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Lefty pitcher  Cristopher Sanchez  looks to be a possible contributor for the Phillies big league team in the near future. The Phils sent infielder Curtis Mead to the Rays in a November 2019 trade in exchange for the promising Dominican Republic native. Signed for a reported $65,000 by Tampa Bay in 2013 at age of 16, Sanchez would go on to make his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League the following year.  In 13 appearances that season, he notched a 7.77 ERA.  The Rays would have him repeat the league twice.  In 41 total appearances there, Sanchez tallied an 8-7 record with a 4.15 ERA, 6.1 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9.  In 2017 Sanchez split time between starting and relieving in the Rookie level Appalachian League.  With Princeton, he posted some dismal numbers, with a 1-6 record with a 10.01 ERA and a .353 batting average against. In 2018, he opened the year back in extended spring training and went the short-season route with Princeton once more....

Vierling w/ Lakewood in 2018, image- Jay Floyd Phillies outfield prospect Matt Vierling enjoyed some success during the Phillies' abbreviated Grapefruit League campaign this spring.  In seven games, the 23-year-old went 3-for-7 with a pair of RBI and three walks.  The righty batter spent the entirety of last season as a member of the Class A Advanced Clearwater.  Overall in his brief pro career to date, Vierling, who was the Phils' 5th round draft selection in 2018 out of Notre Dame, has tallied a .263 average with 12 home runs, 72 RBI and 29 stolen bases.   Recently, I talked with Vierling about his experience with the big club this spring, the halt to the baseball schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic, being at home with his brother Mark, a collegiate second baseman for the University of Missouri and more.  This interview is available exclusively for Patreon subscribers.  Please consider supporting my work by visiting Patreon.com/Pho...

Addison Russ, image- Jay Floyd Righty hurler Addison Russ looked great for the Phillies in this year's spring exhibition season.  Due to the pro sports hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, his efforts were cut short, however. In six relief appearances this spring the 25-year-old notched a 1-0 record, a 1.59 ERA and a .263 batting average against. Last year in 55 appearances with Double-A Reading, Russ, who was the Phillies' 19th round draft selection out of Houston Baptist in 2017, posted a 5-6 record with 22 saves, a 2.54 ERA and a 12.9 K/9 mark.  Anxious for baseball to get rolling again, Russ talked with me this week, offering feedback on his time around the big league team this spring, his production in Grapefruit League play, his uniform number, how the break in the schedule impacts his progress and more. Read ahead for remarks and insight from Russ. - What did you do over the off-season to prepare for the 2020 campaign? And did the invitation to b...

Jeff Singer, image- Jay Floyd Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and early access to all of my content. Local Philly guy Jeff Singer is back in his home region due to the coronavirus outbreak and the delay it has caused to the 2020 season.  Prior to the pre-season being halted, the 26-year-old got some time on the bump with the big league team in spring training. In Grapefruit League player, the lefty pitcher notched two scoreless appearances for the Phillies this spring. Last season in 42 relief outings with Double-A Reading Singer, who was signed as a free agent in 2015, posted a 7-0 record with three saves, a 2.34 ERA, a 10.8 K/9 mark and a .180 batting average against. Last week, I talked with Singer, who shared his thoughts on his time around the Phillies this spring, his current training situation, the baseball hiatus and more.  Read ahead for that full interview...

Minor League Baseball followed suit with Major League baseball, delaying the start of the 2020 season due to the risk off illness related to the coronavirus. Per a release from MiLB: “In light of the current coronavirus outbreak, and after consultation with medical professionals and our partners at Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball will delay the start of the 2020 Championship Season. We will continue to monitor the developments and will announce additional information about the 2020 season at a later date. We will work with Major League Baseball and our community partners to resume play as soon as it is safe to do so. The health and safety of Minor League Baseball fans, players and executives is our top priority, and our thoughts are with those around the world who have been affected by this outbreak.” It's unclear why Minor League Baseball would refer to the season as "the 2020 Championship Season". In a press release, the Phillies' Do...

