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Micucci (right) with Luis Garcia in August, image- Jay Floyd Early on Monday, I tweeted a bit of a teaser about Phillies minor league staffing moves I had learned about from a pair of sources.  Unclear when the personnel had learned of their fates, I did not want to report the news until all parties had time to address the news in their own ways. As has been reported by at least another outlet to this point, I am able to confirm that 2019 Class A Lakewood manager Mike Micucci will not be returning to the organization.  Additionally, base running and bunting coordinator Rob Ducey , Gulf Coast League coach Charlie Hayes and Triple-A pitching coach Steve Schrenk are also done in the Phils system. Micucci was a north Jersey native in his youth and had been hired by the organization less than a year ago.  He worked with Phillies general manager Matt Klentak in Anaheim, which makes his termination even more surprising. Players that saw action for the BlueClaws thi...

Recently I chatted with Lehigh Valley pitching coach about his staff.  Topics included in the discussion were Ramon Rosso , Enyel De Los Santos , Cole Irvin , JoJo Romero , Josh Tols , as well as catcher Deivy Grullon and more. Read ahead for that interview... Deivy Grullon, image- Jay Floyd -Catcher Deivi Grullon is having a very good season, continuing his development.  How has Deivi been for you this year? Great. Had him for the last four years. I’ve had him for the past four years. Every year he gets better. He’s gotten better calling games. He’s gotten better working with the staff. He’s getting to know these guys. He knows a lot of them. And he’s been hitting, ripping the cover off the ball. He made the All-Star team, so—tremendous job blocking. Does a good job, I mean, some of the stuff, the new analytical stuff, he’s learning, as far as the heat maps and different things, but he’s doing a good job with them. -JoJo Romero has a rough go o...

J.D. Hammer, 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 An expressionless stare from the seated reliever began to wear a hole in the floor following J.D. Hammer ’s most recent outing for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Teammates did not speak to him. It was processing time. It was how he will improve. Hammer, one of the Phillies’ prospects that has taken the most strides this season, is back in the Triple-A International League after a recent trade to acquire pitcher Mike Morin left Hammer without a spot on the big league roster. In nearly two months with the Phils, Hammer appeared in 20 games. He posted a 1-0 record with a 3.79 ERA, a .217 batting average against while striking out 13 and walking 12 in 19 innings. The strike out rate and walk rate aren’t gleaming and will need to improve if Hammer is t...

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.  After reaching the Double-A level and seeing his batting average come in under .225, he was switched back to the pitching role last year. During the final week of the 2018 season, I talked with the 26-year-old left-hander about the transition and his first full year pitching in the professional ranks. Read ahead for my exclusive interview with Aaron. -It’s been more than a year since your transition from outfielder to pitcher took place. Talk about the past year with the move that you made. Honestly, it was a big opportunity for me to make that transition at the time and I just took full advantage of it. It was towards the end of the year last year. I started my pitching program June 2nd, I believe,...

Steve Schrenk, image- Jay Floyd Last week I talked with pitching coach Steve Schrenk about his staff with the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils.  The covered mostly all of the team's hurlers including JoJo Romero, Ranger Suarez, Elniery Garcia, Edgar Garcia, Luke Leftwich plus plenty more. Read ahead for my complete interview with "Schrenky". -Related to JoJo Romero (0-4 record, 6.68 ERA), seems like he's not producing the way perhaps he was expected to, thus far. Yeah, he’s not—I don’t think he’s satisfied with what he’s doing right now.  It’s been just a couple innings here and there for the most part.  It’s been a couple pitches, a couple innings.  I think for the most part he’s been throwing the ball okay.  He needs to be a little more consistent with the strike zone and using his off-speed pitches for strikes.  But, he’s done a good job.  It’s like I said, a couple innings here, a couple big hits.  I think he’ll be right out of...

Luke Leftwich, image- Jay Floyd Right-handed reliever Luke Leftwich had a big season out of the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers bullpen last year and has opened the 2018 season with the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils, hoping to have another remarkable campaign. In his first full season out of the bullpen last year, the Wofford College product posted a 1-6 record, an outstanding 2.70 ERA, a .232 batting average against and an impressive 11.02 K/9 mark in 42 appearances. To date this year, Leftwich was appeared in three games, notching one save, striking out six and walking one in four hitless innings. The 23-year-old, who was the Phillies' 7th round draft pick in 2015, is striving to become Major League Baseball's second third-generation pitcher . Recently, I talked with the California native, about his experience in spring training, moving up to the Double-A level, exposure to the Phillies' new focus on analytics and more.  Read ahead for that full intervi...

Steve Schrenk, image- Jay Floyd This week, I sat down with Double-A Reading pitching coach Steve Schrenk, who spoke about his team pitching staff, including Shane Watson, All-Star Drew Anderson, Victor Arano, Austin Davis and Cole Irvin, who is already enjoying success in the Eastern League one year after making his professional debut. This marks the third interview this week with Phillies' organization developmental pitching coaches.  My interview with Triple-A Lehigh Valley coach Dave Lundquist can be found at this link , while my interview with Class A Lakewood coach Brian Sweeney can be viewed at this link . Read ahead for that latest full interview with "Schrenky"... -I want to ask you about several guys.  First guy that pops in my mind is Shane Watson, who went through a transition, moving from the starting rotation to a relief role.  He's been successful there, outside of one outing maybe.  Can you talk about that switch for him? It's been gr...

