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When the Twins put infielder Taylor Motter on the disabled list week, they needed a replacement.  What better man to answer the call than widely regarded multi-positional batsman Willians Astudillo? Oh, he's not highly regarded?  You don't even recall his playful attitude and ability to almost never strike out and almost never walk when he played in the Phillies organization?  Well, he's a .310 career hitter in Triple-A and he was the Rochester Red Wings leading batter this season. And in 2,342 plate appearances in the minors, Astudillo walked 80 times and walked in just 76 instances.  The infrequency of both occurrences is genuinely the reputation he's built for himself in his nine pro seasons.   Astudillo, a native of Venezuela, has played seven different positions (everything except center field and shortstop) in his minor league career.  When he made his big league debut at Chicago's Wrigley Field on Sunday, he split time in left field and center fi...

Carlos Tocci, image- Jay Floyd Just as the big league postseason is heating up, minor league players have gotten action rolling in the international off-season leagues, with top outfield prospect Carlos Tocci and promising backstop Gabriel Lino leading the way in the Venezuelan Winter League. With Aragua on Wednesday, the 20-year-old Tocci went 3-for-6 with a stolen base. All of his hits were singles. Tocci, widely ranked among the Phillies' top 10 prospects, posted a .287/.339/.363 combined slash line in 127 games with Class A Lakewood and Class A Advanced Clearwater in 2015. Also for Aragua in the VWL, outfielder Herlis Rodriguez went 1-for-1 with two RBI as a pinch hitter and later played right field. The 21-year-old lefty batter tallied a .284 average with 10 home runs, 61 RBI and 16 steals in 120 games for Lakewood this season. Lino, who was acquired from Baltimore in 2012 for Jim Thome, went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strike out for Lara in the VWL on Wednesday...

On Friday night, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs opened a weekend series in Charlotte against the Chicago White Sox Triple-A affiliate. The Knights' Matt Tuiasosopo launched two home runs off of IronPigs' starting pitcher Adam Morgan , including a first inning grand slam to help the home club notch a 7-5 victory. Morgan, the Phillies' third round draft choice from 2011, fell to a troublesome 0-5 on the season. After an April in which he sported a 3.74 ERA, the 25-year-old struggled in May, tallying a 6.40 ERA in his last six outings. With the loss, the IronPigs fell to 19-31 on the season, which is the second worst record in the International League. Earlier in the day, the 'Pigs lost their starting left fielder Cody Asche , who was promoted to the big league team, which was nearly no-hit by Chad Bettis and the Rockies by night's end. As bad as all that sounds, the game wasn't entirely bad because the stadium video board caught the fan pictured below making ...

With minor league camp underway and the initial work out groups list unveiled this weekend, thanks to Jim Peyton of PhuturePhillies.com (see below), a key question arose. Where is Larry Greene Jr? The omission of the Phillies' top selection from the 2011 draft (39th overall) has plenty of people wondering about his status. Confirmed by manager of the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers, the 22-year-old Greene has retired from professional baseball. In three pro seasons, the six-foot-one 225-pounder posted a .224 average with eight home runs and 74 RBI in 242 games. Greene, a Georgia native, signed for a reported $1 million following the 2011 draft.  The Phillies retain the rights to Greene, if and when he decides to return to baseball. Also of note from the list, per Legg, Andrew Pullin , who made an impact as the second baseman for Class A Lakewood last year (.270/.333/.394 in 129 games), will officially move forward as an outfielder, the position he played prior to b...

The dawn of a near year brings along with it the annual Phillies Nation “Prospect Nation” countdown, running down the organization’s top 25 up and coming players. In the coming weeks, as a brand new season approaches, I’ll be bringing you player reviews for each of the top developmental talents that appear to have the brightest futures for the Phillies. Always taken into consideration when compiling the list is age, minor league performance relative to levels played, value to the organization as well as future potential and proximity to the big leagues. These rankings do not include players over 25 years old or individuals that have spent lengthy stretches in the big leagues. As such, infielder Carlos Alonso , who played his age 26 season at Double-A last year, will not make the list, despite deserving some consideration. The same applies 28-year-old to relief pitcher Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez , who debuted with the Phillies late last season. Additionally, a guy such as infielder...

