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Spencer Howard, image- Jay Floyd Right-handed pitcher  Spencer Howard  is, once again, the Phillies’ top overall prospect. Howard was the team’s second round draft selection in 2017 (45th overall) out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and has proven to be an exceptional hurler in his time as a professional hurler. In his draft year/sophomore season, Howard notched an impressive 8-1 record with a 1.95 ERA and a 10 K/9 mark over 17 appearances (12 starts) for the Mustangs. As a red shirt freshman the previous year, he posted a 2.95 ERA in 21 appearances (two starts). After signing his first pro contract, Howard debuted with Class A short-season Williamsport, where he tallied a 1-1 record with a 4.45 ERA and a .214 batting average against while striking out 40 and walking 18 in 28 1/3 innings over nine starts. Following the regular season, he participated in the Florida Instructional League. In 2018, Howard felt great levels of comfort with his Lakewood teammates, describing his situat...

The Phillies (10-14) will visit the Nationals (11-15) for a three-game series beginning on Tuesday evening. Read ahead for a quick rundown of the pitching match ups and some key statistics from this series. Tuesday, 6:05pm.  Jake Arrieta (1-3, 4.95  ERA ) vs. Erick Fedde  (1-1, 2.55  ERA ).  Arrieta has gone more than five innings in just one of his four starts this season.  In 16 career starts against the Nats, Arrieta has notched a 1-3 record, a 4.61 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.  Asdrubal Cabrera is 6-for-16 (.375 avg) with two homers and four RBI in his career against Arrieta.  Fedde, a right-hander, was Washington's first round draft pick in 2014.  In five appearances (four starts) against the Phillies, Fedde sports a 2-1 record with a 4.22 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP.  Scott Kingery is 3-for-7 with a double and a home run in his career when facing Fedde.  Wednesday, 6:05pm.  Aaron Nola (2-2, 3.10  ERA ) vs. Patrick...

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic the Blue Jays are playing their home games at Buffalo's Sahlen Field, the home of Toronto's Triple-A affiliate, the Bisons.  They'll host the Phillies for a double header on Thursday afternoon. Here's a quick rundown of the pitching match ups and some other key notes from this pairing. Game 1, 1:05PM.  Spencer Howard (0-1, 7.88 ERA) vs. Chase Anderson (0-0, 3.00 ERA).  Howard, a righty, was the Phils' 2nd round draft selection out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo back in 2017.  In two MLB starts to date, the rookie Howard, who entered the past two seasons as the Phillies' top prospect , has notched six strike outs and three walks over eight innings.  The right-handed Anderson joined the Blue Jays this year after spending the last four seasons with the Brewers.  In six career starts against the Phils, Anderson has a 1-3 record, a 6.75 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.  Jay Bruce is 1-for-18 (.067 avg) in his career against Anderson....

For early access to material such as this and exclusive access to other content like player interviews, consider supporting my work with subscribing on Patreon.com/PhoulBallz . With several Phillies pitching prospects making their big league debuts recently and the performance of most of the big league 'pen pieces not impressing many, fans are likely to be wondering, "Who's next?" Some talented young hurlers have earned promotions to join the major league roster thus far in the shortened season.  Names like Ramon Rosso , Connor Brogdon , Spencer Howard and JoJo Romero have gotten the call.   Rosso, who tallied a 2.80 ERA and a 10.1 K/9 mark in 62 career minor league outings, primarily as a starter, has been underwhelming for the Phils, but shows potential of figuring things out.  In four relief appearances, the 24-year-old has allowed three earned runs with four strike outs and three walks over 4 2/3 innings. Brogdon, 25, made his major league debut last week, al...

It's still early in the season, right?   With another opponent on the horizon, the Phillies will attempt to show that they aren't as bad as their 5-9 record would indicate.  Based on winning percentage, there's only one team (Pittsburgh) in the National League that has a worse record than the Phils. The Mets (9-11) come to town and will open a three-game series beginning on Friday at Citizens Bank Park.  Friday, 7:05pm.  Jacob deGrom (2-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. Spencer Howard (0-1, 7.71 ERA).  In 15 career starts against the Phillies the right-handed deGrom has a 7-1 record with a 2.23 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  In seven starts at CBP deGrom has a 3-0 record with two complete games.  Bryce Harper is 10-for-34 (.294 average) with two home runs in his career when facing deGrom.  The righty Howard, the Phillies' top ranked prospect headed into each of the past two seasons, made his big league debut last weekend, giving up four earned runs in 4 2/3 innin...

As was announced last week , Major League Baseball is set to return from hiatus in July with each team permitted to designate a player pool of up to 60 individuals that can play in games. Via Twitter on Sunday night, the Phillies announced their collection of talent that will be able to take the field in red pinstripes this year. Ready for Summer Camp. #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/om4nTEFocY — Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 29, 2020 Included on the Phils' list of player that will be in the big leagues or on the club's taxi squad, are the top two prospects in the organization, righty hurler Spencer Howard and corner infielder Alec Bohm . Spencer Howard, image- Jay Floyd Howard, who is known for his fastball that reaches triple digits pitched last year in the Arizona Fall League, where he faced many of baseball's top minor league talents. In six appearances for Scottsdale, the 23-year-old notched a 1-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Ad...

Greg Giombarrese, image via Greg's Twitter profile Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content.  Thank you. Greg Giombarrese has been one of my favorite people in baseball for roughly a decade.  Currently the Director of Communications for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, he's the long-time radio voice of the club as well.  Sharp and rousing, Greg is always a standout among professional baseball play by play talents. Recently, Giombarrese was kind enough to answer several questions about his career, how he got his start in broadcasting, horse racing and more.  Read ahead for this wonderful interview. - Do you recall your earliest memories of broadcasting and what appealed to you most? I never really did much before I got to college, except for the occasional calling of plays in my h...

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 exclusive interviews as well as other content you won't be able to enjoy anywhere else.  I could use, and I would value, your backing. Spencer Howard, image- Jay Floyd Right-handed pitcher Spencer Howard is this outlet’s choice as the Phillies’ top overall prospect. Howard was the team’s second round draft selection in 2017 (45th overall) out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and has proven to be an exceptional hurler in his time in the minor leagues. In college, in his draft year/sophomore season, Howard sported an 8-1 record with a 1.95 ERA and a 10 K/9 mark over 17 appearances (12 starts) for the Mustangs. As a red shirt freshman the previous year, he posted a 2.95 ERA in 21 appearances (two starts). After signing his first professional contract, Howard debuted with Class A short-season Williamsport, where he ...

Over the off-season, sometimes this site can go stretches of several days without a post or an update, but if you're looking for constant news, stats and insight on what is taking place with Phillies developmental talents throughout the autumn and winter months, follow me on Twitter or simply bookmark my Twitter profile page ( https://twitter.com/PhoulBallz ) to get daily alerts and details. In the Dominican Winter League thus far, catcher Deivy Grullon and shortstop Malquin Canelo have each posted a .143 batting average in four games for their respective teams. In the Arizona Fall League, where Phils prospects are playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions, corner infielder Alec Bohm is sporting a .361 batting average with a pair of homers, nine RBI and five walks in 19 contests. Righty pitcher Spencer Howard has notched a 1-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and an 11.4 K/9 mark in six starts. In eight appearances left-hander JoJo Romero has posted a 1-0 record, a 0.84 ERA and ...

A couple of weeks into action, here's a rundown of how Phillies players are performing in the Arizona Fall League. Each Phillies prospect plays for the Scottsdale Scorpions. The team has a 6-6 record through 12 games this year.   Alec Bohm, image- Jay Floyd Third baseman Alec Bohm in eight games sports a .387 batting average with two doubles and five RBI.  The righty hitting Bohm was the Phillies' first round draft selection in 2018. In four games, Josh Stephen has tallied a .455 average with a triple and one RBI.  The 22-year-old lefty batter was an 11th round draft selection in 2016 by the Phils. Center fielder Mickey Moniak has notched a .161 batting average with a double, a triple, four RBI and a stolen base in seven contests with Scottsdale.  The 21-year-old lefty hitter was the first overall selection in the 2016 draft. In three games, infielder Nick Maton is batting .333 with a double a home run and a pair of RBI.  The lefty batting ...

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...

Alec Bohm, image- Jay Floyd Mike Drago, who covers the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils for the Reading Eagle, is back with his annual prospect survey. Each August, Mike surveys a collection of writers, broadcasters and media types that cover the Phillies minor league levels closely to collect each person's list of ranked Phillies prospects. Using a point system, awarding points based on rank, he will tally out a complete list of all the organization's best developmental talents. Per Mike, third baseman/first baseman Alec Bohm was listed as the top prospect on two-thirds of the submissions. Here is a sample of the list, the top 10, right from the Reading Eagle piece. 1. Alec Bohm: Batted .367 at Lakewood. Scored a .395 on-base percentage at Clearwater. Slugged .500 at Reading. Pretty good for his first full season as a pro. Charlie Manuel gives him high marks for his approach as a hitter and thinks he could hit 40 bombs in the big leagues some day. What's not...

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'...

Mickey Moniak, image- Jay Floyd Arizona Fall League rosters were announced this week and the Scottsdale roster is slated to feature some of the Phillies' most exciting prospects. Set to represent the Phils in the prestigious off-season league that is operated by Major League Baseball are outfielder Mickey Moniak , right-handed pitchers Spencer Howard and Connor Seabold , corner infielder Alec Bohm , shortstop Nick Maton along with left-handed hurler JoJo Romero . A previously unannounced representative from the Phillies organization that is set to see action with the Scorpions is lefty reliever Zach Warren . Howard, who was ranked by this outlet as the Phils' top prospect headed into this season, has reached Double A Reading and will likely start game one of the Eastern League divisional playoffs this coming Wednesday.  He missed time earlier this season with a shoulder strain.  In 13 combined regular season starts with Class A Advanced Clearwater and Read...

This week I made my long awaited (by me only, I'd bet) to the Hittin' Season Podcast hosted by John Stolnis . The show's home is over on TheGoodPhight.com, of course, and I've contributed to the show plenty of times, appearing as a guest and contributing exclusive interviews to the program. The latest episode features John recapping the Phillies' series against the Tigers and a preview of the series to come against the division rival Braves. He also talks about what to expect as the MLB trading deadline approaches. Then I join John to discuss several promising Phils prospects such as Alec Bohm , Mickey Moniak , Bryson Stot t , Spencer Howard , Adonis Medina , Francisco Morales and others. Check out the embedded media player below to stream or download the episode and, if you like what you hear, subscribe to the show!