Tyler Viza, image- Jay Floyd TRENTON- Tyler Viza wasn't pleased with his initial frame as he kicked off the second half of the season for the team with the best record in baseball. Shaking off a two-run home run with just one out in the contest, he would shut down 23 consecutive opposing batters to help the Reading Fightin Phils notch a 4-2 win over the Trenton Thunder. Following a lead-off single to Tyler Wade in the 1st inning and a Dustin Fowler line out, third baseman Miguel Andujar launched a change up that was left up in the strike zone deep out to left field, giving Trenton a two-run lead. For the next 7 2/3 innings, no other member of the Thunder lineup would reach base against Viza. The next 23 Trenton batters were retired in order. The 21-year-old Viza would go eight innings, recording seven strike outs with no walks. He threw 66 of his 93 pitches for strikes. "He was mixing his pitches well," pitching coach Steve Schrenk stated. "I th...

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...

The second season of the revamped Australian Baseball League gets under way this weekend. Over the years, the ABL had previous incarnations that failed. The current version debuted in 2010 as a new entity that is jointly owned by Major League Baseball (75%) and the Australian Baseball Federation (25%). The league features many American players and coaches, plenty of which are employed by MLB affiliated clubs in the United States. The league down under consists of six teams and has the potential to grow in the coming years, provided the fan attention progresses with it. According to former Phillies minor league hurler Mike McGuire , who will pitch for the Canberra Cavalry, he's enjoying the exposure to a different culture and the popularity of the sport is growing greater. "The experience has been great so far," McGuire said. "I'm staying with a great family and the people and Aussie players are so helpful, making sure (American players) are comfortable her...

With better known names like Jesse Biddle, Garett Claypool and David Buchanan getting most of the recognition on the Class A Lakewood pitching staff, Lisalberto Bonilla has been staying off the radar, despite soaring high for much of the season. Despite being a guy that many have yet to hear of, the 21-year-old righty hurler continues to develop and mow down South Atlantic League hitters. Since his promotion to the BlueClaws from extended spring training on May 3rd, Bonilla has posted a 2-3 record with 4 saves, a 2.06 ERA and a .205 batting average against while striking out 73 batters in 70 innings pitched. After beginning his time with Lakewood in the bullpen, Bonilla joined the starting rotation in mid-June. By his fifth start, Bonilla was officially a prospect to watch. In his July 6th outing against the Hagerstown Suns, Bonilla threw 9 scoreless innings, while striking out 12 and allowing no walks. Not only did the effort impress the fans in attendance and those listening to t...

Lakewood starting pitcher David Buchanan is off to a tremendous start in the 2011 season. Through 9 starts, the right-hander has prevailed as the premiere hurler on the Phillies Class A BlueClaws staff. Buchanan, a 7th round draft pick of the Phillies in last year's amateur draft, has used his fastball, his slider and his sinker to dominate South Atlantic League batters. Following his victory against the West Virginia Power on Sunday, Buchanan leads the league in ERA (2.21) and innings pitched (57) and is tied for the league lead in wins (6). Earlier this month, Buchanan threw a complete game and got the win against the Yankees affiliate Charleston RiverDogs. It was the BlueClaws' first 9 inning complete game since 2007, when Carlos Monasterios achieved the feat. The 6-foot-3-inch, 190-pound Buchanan is humble and credits the team and coaches behind him for helping him achieve early success in his first full season of professional baseball. "I've got great guys behind ...

Keeping the rust off during the off-season is a struggle for some players. Phillies infield prospect Alan Schoenberger didn't have that problem. The switch-hitting Schoenberger spent his North American off-season in the Summer heat, down under, playing in the inaugural season of the new Australian Baseball League. Schoenberger, who is 22 years old, returned home to his native Queensland to take part in the Australian Baseball League as a member of the Brisbane Bandits. The ABL had previous incarnations that failed. The current version debuted in 2010 as a new entity that is jointly owned by Major League Baseball (75%) and the Australian Baseball Federation (25%). Australian players all learned of the reinvention of the ABL back in June, while many were playing for their Major League affiliated clubs in the United States. Schoenberger and others were all very excited to learn about professional baseball in this capacity returning to their homeland. It gave them all something to loo...

Plenty of noteworthy happenings are going on all around the Phillies organization. The Phillies are the leaders for the National League wild card after defeating the Giants in the first two games of their series in Philadelphia. Something I've pondered regarding this...should the Phillies enter the playoffs for the first time in team history as the league's wild card entrant and advance no further, would they fly a flag to honor it like they do for their other post-season achievements and, if so, what color would it be? The Phillies currently fly red flags for World Championships, blue flags for League Pennants and white flags for division titles. Expect "Bet your sweet ass" to be this season's quote of the year, a la " Get me to the plate, boys !" If you missed Jayson Werth's remarks about what Charlie Manuel had to say recently about Jimmy Rollins' ability to hit, check out the media player below. Ryan Howard (sprained ankle) is targeting a Mon...