Baseball goes year-round.  All across the globe, Phillies players are in action and we've got the rundown on how they are performing.  Read ahead for all the details. Venezuelan Winter League- Willians Astudillo , a corner infielder and backstop who has been playing a lot of outfield of late, is batting .314 with a homer and four RBI in nine games for Anzoategui. The 23-year-old was the catalyst for the Class A Lakewood team this year, where he finished second in the South Atlantic League with a .333 average. Odubel Herrera , who was selected by the Phillies in this month's Rule 5 draft, leads the Venezuelan Winter League in average with a .373 mark.  He has also mashed five homers, driven in 25 runs and stolen seven bases in 52 games for La Guaira.  The 22-year-old played second base primarily in the regular season at Double-A Frisco, but has been playing center field in the VWL. Infielder/outfielder Cesar Hernandez is batting .307 with seven ...

The MLB Winter Meetings haven't resulted in much excitement for Phillies fans thus far, but Thursday's Rule 5 draft could have some bearing on the team's near future, if the Phils have their way. Phillies Rule 5 selections in recent years that ended up being returned to their original teams include Ender Inciarte (2012) and Kevin Munson (2013). Players that remained with the Phils for the entire following season in recent years include Michael Martinez (2010) and David Herndon (2009). Righty hurler Seth Rosin was taken from the Phillies in last December's Rule 5 draft and was returned to the organization after officially being property of three different teams in the interim time. Players are eligible for selection in the Rule 5 draft when they are not on their major league organization's 40 man roster and 1) were signed to a contract at age 19 or older and have been in that organization for four years, OR 2) were signed at age 18 or younger and have bee...

Once again, we're back with another weekly rundown of how Phillies players are performing in fall and winter leagues around the globe. Read ahead for all the latest stats and updates. Venezuelan Winter League- Cesar Hernandez, image- Jay Floyd After going 17-for-37 (.459 avg) in his last nine games, infielder Cesar Hernandez is batting .356 with five doubles, 13 RBI and three stolen bases for Lara. In 66 games with the Phillies this year, the 24-year-old switch-hitter batted .237 with a homer, four RBI and a stolen base. Catcher Gabriel Lino is batting .265 with five doubles, four RBI in 19 games for Lara. The 21-year-old, who was acquired from Baltimore in the 2012 Jim Thome trade, played in 90 combined games with Class A Lakewood and Class A Advanced Clearwater this year, posting a combined .215 average with five home runs and 34 RBI. In 13 appearances (six starts) with Lara, lefty hurler Cesar Jimenez has a 2-4 record with a 3.48 ERA while striking out 29 and w...

Baseball never stops and neither does Phillies Nation. It's another weekly edition of the Phillies off-season league rundown featuring updates on players from around the globe. Read ahead for all the info with activity through Saturday. Venezuelan Winter League- Aaron Altherr, image- Jay Floyd Aaron Altherr is done with his time in Venezuela. The righty batting outfielder hit .286 with four home runs, 27 RBI and a stolen base in 31 games for Zulia. The 23-year-old played in two games with the big league Phillies this year. In 127 minor league games in 2014, the Phillies' 9th round pick in 2009 posted a .237 average with 14 HR, 59 RBI and 13 stolen bases. In 31 games with Zulia, shortstop Freddy Galvis is batting .254 with seven doubles, a triple, a homer and eight RBI. In 43 big league contests this year, the 25-year-old switch-hitter batted .176 with four home runs and 12 RBI. Elvis Araujo sports a 2-0 record with a 0.66 ERA in 11 relief outings for Zulia. Th...

It's Episode 70 and the guys are joined by pitcher Adam Loewen who participates in the inaugural edition of the new segment, "Nine Silly-ass Questions".  The episode also features exclusive interviews with Reading pitching coach Dave Lundquist and Double-A reliever Colton Murray.  Jay and Tug also chat about 2014 season highlights including Kenny Giles, Maikel Franco, Willians Astudillo and Hoby Milner while other topics include Kyle Kendrick as well as the Paul Owens Awards won by Luis Garcia and J.P. Crawford. 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 .

