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On Sunday, Major League Baseball announced reserves for the All-Star rosters.  The game's best players are set to descend on Denver for the annual Mid-Summer Classic slated for Tuesday, July 13th. The Phillies will be represented by their best hurler and the man widely considered the best catcher in the game.   Zack Wheeler is an All-Star for the first time, as he's in the midst of a career year.  The 31-year-old right-hander sports a 6-4 record with a 2.05 ERA and11 K/9 through 17 starts.  Wheeler leads the National League in innings pitched (114) and strike outs (139).   J.T. Realmuto is an All-Star for the third time in his career, his second as a Phillie.  In 64 games this year the 30-year-old righty batter has posted a .263 batting average with eight home runs and 31 RBI.    Wheeler remains a possibility to start for the NL club, managed by World Series champion Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts.  Realmuto is a backup to Giants ca...

Simmons, Stott, O'Hoppe and Williams/ Image- Jay Floyd This week four Phillies prospects participated in the Class A short-season New York-Penn League All-Star Game and each of them were excited to have begun making their marks in professional baseball. Catcher Logan O'Hoppe , outfielder Corbin Williams , infielder Kendall Simmons as well as shortstop Bryson Stott represented the Williamsport Crosscutters and were part of the victorious Blue Team in Staten Island, NY, home of the Yankees affiliate, on Wednesday night. O'Hoppe (pronounced Oh-HOP-ee), is a local guy who hails from nearby West Islip.  The 19-year-old, said the game was attended by approximately 100 friends and family members. The righty batting O'Hoppe was a 23rd round draft selection last year.  In 44 games this year for Williamsport, he has tallied a .217 average with five home runs and 26 RBI. Williams, who grew up in Philadelphia, is batting .224 with three doubles, three RBI and a l...

For the second straight year a Reading Fightin Phils slugger has won the Double-A Eastern League All-Star Home Run Derby.  Slugging first baseman Darick Hall locked down the walk-off victory in Richmond, VA on Tuesday night. Hall, a lefty batting prospect, tallied 175 points (25 points per homer with distance bonuses) in a 90 second round to cement the title.  He sent a deep fly out to right-center field to clinch the victory. The 23-year-old will be among four players slated to represent Reading in Wednesday's EL All-Star Game. Hall, the Phillies' 14th round draft selection from 2016, leads the league in RBI with 55 and sports a .240 average with 14 home runs in 83 games thus far this season. Congrats to @ReadingFightins ' Darick Hall, the 2019 Eastern League Home Run Derby overall champion! pic.twitter.com/GX8IcuMF0n — Richmond Flying Squirrels (@GoSquirrels) July 10, 2019 Last year, catcher Deivy Grullon was victorious in the EL Home Run Derby in Trenton...

Vierling w/ Lakewood in 2018, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Selections for the annual Class A Advanced Florida State League were announced on Friday.  Relief pitcher Jonathan Hennigan, lefty starter Damon Jones, outfielders Simon Muzziotti and Matt Vierling along with infielder Nick Maton will represent the Clearwater Threshers in the event. Hennigan, who was promoted to Double-A Reading this week after shining against FSL competition with a 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA and seven saves while striking out 27 in 20 innings of work for the Threshers.  The 24-year-old was a 21st round pick of the Phils back in 2016. Jones has a 1-3 record with a 1.80 ERA, a .179 batting average against and a 13.3 K/9 mark though eight starts this season.  His 59 strike outs are tops in the league. The 24-year-old was the Phillies' 18th round draft selection in 2017. Muzziotti, a 2...

Keoni De Renne played 11 seasons in professional baseball.  Since 2012 he's been a coach with the Pirates organization. In his playing days, the University of Arizona product spent time in the Yankees, Braves, Phillies and Red Sox organizations in addition to playing independent ball.  The Hawaii native was a switch hitter that was listed at five-feet-seven, 170 pounds. This week, De Renne was in Trenton, NJ for the Double-A Eastern League All-Star Game, representing the Altoona Curve as part of the Western Division coaching staff.  I chatted it up with the native of Hawaii about his whirlwind 2010 season when he went through 13 different transactions within the Phillies' system, his path to coaching, relating to his players, facing a highly touted Stephen Strasburg in the minors and plenty more. It's been some time since I posted audio of an interview, and since this discussion is a bit of a throwback, you can check out the recording as well as a handsome image of ...

Zach Green, image- Jay Floyd In the Double-A Eastern League All-Star Game on Wednesday, four Reading players represented the Phillies in the contest played at Trenton's ARM & HAMMER Park.  Catcher Deivi Grullon, who won the EL's All-Star Home Run Derby on Tuesday, first baseman/third baseman Zach Green and outfielder Jan Hernandez were all in the starting lineup.  Grullon and Hernandez each homered while Green went 0-for-2. Relief pitcher Edgar Garcia was charged with three earned runs in 1/3 of an inning. The contest was tied at four runs apiece after nine innings, so to decide the game, each team selected one batter to face off in a hitting challenge.  In a two minute window, the players would accumulate points for balls in play or balls launched as home runs.  Green, representing the Eastern Division was bested by Pirates prospect Will Craig, the Western Division's representative, in the unique tie breaking overtime round.  In the Triple-A All...

Grullon celebrates his HR Derby win, (nice) image- Jay Floyd TRENTON, NJ-- Dangle a championship belt, a butt load of pork roll and $500 in front of  Deivi Grullon and there is no stopping him. The All-Star catcher for the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils launched longball after longball and convincingly won the Eastern League Home Run Derby on Tuesday night. Eight participants would each have a four-minute turn to hit as many homers as they could and the top two totals would advance to a championship round. Grullon, a 22-year-old righty batting Phillies prospect topped all hitters in the opening round, slugging 14 round trippers, some of which peppered the highway, Route 29, beyond the left field foul pole and one of which traveled as far south as Bordentown, as the host Trenton Thunder PA announcer Matt Hillman asserted, from ARM & HAMMER Park. Rockies outfield prospect Sam Hilliard would face Grullon for the prize money, title belt and delicious meat product , all...

ALLENTOWN, PA-- It already seemed like a regular thing at Coca-Cola Park on Thursday as buzz-worthy prospects Rhys Hoskins and Scott Kingery each slammed a home run for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.  Both players continue to fuel Phillies fans' desire to see them playing at the top level of the sport with similarly explosive offensive production. Invitations for Hoskins and Kingery to play on a big league field came this week, but it wasn't precisely what the home faithful were hoping for, as the duo was chosen to play in the MLB All-Star Futures Game. The annual exhibition, which began in 1999, features top prospects from all around professional baseball.  It is slated to be played at Marlins Park in Miami on Sunday, July 9th as part of Major League Baseball's All-Star festivities.  The game pits talents from the United States against players from the rest of the World. The pair of Phils prospects has somewhat paralleled one another on their paths up t...

Nick Fanti, image- Jay Floyd Lefty hurler Nick Fanti will represent the Phillies organization as the Northern Division's starting pitcher in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game on Tuesday night.  Through 11 games with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws this year, the 20-year-old has tallied a 5-0 record and a 2.25 ERA with a .182 batting average against while striking out 65 and walking 16 in 64 innings of work.  Fanti, who pitched with Team Italy in this year's World Baseball Classic, grabbed headlines in May when he tossed 8 2/3 hitless innings for Lakewood on the road at Columbia.  His room mate Trevor Bettencourt would log the final out to seal the no-hitter.  The six-foot-two 185-pound Fanti will return to the Spirit Communication Park mound in Columbia for the Sally League All-Star Game.  Last year in the rookie level Gulf Coast League, he garnered plenty of attention, sporting a 7-0 record with a 1.57 ERA and a .191 batting average against in ...

Elniery Garcia, image- Jay Floyd Class A Advanced Florida State League All-Star rosters were announced on Friday and among those honored were seven from the Phillies affiliate Clearwater Threshers. Pitchers Elniery Garcia , Alexis Rivero and Tom Eshelman will be part of the Northern division roster along with second baseman Scott Kingery , outfielder Carlos Tocci , catcher Chace Numata and 1B/3B Zach Green . Garcia, a lefty, has been excellent this year. The 21-year-old Dominican has a 4-2 record with a 2.08 ERA in eight games (seven starts) while striking out 40 and walking 14 in 47 2/3 innings. Rivero, the team's closer, has a 3-1 record with four saves, a 1.09 ERA and a 10.2 K/9 mark. The right-hander is 21-years-old. Eshelman, a righty, was acquired from Houston in the Kenny Giles trade, sports a 3-2 record with a 3.61 ERA and a 9.1 K/9 mark in nine starts. The 21-year-old was a 2nd round draft selection by the Astros last year. Kingery, the Phils' 2nd r...

Pointer following a home run this year, Photo- Tug Haines With a unique format in place to decide a regulation tie, the Eastern League's All-Star Game was decided when Reading outfielder Brian Pointer slammed a deciding home run to clinch a victory for the Eastern Division. The Double-A league's All-Star exhibition wrapped up nine innings of play with a 4-4 tie in Wednesday's annual event held in Portland, Maine. Extra innings were not how the game would be decided and, without a way to display the method that was actually used to decide the winner, the contest's box score displays the final score as a tie. Instead of a traditional overtime format, the league used a home run derby to determine the winning club, with the two teams taking turns with one swing each time up, to try and launch a ball over the outfield wall in fair territory. Following eleven failed attempts by the Western division All-Stars and ten missed opportunities by Pointer and his Eastern di...

Brock Stassi, image- Jay Floyd The Reading Fightins will be well represented at the 2015 Eastern League All-Star Game later this month in Portland, Maine when five members of the team head to the annual exhibition. Shortstop J.P. Crawford , outfielders Cam Perkins and Roman Quinn along with starting pitcher Zach Eflin as well as first baseman Brock Stassi have been named to the Eastern Division roster for the game set to be played on July 15th. Crawford, the Phillies' top prospect, joined Reading just over a month ago and has posted a .267/.377/.405 slash line in 31 games with the Fightins. The lefty batting 20-year-0ld was the 16th overall draft pick in 2013. Perkins, who is currently on the disabled list with a back issue, has a .252 average with eight home runs and 33 RBI in 61 games. The 24-year-old was the Phillies' 6th round draft choice in 2012. Quinn, also on the disabled list, sported a .306 average with four homers and 15 RBI along with a league-leadi...

Andrew Knapp, image- Jay Floyd Last week the Florida State League announced the rosters for its 54th annual All-Star Game with five Phillies prospects being honored. Leading the way among the group that will represent Clearwater is standout catcher Andrew Knapp . The switch-hitting Knapp was the Phillies' second round draft selection in 2013 out of California. With the Class A Advanced Threshers this season, the 23-year-old has a .258 average with 10 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 28 RBI in 57 games. He missed a portion of last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Following a disappointing stretch in which he tallied a .157/.222/.205 slash line initially in 24 games at Clearwater, Knapp joined the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws and got things back on track. In 75 games with the 'Claws, Knapp posted a .290 average with five homers and 25 RBI. The six-foot-one 190-pounder ranked 25th on the organization's prospect ranking prior to this season, ac...

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Five Phillies prospects, including top performers Carlos Tocci and Rhys Hoskins will represent the Lakewood BlueClaws in the Class A South Atlantic League All-Star game in Asheville, NC on June 23rd. Tocci, a 19-year-old center fielder, is batting .324 with a home run, 23 RBI and 13 stolen bases in 54 games with Lakewood. According to a press release from the BlueClaws, Tocci received more votes than any other player in the SAL, marking the second straight year that the team has had the leading vote-getter, following shortstop J.P. Crawford in 2014. Rhys Hoskin, image- Jay Floyd Last year's 5th round draft pick by the Phillies, Hoskins, has a league leading .335 batting average with seven home runs and 40 RBI. The 22-year-old first baseman was recently honored as the Phillies' minor league player of the month for May, after posting a .342 average with two homers and 23 RBI in 29 games. The righty batting slugger has been a bit reserved in regards to...

While big leaguers and the top two levels of the minors were on their All-Star breaks, the Phillies Nation crew continued their season.  In the 17th edition of this season's PNTV, Pat and Corey discuss the MLB All-Star rosters and nominate their mid-season award winners.  Meanwhile, Jay caught up with top prospect Maikel Franco , who pledged to the Phillies fan base that his offense was about to turn around.  Former Phils hurler Tommy Greene also joins the crew for his weekly coaching segment.  Natalie and Ryann also appear with fan questions. Check out this week's episode in the media player below and catch new episodes each week at 6PM on The Comcast Network with replays throughout the week on TCN and Comcast Sportsnet.

On the latest episode of the PhoulBallz Podcast, Jay and Tug discuss what you love...baseball!  Topics on the show include the Phillies' All-Star performances including Cody Asche in the Triple-A game, Cesar Hernandez 's move to the outfield, Alex Rodriguez 's rehab in Reading as well as Kyrell Hudson and the 2009 Phils draft class.  Don't miss this joint. 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 .

Jesse Biddle, image- Jay Floyd The Double-A Reading Fightins will have four representatives in Wednesday's Eastern League All-Star Game, which is set to be played in New Britain, CT. Starting pitchers Jesse Biddle and Seth Rosin will be joined by second baseman Albert Cartwright and first baseman Jim Murphy to make up the foursome of Phillies talents in the annual exhibition. Making their first career All-Star appearances are Cartwright and Rosin, while Biddle and Murphy are each being honored for the second time. Biddle was an All-Star in the Class A Advanced Florida State League last year. Murphy represented Lakewood in the 2011 Class A South Atlantic League game. The contest will feature loads of top talent from around the EL and Biddle, who has a 3-8 record along with a 3.08 ERA and a league leading 102 strike outs through 17 starts this season, is honored to be listed among that collection of players. "To be mentioned with the players I'm playing ...

Recently, Phillies Nation TV headed out to the Class A South Atlantic League All-Star events in Lakewood, NJ to attend the Celebrity Hitting Challenge that was hosted at FirstEnergy Park by the BlueClaws. The "Clawstar Spectacular", as it was called, featured the likes of former players Matt Stairs and Dwight Gooden along with comedian Artie Lange, who were all featured in interviews on a recent edition of the program. All the footage we collect can't always make the final edit of the program, so there are often clips or interviews we don't use. Among the material that ended up on the cutting room floor were segments with former Phils closer and current MLB Network Analyst Mitch Williams as well as comedian and TV host Jim Florentine. Take a look at the media players below for those full interviews and don't miss a brand new edition of Phillies Nation TV, premiering every Tuesday night at 6 PM on The Comcast Network. Replays can be seen on TCN and Comc...

When the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws host the South Atlantic League All-Star game on Tuesday night, the club will be represented by four players on the North division roster.  Initially, just catcher Chace Numata and pitcher Steven Inch were selected as All-Stars, but due to other pitchers' availability, two more BlueClaws hurlers were selected to represent the resident team in the game with lefty Yoel Mecias and right-hander Delvi Francisco now selected to fill voids on the roster. The North division team will also include Lakewood manager and former Phillies All-Star Mickey Morandini , who will serve as a coach. "It's fun.  It's always exciting when you get to host an All-Star game.  I know the organization here has really worked hard to do as much as they can for everybody coming in, with the events going on, so my hat's off to all the people that have busted their butt to make this thing happen," Morandini stated.  "We're excited.  W...

According to a press release from the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, who will host the South Atlantic League All-Star game on June, 18th... Catcher Chace Numata and reliever Steven Inch will represent the BlueClaws on the field at the 54th South Atlantic League All-Star Game, held at FirstEnergy Park on June 18th. The announcement of 50 South Atlantic League All-Stars was made Tuesday by League President Eric Krupa. BlueClaws manager Mickey Morandini and athletic trainer Mickey Kozack have also been named to the staff of the Northern Division. Chace Numata, Photo- Jay Floyd Numata, a 20-year-old Hawaii native, is slumping as of late, going through a 4-for-31 (.129 avg) stretch in his last nine contests, but had sported a .298 average prior to his recent cold streak. Numata, a catcher, has slugged eight doubles, mashed two homers and driven in 20 runs in 42 games for the 'Claws. The 6-foot tall 175-pounder was selected by the Phillies in the 14th round in the 2010 d...