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READING, PA- A new role could have Francisco Morales on the fast track to the Phillies' bullpen.   After experiencing limited success last year primarily as a starter, the organization has decided to utilize the 22-year-old strictly as a reliever moving forward.   Signed by the Phils in 2016 at the age of 16 for a reported $900,000, the Venezuela native has spent roughly six years showing flashes of the hurler that he could be.  The new assignment could finally be the factor that makes it happen.   According to Double-A Reading manager Shawn Williams, the talented Venezuelan is excited for the refined duties. "I think he's always wanted to be a reliever," Williams shared.  "He loves it.  He's looking forward to it.  He had a great spring training as a reliever, closing (and as) a late inning guy." In 22 appearances (20 starts) last year with Reading, the six-foot-four 185-pounder notched a 4-13 record with a 6.94 ERA, a .240 batting aver...

This weekend over on Patreon.com/PhoulBallz I've featured some exclusive quotes from around the Phillies minor leagues.   Among the latest on the Patreon page, are Double-A Reading manager Shawn Williams talking about pitching prospect Francisco Morales among other topics, righty pitching prospect Ben Brown discussing his return to the mound following Tommy John surgery and right-hander Mark Appel sharing thoughts on his return to professional ball after taking a leave of absence a few years ago.  Additionally, you find the latest on injured pitching prospect Erik Miller .   Please consider joining the Patreon site and contributing toward my work in order to gain access to exclusive content like this all season long.  

I invite you to 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 consume anywhere else.  I could use and I would appreciate your backing. At long last, Phillies minor league coaching staffs began to trickle out via each team's news feed on Friday with a few notable additions to the organization's developmental field staffs.  Here is a complete rundown of each team's coaching staff. The Class A Short-season Williamsport Crosscutters will be headed by Milver Reyes.  The 37-year-old Venezuelan played as high as the Triple-A level during his playing career before turning to coaching.  Reyes played with the CrossCutters in 2003 and 2004 as a member of the Pirates organization, before Williamsport was affiliated with the Phillies. The Cutters' pitching coach is set to be a returning Hector Berrios while hittin...

Arquimedes Gamboa, image- Jay Floyd Prior to the end of the regular season, I spoke with Double-A Reading manager Shawn Williams about several topics including outfielders Cornelius Randolph and Josh Stephen (click each of those individuals' names for those features).  Among other things the team's skipper discussed with me were the assignment of several of his players going to the Arizona Fall League this month, what he saw from infielder Arquimedes Gamboa despite a lackluster offensive stat line as well as the progress of top prospects Alec Bohm and Spencer Howard .  Read ahead for those quotes. -Your team has several guys going to the Arizona Fall League.  I just wanted to get your opinion of how that can help their development. It definitely does.  It's a really competitive league.  You've got all the best players, pretty much, from all the organizations.  I was fortunate enough to be out there two years ago.  I think it's a lot o...

C. Randolph, image- Jay Floyd 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 Cornelius Randolph doesn't need prospect rankings, fans' attention or media buzz to do his job. The 22-year-old entered the season as part of a Reading Fightin' Phils' outfield that was made up of three different Phillies top draft picks.  Plenty of excitement, focus and photo opportunities came along with the start of the players' Double-A season. None of those things mattered to Randolph, who goes simply by the nickname "C". "Me, Haseley and Mickey, we just wanted to come out here and play, enjoy the game and have fun," said Randolph outside the visitors locker room in Trenton. Randolph was selected 10th overall in the 2015 draft while Mickey Moniak was the number one overall pick in 2016 and Adam ...

Josh Stephen, image- Jay Floyd Josh Stephen has capitalized on unexpected opportunities all season long. A surprise to open the 2019 campaign at the Double-A level with Reading, the 21-year-old outfielder completely skipped the Class A Advanced Florida State League after spending last season with Class A Lakewood. An 11th round draft selection by the Phillies in 2016, Stephen contributed steadily last year as a predominantly part-time player for the BlueClaws team that won their division in both halves of the season. Stephen would notch a .242 batting average with 17 doubles, two triples, four home runs and 25 RBI in 99 games for Lakewood in 2018. Projected to be a fourth outfielder this year on a team that opened the season with three first round picks set to man the outfield spots, Stephen impressed enough in the spring exhibition season to earn an assignment to Reading behind Adam Haseley, Mickey Moniak and Cornelius Randolph. "I jumped two levels and I wasn'...

