyd Roy Halladay completed a moderately fair rehab effort with the Phillies' Class A club on Tuesday night and did so with no ill effects.  However, the biggest story out of Lakewood, NJ may have been that the ace right-hander seemed to declare that the recent switch at the managerial position for the big league team was long overdue. Immediately following an assertion of adoration for fired Phils skipper Charlie Manuel , the 36-year-old hurler told a crowd of reporters that there were issues that had been neglected and he knows that the man who replaced Manuel after nine seasons, Ryne Sandberg , has already begun repairing the problems. "I've exchanged texts with (Charlie).  Obviously, I loved him.  He was great," Halladay stated.  "But, from what I've seen, you know, Ryne came in and made some changes and addressed some issues that I think were being overlooked, so from that standpoint, as much as I miss Charlie, I ...

Interleague play is back, as the Phillies (12-14) head to Cleveland to take on the Indians (10-13) in a two-game series at Progressive Field. In the series opener, the Phils will send veteran righty Roy Halladay to the mound. The two-time Cy Young Award winner has a 2-0 record with a 1.71 ERA in his last three starts after beginning the season 0-2 with a 14.73 ERA in his first two starts of 2013. The Indians will counter with 25-year-old Zach McAllister, who has never faced the Phils in his career. The last time these two teams faced one another was in June of 2010, when the Phillies swept the three-game set. Read ahead for full details on the pitching match ups and other key notes from this series. Tuesday, 7:10 PM.  Roy Halladay (2-2, 5.08 ERA) vs. Zach McAllister (1-3, 3.52 ERA).   In 13 career outings against the Indians, Halladay has a 6-2 record with a 3.52 ERA and two complete games.  Halladay is 2-1 with a 3.45 ERA in five career starts at Progressiv...

On Friday, the Marlins will attempt to turn around their troublesome start to the 2013 season, as they host the division rival Phillies for a three-game set at Miami's Marlins Park.  Through three series, the Marlins have won only once and they've gone scoreless in four of nine contests. The Phillies lost each of their first two series this season, but locked down two wins against the Mets this week to notch their first winning set of the year. In the series opener, lefty John Lannan will make his second start for the Phillies after he allowed three earned runs over seven innings in his season debut against the Royals for a no decision.  Miami will counter with Ricky Nolasco , who has posted a 5.40 ERA in his last four outings against the Phils. Last season, the Phillies won 10 of 18 meetings with the Marlins, including six of nine in Miami.  Read ahead for full details on the pitching match ups and more for this series. Friday, 7:10 PM.  John Lannan (0-...

In lieu of the usual full series preview that this site offers, here's an abbreviated version that provides an overview of the pitching match ups for this week's upcoming Metropolitans (4-2) vs. Phillies (2-4) series at Citizens Bank Park. Monday, 7:05 PM. Matt Harvey (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Roy Halladay (0-1, 13.50 ERA). Harvey threw seven scoreless innings while striking out 10, surrendering only one hit and walking two in his first start of the season against the Padres last week. In two career starts against the Phillies, Harvey has a 1-0 record with a 2.03 ERA. Ryan Howard is 0-for-5 in his career against the right-handed Harvey. As a rookie last season, Harvey posted a 3.31 ERA in six road starts. Halladay allowed five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings in his initial start this season against the Braves last week. In eight starts against the Mets since joining the Phillies, Halladay has a 7-0 record along with a 1.78 ERA. David Wright is 4-for-24 (.167 avg) in his career against...

Tug and Jay are back with Episode 20 of The PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast. On this episode, the guys discuss the Phillies opening series against the Braves, Roy Halladay 's struggles, minor league promotional schedules, Shane Watson , the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, Chris Duffy , the independent Camden Riversharks and tons more! Check out the media player below to hear the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .