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For the third straight season, the Triple-A affiliate of the Phillies, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, came out on the losing end to the Yankees affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders. Following a dramatic walk-off win on Friday night in which catcher Nick Rickles got the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 13th inning to force a game 4 in the best-of-five series, the IronPigs were just one out away from pushing the series to the maximum. Closer Pedro Beato was on the mound facing Railriders center fielder Shane Robinson.  Former Phillies prospect Quintin Berry pinch ran at second base.  With Berry in motion, Robinson stroked Beato's pitch up the middle.  Pigs' shortstop Dean Anna fielded the ball, threw to first base too late to make the out.  An aggressive Berry made the most of the moment, darting toward home and scoring to tie the game at 2 runs apiece. The IronPigs failed to mount any offense in the bottom of the 9th. Moving into extra innings f...

Last week I spoke with Triple-A Lehigh Valley pitching coach Dave Lundquist.  Among the topics of discussion were promising pitching prospects Enyel De Los Santos, Cole Irvin, Brandon Leibrandy, Drew Anderson, Tyler Gilbert and plenty others. Lundquist pitched in the major leagues with the White Sox and the Padres prior to joining the coaching ranks.  He has been with the Phillies developmental staff since 2008. Read ahead for the full interview... -You've got a couple International League All-Stars on your pitching staff.  Can you comment on those guys and the honor? Yeah, we got De Los Santos, who's been selected to be the starter for that game.  You know, that's a huge honor.  It goes back to his work ethic and what he's done, what he's accomplished all year.  The guy's had, you know, a tremendous first half.  Let him go enjoy that game and pick up the second half where he left off.   Cole Irvin, image- Jay Floyd With Irvin...

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...

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...

On Friday, Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan took time to chat with Phillies Nation's Jay Floyd about an array of topics out of minor league camp. Jordan, who is entering his fifth season in his role, spoke about recently reassigned prospects, top names and what to expect from them, some injuries and much more. Read ahead for the full interview. Carlos Tocci, image- Jay Floyd -I noticed that Carlos Tocci is playing with group 2, the team that will become the Double-A Fightins. It's common for players to play up a level during spring. Is there anyone that might take a notable jump to open the regular season ?   Well, I mean it's too early to read anything too much into the work groups. I mean, normally, you know, this spring training's no different than any other. You've got guys playing up a level. As we start getting guys back from big league camp you have guys start getting pushed. Really it won't be till that last week till y...

Tom Windle, image- Jay Floyd Left-handed pitcher Tom Windle joined a new organization and was among a group of well-touted pitching prospects on the Double-A Reading Fightins pitching staff last year. Part of the return from the Dodgers in the swap for Phillies all-time hits leader Jimmy Rollins , along with right-handed pitcher Zach Eflin , Windle is a promising hurler with tools that scouts have long been high on. A 2nd round pick in 2013 (56th overall), the Minnesota native  debuted in the minors the same year with Class A Great Lakes. In 13 games (12 starts), Windle posted a 5-1 record with a 2.68 ERA while striking out 51 and walking 20 in 53 2/3 innings. His excellent initial pro effort followed a strong junior campaign at the University of Minnesota that year which saw the youngster sport a 6-4 record, a 2.14 ERA with a .208 batting average against and 86 strike outs in 92 2/3 innings in 14 games. With Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamongo in 2014, the six-foo...

Tom Windle, image- Jay Floyd Left-handed pitcher Tom Windle was a key acquisition last off-season for the Phillies. Part of the return from Los Angeles for Jimmy Rollins , the six-foot-four 215-pounder came into the season as a promising starter, but after some concerning results through half of the season, he was moved to the bullpen, where he has shined brightly. Through 14 starts this season with the Double-A Reading Fightins, the 23-year-old sported a 2-5 record along with a 5.35 ERA, a .297 batting average against and a 5.48 K/9 mark. In 12 relief appearances, Windle has tallied a 2-0 record with a 1.59 ERA, a .194 batting and a 7.41 K/9 mark. Recently, I spoke Windle, who was drafted in the 2nd round out of Minnesota in 2013, about his adjustment to the new role, coming over in the big trade last off-season and much more. Read ahead for the full interview. -When I saw you last you were still in the rotation and since then, you've has a lot of success as a reliever....

It's your weekly rundown of top performers from the Phillies' developmental ranks with some not-so-good performers mixed in as well. Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs (9-23 record, last in International League North Division- worst record in the league)... Hot: Maikel Franco, image- Jay Floyd 3B Maikel Franco has continued to shine on offense, as the 22-year-old has gone 12-for-25 (.480 avg) with three homers and eight RBI in his last six games. Overall, the Dominican native has notched a .341 average with four home runs and 18 RBI in 30 games this season. RHP Phillippe Aumont sports a 1-1 record and a 1.93 ERA in three starts since joining the Pigs' rotation. In seven appearances this year, the 26-year-old has a 1.73 ERA and a .188 batting average against. Cold: Catcher Tommy Joseph is 2-for-32 (.063 avg) in his last 10 games. Overall, in 20 games this season, the 23-year-old sports a .123 average with four doubles and six RBI. Double-A Reading Fightins ...

Dusty Wathan, image- Jay Floyd This week I spent some time chatting with Double-A Reading Fightins skipper Dusty Wathan . The club is well touted this year with a collection of excellent pitching prospects along with some solid producers on offense. In the interview excerpts below, Wathan shares some thoughts on Cam Perkin's dip in production this year, if the Fightin Five rotation makes his job easier and if the offense coming from his bench presents any difficulty in his role. Read ahead for this exclusive interview from the farm. -Off the top, I've got a two part question. Do you feel in any way that the solid production from some of your guys that haven't played every day, like Art Charles and Harold Martinez , makes your job more difficult? On the other side, does the starting rotation, which includes last year's top draft pick Aaron Nola along with Jesse Biddle , Zach Eflin , Tom Windle and Eastern League Pitcher of the Week Ben Lively , make your spot ...

The minor league regular season gets under way on Thursday with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs hosting the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Double-A Reading Fightins hitting the road to take on the Portland SeaDogs. This week, I spoke with IronPigs pitching coach Ray Burris as well as Fightins pitching coach Dave Lundquist, who each commented on several of their respective teams' hurlers. Read ahead for these exclusive quotes about the Phillies' top pitching prospects at the upper levels of the developmental ranks. Burris, image- Jay Floyd Ray Burris- -On LHP Adam Morgan , who missed the entire 2014 season following surgery to repair his throwing shoulder, and his potential to live up to being an early round draft pick... I'm confident (that he can). I think he feels that way now, because he understands and knows how his delivery is supposed to work. When you have that knowledge inside of you and when you throw the ball incorrectly, you know that didn't f...

Tom Windle, image- MiLB.com Acquired by the Phillies this off-season, left-handed pitcher Tom Windle joined a new organization and quickly jumped into their top ranked prospects. Part of the return from the Dodgers in the swap for Phillies all-time hits leader Jimmy Rollins , along with right-hander Zach Eflin , Windle is a promising hurler with tools that scouts have long been high on. A 2nd round pick in 2013 (56th overall), the Minnesota native debuted in the minors the same year with Class A Great Lakes. In 13 games (12 starts), Windle posted a 5-1 record with a 2.68 ERA while striking out 51 and walking 20 in 53 2/3 innings. His excellent initial pro effort followed a strong junior campaign at the University of Minnesota that year which saw the youngster sport a 6-4 record, a 2.14 ERA with a .208 batting average against and 86 strike outs in 92 2/3 innings in 14 games. With Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamongo last year, the six-foot-four 215-pounder tallied a 12-8 recor...

On the 74th edition of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast, Tug and Jay discuss the recent Hall of Fame voting including thoughts on Pedro Martinez and Barry Bonds . The guys also pour through the revamped Phillies prospect core thanks to last year's amateur draft, trades and December's Rule 5 draft, reviewing Jesmuel Valentin , Zach Eflin , Odubel Herrera as well as plenty more. Also minor league infielder Carlos Alonso joins the guys for the fun segment Nine Silly-Ass Questions. 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 . Thanks also for making the previous episode of the show featuring live call-in guest Matt Imhof the most downloaded edition ever!

At long last, it was announced on Thursday what the Phillies would obtain in return for franchise all-time hits leader Jimmy Rollins . Righty pitcher Zach Eflin and lefty Tom Windle are the players headed east. On Wednesday, news leaked that the Phillies and Dodgers agreed on a deal for the three-time All-Star and 2007 National League most valuable player, Rollins, but it wasn't know what the Phils would get in the swap for close to 24 hours. The 20-year-old Eflin was the Padres' first round draft choice (33rd overall) in 2012 and had just been acquired from San Diego in the deal for Matt Kemp . With Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore this year, Eflin, who stands six-foot-four and weighs 200 pounds, tallied a 10-7 record along with a 3.80 ERA and a 6.5 K/9 mark in 24 starts. Scouts like Eflin's excellent change up and his fastball sits in the low 90's with potential to increase. His pitch menu also includes a slider. Windle, a six-foot-four 215-pounder, was the...