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 Mickey Moniak, image- Jay Floyd The Double-A Eastern League All-Star rosters were announced on Monday and four Reading Fightin Phils have been honored and will represent the Eastern division. Righty pitchers Adonis Medina and Addison Russ will be joined by slugging first baseman Darick Hall and outfielder Mickey Moniak when the game takes place on Wednesday, July 10th in Richmond, VA. Medina, 22, has been on a roll of late and closed out the first half of the season with five straight wins, notching a 1.24 ERA over that stretch.  In 12 starts for Reading, the Domincan Republic native sports a 5-3 record with a 4.05 ERA and a .235 batting average against. Russ, 24, has been consistent as the team's closer this year, tallying a 1-3 record with 10 saves, a 1.57 ERA and a 12.9 K/9 mark...

Last month I sat down with Reading skipper Shawn Williams to talk about several of his players.  Some of the quotes from that interview remained unpublished since that time.  Among the topics of discussion for the Double-A Fightin Phils were slugging first baseman Darick Hall, infielder Arquimedes Gamboa, starting pitcher Adonis Medina and more. Read ahead for those exclusive interview excerpts... -You've got a power hitting prospect on this team in Darick Hall .  I know he had a battle in spring training with Dylan Cozens going head to head.  What was that like?  Was it fun for everyone? It was fun watching both of them  They squared off in a home run derby.  That's two guys that have big time power.  They do it in the game and they can really do it in (batting practice).  But, to see both of them squaring off, it was fun to watch.  And even (Deivi) Grullon was part of that too and Grullon put on a show.  So, it was just...

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz The struggles that faced talented outfield prospect Mickey Moniak seem to be a thing of the past. Taken with the first overall draft pick by the Phillies in 2016, the expectations have always been high for the talented prospect, but the organization and the player himself are more confident than ever that Moniak's future is bright. Moniak has known since the start of spring training that he would open the 2019 campaign in the Double-A Eastern League with Reading when their season starts on Thursday night.  A meeting with Phils general manager Matt Klentak, team manager Gabe Kapler, director of player development Josh Bonifay and outfield coordinator Andy Abad was the setting where the 20-year-old learned that the Phillies feel he has nothing left to prove in Class A Advanced. Last year with Clearwater, Moniak struggled out of the gate, batting .213...

With select affiliates announcing their 2019 coaching staffs today, here's a complete list of the personnel for each level of the Phillies' minor leagues... Lehigh Valley (Triple-A): Gary Jones/Manager, Greg Legg /Coach, Darryl Robinson/Coach, Steve Schrenk/Pitching Coach Reading (Double-A): Shawn Williams /Manager, Nelson Prada/Coach, Kevin Riggs/Coach, Aaron Fultz /Pitching Coach Clearwater (Class A Advanced): Marty Malloy/Manager, Ruben Gotay/Coach, Tyler Henson/Coach, Brad Bergesen /Pitching Coach Lakewood (Class A): Mike Micucci/Manager, Adam Goodwin/Coach, Christian Marrero/Coach, Matt Hockenberry /Pitching Coach Williamsport (short-season A level): Pat Borders /Manager, Greg Brodzinski/Coach, Joel McKeithan/Coach, Hector Berrios/Pitching Coach GCL Phillies East (short-season rookie): Roly deArmas/Manager, Rafael DeLima/Coach, Charlie Hayes /Coach, Hector Mercado/Pitching Coach GCL Phillies West (short-season rookie): Milver Reyes/Manager, Chris Heint...

Jose Pujols, image- Jay Floyd Following a pair of up and down years, Phillies outfield prospect Jose Pujols has taken strides to improve his approach as well as his outlook and the positive results have been apparent.   Two seasons ago he looked like a promising slugger who made improvements. Last year he moved up a level and appeared to struggle. This year he’s returned to resembling a talented player on the rise and he's focus on staying on that path. Pujols, signed as an international free agent at the age of 16 in 2012, was always promising, but showed he could be a powerhouse during his first year of full-season baseball in 2016. As a member, then, of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, the six-foot-three 175-pounder set that club’s single-season home run record at the time with a mark of 24. Overall in 128 games in the South Atlantic League that year, Pujols tallied a .241 batting average with 82 runs batted in. He would move up to Class A Advanced Clearwater...

Damek Tomscha, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ-- It had been 2181 days since the Lakewood BlueClaws played in the postseason. It was worth the wait as the BlueClaws took a 1-0 lead on Wednesday night in the best-of-three South Atlantic League division series against the Hagerstown Suns (Nationals affiliate) by a score of 6-1 behind excellent relief pitching and clutch hitting. Shortstop Emmanuel Marrero notched the first of his three hits in the 5th inning to tie the game at one run apiece. In the same frame, third baseman Damek Tomscha stroked a two-run ground rule double down the right field line to put the BlueClaws ahead 3-1. "That's exactly what he's done all year," BlueClaws skipper Shawn Williams stated of the righty batting Tomscha. "Seems like he's always up in a big situation and that's what he does- he comes through with a big hit." Those runs would be enough as the Lakewood bullpen was strong. It was righty reliever Grant Dyer ...

On Friday night, the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws locked down their first playoff berth since 2010 with a 10-4 win over Greensboro (Miami affiliate) at FirstEnergy Park. With the win, which was the BlueClaws' 21st victory in their last 27 contests, the team won the South Atlantic League's Northern division second-half title. They'll face Hagerstown, the first-half division winners, in the opening round of the playoffs beginning on Wednesday in Lakewood. The 'Claws (42-25 in the second half, 71-65 overall) took considerable strides to improve since a slow start which saw their record on April 30th (5-16) as the second worst in the minors. I spoke with Lakewood manager Shawn Williams this weekend to get his feedback on the team's position in the standings, some of his club's leaders and plenty more. Read ahead for that interview. Grenny Cumana, image- Jay Floyd -Infielder/outfielder Grenny Cumana has been a big contributor for the team in the sec...

Shawn Williams, image- Jay Floyd Recently, I sat down with Class A Lakewood BlueClaws manager Shawn Williams to ask about several of his team's rising prospects. Among the topics of discussion were impressive lefty reliever Zach Morris , well regarded backstop Deivi Grullon , outfielder Jose Pujols and several others. Read ahead for that full interview. -Zach Morris has been so consistent for this team dating back to late April, with an ERA under one during that stretch. What are your thoughts on him? I mean he’s been outstanding all year. He’s done every single role for us, whether it’s setting up, closing, he’s been huge for us when he’s picked up three or four innings he’s saved out bullpen. All around he’s done an outstanding job to help us and help our bullpen. -With other guys performing well and moving up, is there something that Zach is missing or needs to be doing to earn a promotion? I think it’s more that there are a lot of guys doing well up above, so it’s...

C Randolph, image- Jay Floyd The Phillies’ top draft pick from 2015, Cornelius “C” Randolph, is back in the swing of things following an injury and is helping to lead the first place Lakewood BlueClaws toward a possible postseason berth. After missing more than two months with a shoulder/back strain, the 19-year-old outfielder is beginning to heat up on offensive. Entering action on Wednesday, Randolph was batting .290 in nine August games and sported a five game hitting streak. With their win and the Hagerstown Suns’ (Nationals affiliate) loss on Tuesday night, the BlueClaws took over first place in the South Atlantic League’s Northern Division, leading the first-half division champions by ½ game. Randolph points out that he and his teammates are actively paying attention to the standings and the out-of-town scoreboard on a nightly basis. In 39 games this season with Class A Lakelwood, the five-foot-11 205-pounder is batting .255 with seven doubles, a home run and 13 RBI. ...

This past year I became a first-time father. There is nothing in my life that I have looked forward to more than becoming a dad and being able to guide a child through life, bringing him or her up to be as outstanding and as beautiful of a person as my wife is and as much of a baseball fan as I became. In recent months I have felt a tremendous bond with my son and I wondered, at times, how great the connection will grow but also how long it might stay intact. I treasure the opportunity to watch him learn and develop, but I feel like there will be a day when he doesn’t need my insight or coaching. I don't have a father, so, without an example of my own to go by, I worry that he'll outgrow our relationship. Wondering if that's accurate, I began asking players and coaches that I know for their thoughts on how close each one is with his dad, when it comes to his career and sometimes life as well. I mainly targeted men whose dads also had a career-path in profess...