Nick Maton, 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. Drafted in the 7th round out of Lincoln Land Community College in 2017, shortstop Nick Maton has proven to be among the Phillies most promising prospects. The Illinois native was previously drafted out of high school as well, but chose not to sign.  After signing with the Phillies, he got his pro career underway with the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters in 2017.  In 58 games there, Maton sported a .252 batting average with nine doubles, a triple, two homers, 13 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He followed that up with a full-season Class A campaign in 2018.  That year he was honored as a South Atlantic League All-Star with Lakewood, where he notched a .256 average with eight home runs, 51 RBI and five ste...

Darick Hall, 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. Building on a breakout initial full season that saw him honored as the Class A South Atlantic League's Most Valuable Player, first baseman Darick Hall continued to prove himself worthy of regard as one of the Phillies' most promising young power hitters. A 14th round draft selection in 2016, the Dallas Baptist product made his professional debut with the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters that same year. In 57 games there, Hall tallied a .282 batting average with nine home runs and 29 RBI.  His .890 OPS led the New York-Penn League. Hall, a left-handed hitter, moved up to full-season Class A in 2017 and with Lakewood, sporting a .272 average with 28 doubles, a triple, 27 home runs (team recor...

As another baseball season draws near, it's time for the frequency of content to pick back up.  My latest post for Patreon supporters features details on next week's prospect symposium in Philadelphia, early arrivals for spring training in Clearwater, some updates on MLB's Rookie Orientation happening this week and more!  These are details I won't publish elsewhere. Please consider supporting my work by becoming a patron via my Patreon page in order to enjoy exclusive news and updates as well as interviews, plus get early access to virtually all of my other content. 

Aaron Brown, image- Jay Floyd Aaron Brown was a two-way player at Pepperdine, standing out both as an outfielder as well as a pitcher.  The Phillies' 3rd round draft selection in 2014 was slated to play exclusively on the offensive side after signing that year.  But, after reaching the Double-A level as an offensive player and seeing his batting average come in under .225, he was switched back to the pitching role in 2017. Combined at Class A Advanced Clearwater and Double-A Reading last year, Brown posted a 3-6 record with a 4.90 ERA, a .271 batting average against along with an 8.8 K/9 mark in 46 total appearances. Entering his second full season as a professional pitcher, the 26-year-old will open the 2019 campaign back with Reading, where he ended last season.  Brown appeared in four games this spring with the major league Phillies, surrendering one earned run on two hits while striking out three and walking none in 2 2/3 innings of work. This wee...

Ben Brown, image- MiLB.com Right-handed pitcher Ben Brown , the Phillies' 33rd round draft selection in 2017, made a splash last year in the Rookie level Gulf Coast League, putting together a 4-2 record, a 3.12 ERA and an 11.4 K/9 mark in 10 appearances (eight starts).  Additionally, he earned a promotion to short-season Class A Williamsport and made two starts there before the end of the regular season. This week I spoke with the six-foot-six 210 pounder about his spring efforts, where he could possibly pitch this year, his relationships with other Phils prospects including last year first round pick Alec Bohm and plenty more.  Read ahead for a sampling of my chat with Ben and head on over to Patreon.com/PhoulBallz for the complete interview. -We're talking here while the Phillies' opening day game is going on and a lot of what I am hearing from people I know that are there and people online is saying that the atmosphere is exciting and different.  Once the...

This weekend, the Phillies announced news of eight players that will be included in big league camp during this year's upcoming Spring Training workouts.  The list includes mostly familiar names including the top overall pick from the 2016 MLB draft. Left-handed pitchers Tyler Gilbert , JoJo Romero and Cole Irvin will join the team from the start as will outfielder Austin Listi , the organization's offensive Paul Owens Award winner from last season.  Backstop Deivi Grullon , infielder Malquin Canelo as well as outfielders Adam Haseley and Mickey Moniak are also set to take part in sessions with the big league team. Romero and Irvin, both starters, are steadily ranked among the Phillies top pitching prospects.  Gilbert, a reliever, has flown under the radar a bit, but took advantage of his 2018 campaign and made a name for himself.  The Southern California product sported a combined 7-2 record with five saves a 3.25 ERA and a .211 batting average ag...

Zach Coppola, image- Jay Floyd In an occasional role with the big league Phillies this spring outfield prospect Zach Coppola impressed many.  In 10 games, the 23-year-old lefty batted posted a .273 average with two RBI and three stolen bases. A 13th round draft selection by the Phils in 2015, Coppola has been a steady moved in the team's developmental ranks over the last couple of season. Coppola, a .290 career hitter in the minors, could be a valuable contributor in years to come for the Phillies. Last week, prior to opening the season with Double-A Reading, I talked with Zach about his time around the big club this pre-season.  Read ahead for that full interview. -How would you describe your time around the major league team in spring training? It was really fun just getting to know those guys, being around them, just seeing how they go about their business. It was cool especially with the new culture going on up there. It was an exciting time. -With that ...

Cam Perkins, image- Jay Floyd Outfielder Cam Perkins is having another remarkable season for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.  Fresh off an All-Star campaign in the International League last year in which he posted a .292/.329/.419 slash line, the 26-year-old Purdue product is proving to be consistent, as he is batting .303 with seven doubles, a triple, three HR and nine RBI in 23 games. Perkins, a 6th round draft pick of the Phillies in 2012, spent the off-season playing baseball in the Dominican Republic.  This year in big league spring training, the six-foot-five 195-pound right batter tallied a .355 batting average with three doubles, two homers and six RBI in 14 games. Last month I talked to Cam about winter ball, his spring training experience, his current IronPigs team and more.  Read ahead for that interview. -You enjoyed a very successful spring campaign, which may have been a surprise to some, but probably was not a surprise to you.  What ...

Hoby Milner, image- Jay Floyd As a Rule 5 draft pick , lefty reliever Hoby Milner got plenty of exposure in big league spring training this year, but an imperfect exhibition campaign along with limited room on the Indians' roster resulted in the 26-year-old coming back to the team that drafted him (7th round, 2012). With Cleveland in the Cactus League, Milner allowed seven earned runs in seven innings over seven appearances while striking out nine and walking three.  After the Indians decided they could not keep Milner around, he rejoined the Phillies, where he was assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to open the regular season.  Earlier this month, I spoke with Milner, who spoke on his experience with Cleveland and coming back to the Phils.  Read ahead for that interview. -What can you share about your whirlwind off-season and spring after being selected in the Rule 5 draft, going to the Indians and then coming back to the Phillies? I thought it was a great e...

Nick Williams, image- Jay Floyd Included among the collection of prospects the Phillies obtained in the 2015 trade that sent Cole Hamels to Texas, slugging outfielder Nick Williams is as promising as any of the very talented young players the team has in their developmental ranks. A second round pick of the Rangers out of Ball High School (TX) in 2012, Williams quickly signed and debuted as a pro. In the rookie level Arizona League, he posted a .313 batting average with a pair of home runs and 27 RBI while swiping 15 bases in 48 games. The following year Williams played with Class A Hickory in the Sally League. In 95 games, he tallied a .293 average with 17 homers, 60 RBI and eight steals. In 2014 Williams would open the season with Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach, where he notched a .292 batting average with 13 home runs and 68 RBI in 94 games. That production earned him a promotion to the Double-A level to wrap up that season in August, where he posted a .226/.2...

OF Nick Williams, image- Jay Floyd With the Grapefruit League season wrapping up, the Phillies are bringing their preseason schedule north this week. Upcoming games will feature a pair of intrasquad contests with the big league roster taking on their organization's top prospects. The brand new concept falls in line with the celebration of Double-A Reading's 50th season of affiliation with the Phillies. The debut game in the series will take place at Reading's FirstEnergy Stadium on Thursday, March 31st at 6:05 PM with another game between the two teams taking place on Saturday, April 2nd at 1:05 PM. The roster set to be made up of the most promising rising minor leaguers includes eight of the top nine Phillies prospects, as ranked by Phillies Nation this year. Futures Team roster: C- Jorge Alfaro , Andrew Knapp 1B- Tommy Joseph , Brock Stassi , Rhys Hoskins 2B- Scott Kingery , Jesmuel Valentin , Angelo Mora SS- J.P. Crawford , Malquin Canelo 3B- Mitch Wa...

Aaron Nola, image- Jay Floyd On Easter Sunday, Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola took time out of his busy spring schedule to chat with PN's Jay Floyd. In four Grapefruit League starts, Nola has a 1-1 record with a 5.28 ERA with 12 strike outs and four walks in 15 1/3 innings. He also tossed 5 1/3 solid innings in a minor league game on Saturday, allowing five hits while striking out seven and walking two. In this interview, Nola talked abouthow he has progressed through spring training, falling in line to start the team's home opener on Monday, April 11th, how he celebrated the holiday and plenty more. -Happy Easter! Were you or the team able to do anything special for Easter? I just went to eat, but I mean, I guess a couple guys on the team will do something special, but I have family in town, so we just went out to eat by the beach. -That's great. I know your family came up to Philadelphia to see you debut last year and they follow you as closely as ...

Franco, image- Jay Floyd In a contest that ended in a 6-6 tie on Thursday, third baseman Maikel Franco continued his hot spring for the Phillies with a pair of home runs and four RBI against the Tigers in Clearwater. Franco got the scoring started in the bottom of the 1st inning when he launched a two-run blast off of starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann . With Zimmermann still on the mound in the 4th, the 23-year-old did more damage with another two-run big fly. A 2-for-2 day put Franco's pre-season batting average at .350 through eight games while the two dingers gives him four in the young exhibition season. Starting pitcher Aaron Nola wasn't very sharp as he gave up two earned runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings of work. He notched four strike outs and issued one walk. Ernesto Frieri pitched the 9th inning for the Phillies, but blew a 5-4 lead, surrendering two earned runs in his lone inning of work.

Thanks to the always-highly-touted-by-PhoulBallz baseball blogger Baseball Betsy , this weekend we got a firm look at the Phillies' workout groups at the start of minor league camp. The group listings will change throughout spring as certain players move down from big league camp and others are simply released. Noteworthy among the initial groupings are outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz with the 4th group as well as the returns of outfielder Samuel Hiciano and infielder Carlos Alonso . Ortiz, a Dominican native, was a big international signing last year.  The Phils invested $4 million in the powerful teenage outfielder last summer.  He was ranked among the top international free agents by MLB.com in 2015. Hiciano, a 22-year-old Dominican, missed the entire 2015 campaign after injuring his ankle with three days left in spring training last year.  He has posted a .262/.327/.428 slash line in three seasons at three levels.  Alonso underwent season-ending left kn...

On Friday in Clearwater, the Phillies blew a sizable lead, walking six batters in the 8th and 9th innings combined, but did not quit and held on to lock down a shocking win over the Braves by a score of 12-11. Early on, third baseman Maikel Franco was the top offensive performer for the Phils, as he went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI. The strong effort takes Franco's spring average to .364. Expect to see a lot of this from @MaikelFranco7 this season: https://t.co/A4CunZ2MWv #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/OAIpSyQt4O — MLB (@MLB) March 4, 2016 Flame thrower Luis Garcia struggled, as he was charged with four earned runs on five hits and two walks in one inning pitched. Hector Neris loaded the bases in the ninth and walked in a run before the team called on youngster Edubray Ramos to close out the game, clinging to a 9-8 lead. Ramos would walk home the tying run and then a Darnell Sweeney throwing error, his second miscue of the day, allowed two more runs to score, ...