Willians Astudillo, image- Jay Floyd As Class A Lakewood standout Willians Astudillo continues his quest toward a South Atlantic League batting title, entering the final weekend of the season, his team is backing him . The 22-year-old missed all of last season with a left knee injury, but has clearly bounced back nicely. Astudillo is 40-for-85 (.471 avg) in his last 23 games, helping to boost his league leading season average to .340. I spoke with BlueClaws personnel about Astudillo's exciting batting crown chase. Read ahead for those quotes... Manager Greg Legg - "He's played the same all year, with the same energy and intensity. I never saw him have a lull. He loves baseball. I think that's the reason he gets up in the morning is to hit. But it has added some excitement to (our final week of the season). It's definitely interesting and if we can do anything to help him, we will." "It's neat, we got Cozens, who set a franchise r...

Astudillo, image- Jay Floyd The last place Lakewood BlueClaws have been out of the playoff hunt for months, but there's another chase that the entire team is focused on that's set to go down to the wire. With the regular season winding down, blossoming star Willians Astudillo is battling to clinch the Class A South Atlantic League batting title with his entire team behind him. Following a 3-for-4 effort in the BlueClaws' home schedule finale on Thursday night, Astudillo sports a .340 average, holding a six point lead on the league's next best hitter, Delmarva's Chance Sisco . The more you watch the exciting and fun-loving Venezuela native, Astudillo, the easier it is to see why his team has his back. Behind the scenes, Astudillo keeps things loose, is a constant cheerleader in the dugout and is always the one to offer a teammate a boost, when it's needed. His teammates love him for it. "We're all on his back. He's great! We want him t...

Maikel Franco, image- Jay Floyd While the minor league season begins to wind down, Lehigh Valley third baseman Maikel Franco continues to go full throttle. As the IronPigs kicked off their final home stand of the season on Saturday with a double header against the division rival Syracuse Chiefs, Franco, who is hoping his season continues on beyond the final day on the regular season calendar, which is Labor Day, September 1st, continued to display his improved offensive efforts going 6-for-7 with two home runs combined in two games while recording a cycle in the night cap. The feat was certainly quite an achievement, but possibly more impressive because it was accomplished in just six offensive innings for the winning home club in game 2, as minor league double headers are slated as seven-inning contests. Franco, who turns 22 years old this week, struggled through the early part of his first Triple-A season, ending June with a .202 batting average and just 28 extra-base hits...

For a Phillies team that has struggled to spark much interest lately, the developmental ranks were packed with news that was worthy of hefty attention this week. Some of the stories were good...like OF Cam Perkins being promoted to Triple-A in his second full season as a pro and reliever Tyler Knigge joining him there. Another positive was certainly the Phillies' refined approach in the MLB first year player draft. Plus, the tale of Lakewood manager Greg Legg retaliating and throwing out an umpire who had ejected him from a game on Tuesday was an instant classic. Other news was disappointing...like 2008 first round draft choice Anthony Hewitt being demoted from Double-A Reading to Class A Advanced Clearwater and first baseman Chris Serritella joined him. Also, Darin Ruf hit the disabled list again after being demoted to Triple-A. But, worst of all was the report that stud OF prospect Domingo Santana was mistakenly included on the list the Astros chose their player...

On the 64th edition of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast, Jay chats with catching prospect Andrew Knapp (heard at 42:30) about his return from Tommy John surgery, his draft experience last year, his demotion to Lakewood, and plenty more. Tug and Jay also talk about Lakewood manager Greg Legg 's legendary ejection with quotes from the baseball lifer himself (heard at 37:00), Anthony Hewitt 's disappointing production, Cameron Perkins ' promotion to Lehigh Valley, Jonathan Singleton reaching the big leagues and tons more. 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 .

The Lakewood BlueClaws will have four representatives when the Class A South Atlantic League holds its 55th annual All-Star Game on June 17th in Hickory, NC. Standout performers for the BlueClaws all season, J.P. Crawford , Willians Astudillo , Samuel Hiciano and Cody Forsythe were selected to represent the team. Crawford, a shortstop, was the Phillies top draft choice a year ago when he was selected 16th overall. Through 49 games, the lefty batting 19-year-old has posted a .319 average along with three homers, 17 RBI and 10 steals. Astudillo, a Venezuela native, currently sports an 18-game hitting streak and is batting .341 with two homers and 32 RBI this year. The 22-year-old plays first base and catcher. Hiciano, the Claws' left fielder, is batting .273 with six home runs and 24 RBI. The 20-year-old is a native of the Dominican Republic. Forsythe, last year's 25th round draft pick by the Phillies, has been excellent as Lakewood's closer this season. The 2...