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On Monday, it was announced that the Astros selected outfielder Domingo Santana as the player to be named later in the late July trade that sent Hunter Pence to the Phillies. Santana, a Dominican born slugger, posted a .269 average with 7 HR and 32 RBI in 96 games with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. The 19-year-old is regarded as a five tool talent and has been ranked among the Phillies' top ten prospects by multiple national outlets. I had the opportunity to speak with Lakewood manager Chris Truby about Santana, the PTBNL list of five Phillies prospects that the Astros had to choose from, as well as other matters pertaining to the BlueClaws, as they enter the final few weeks of their regular season. Check out the media player below to hear the full interview. ______________________________________________ You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE . You can also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE .

Critics already had their fun with the details of last month's deal that saw the Phillies send their top two prospects to Houston for All-star outfielder Hunter Pence . Many have said the price was too high for a Pence who is "good, but not great". Others stuck by the old "prospects aren't proven commodities" argument. But with Monday's news that another top ten prospect from the Phillies' organization was being sent to the Astros, those determined to critique the trade will have more to gripe about. Sources confirmed for PhoulBallz.com early Monday afternoon that 19-year-old outfielder Domingo Santana is heading to the Astros as a player to be named later. The 6-foot-5-inch 200-pounder is often regarded as a five-tool talent. Scouting himself , Santana declares that he is a power hitter. He also asserts that the recognition that has come his way, by multiple outlets naming him among the Phillies' best prospects, has helped him to ...

Shortly after midnight, Monday, news hit the web that the Phillies had signed their top draft pick, slugger Larry Greene . According to Baseball America's John Manuel , the team and the player agreed on a $1 million signing bonus. Greene, a 6-foot-1-inch 225-pound outfielder out of Berrien County High School in Georgia, was selected 39th overall this year in the annual MLB amateur draft. The 18-year-old Greene posted a .562 average with 11 doubles, 1 triple, 19 home runs, 52 RBI and 13 steals in his senior season this year. The news of the signing comes less than 24 hours before the deadline to submit official notification of a contract to the commissioner's office. Philadelphia's second round draft pick, high school speedster Roman Quinn, remains unsigned. _________________________________________ You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE . You can also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE .

LAKEWOOD, NJ- As the two-time reigning South Atlantic League champions, the Lakewood BlueClaws, strive to reach the post-season, the club has added a pair 2011 draft picks to their pitching staff in order to help the club earn their chance at a three-peat. In each of the last two seasons, the BlueClaws added a present year draft choice to the pitching staff to help the club, just as they entered the crucial playoff stretch. In 2009, 15th rounder Austin Hyatt helped the team lock down a championship by pitching in all five of the club's postseason victories. Then last year, 35th round selection Eric Pettis arrived in time to add depth to the bullpen for the postseason. This year, the BlueClaws got their shot of professional rookie adrenaline early, as 8th round draft choice Austin Wright , a left-handed starter, and 25th round pick Ryan Duke , a righty reliever, have joined the team after tremendous debuts with the short-season Williamsport Crosscutters of the NY-Penn ...

Fresh off a franchise best 9-1 road trip, the Phillies (77-40) return home to begin a home stand with a three-game series against the Washington Nationals (56-61). The Phillies, winners of 12 of their last 13 games, are proud owners of the best record in Major League Baseball, while the Nationals struggle to stay out of last place in the National League East division. In the series opener, the Nationals will send veteran righty Livan Hernandez , who has lost his last three starts at Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia will counter with All-star Cole Hamels , who has not lost against the Nationals since April 2nd, 2008. Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and other key info from this series. Friday, 7:05 PM. Livan Hernandez (6-11, 4.41 ERA) vs. Cole Hamels (13-6, 2.53 ERA). In 12 road starts this season, Hernandez is 1-8 with a 5.69 ERA. Hernandez is 1-3 with a 6.46 ERA in his last 5 starts. Chase Utley is 12-for-34 (.353 avg) in his career against Her...

As Phillies hurler Cliff Lee dominates opponents with his arm and his bat this year, his full legacy within the organization may not completely be his own. Lee signed a lengthy contract with the Phillies last off-season, but just one year prior, he had been traded by Philadelphia to Seattle for three minors leaguers that are still under the proverbial microscope despite Lee's return. The premiere target in the December, 2009 swap was right-handed pitcher Phillippe Aumont . The 6-foot-7-inch 255-pound Canadian has had an exceptional season, combined at two levels with the Double A Reading Phillies and the Triple A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. In 35 total games, Aumont has posted a 1-5 record with 7 saves and a .206 batting average against, while striking out 65 batters in 44 2/3 innings pitched. Aumont struggled initially after joining the Phillies in 2010 after the organization chose to switch him from a reliever into a starting pitcher. Recognizing the issues that Aumont...

Lefty pitching prospect Jesse Biddle has been on a hot streak for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. In 8 games since the South Atlantic League All-star break, Biddle has posted a 2-1 record with a 1.97 ERA and a .216 batting average against. Despite missing a recent start with a right hip strain, Biddle, who has been dealing with discomfort in the ailing area throughout his most recent outings, is confident that he'll be back soon and be as good as ever. "It's nothing serious. I could pitch, but it's better to be safe than sorry. We don't want to push this and have it get any worse, so I'm taking break to let it heal," Biddle stated. The 19-year-old Biddle and his BlueClaws teammates are in the midst of the playoff hunt with roughly four weeks left in the regular season, as they sit 2 1/2 games behind Kannapolis in the Northern division standings for the second half title. Lakewood has won the SAL championship in each of the previous two sea...

The west coast swing continues for the Phillies (74-40) beginning Monday night, as they travel to Los Angeles to start a 3-game series against the Dodgers (52-61). After having their 9-game win streak snapped at the hands of San Francisco on Sunday, the Phillies look to begin a new one with their ace on the mound. Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay will start the series opener and will be looking for his league leading 15th win. Los Angeles will counter with righty hurler Hiroki Kuroda, who has been outstanding against the Phillies in the regular season. The Phillies received word on Monday that is set to impact their lineup, as center fielder Shane Victorino has been served a 3-game suspension for his involvement in the bench clearing incident in a game against the Giants on Friday. The suspension would have begun Monday and lasted throughout this series, but Victorino has appealed. When the teams met earlier this season in Philadelphia, the Philli...

Phillies catching prospect Cameron Rupp has been on a torrid stretch with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws since the beginning of July. From April through June, Rupp had posted a .225 batting average, but after working hard to improve his stroke, Rupp went 33-for-85 (.388 avg.) from July 1st through action on Friday night. The 3rd round draft selection from 2010 has been credited as a leader for a BlueClaws pitching staff that featured three All-stars in the South Atlantic League, but the modest 6-foot-1-inch tall 240-pounder does not wish to take any credit for anyone else's success. As Lakewood enters the final month of the season, the team is in the thick of the second half Northern division race, as the BlueClaws sit 2 games behind the first place Hickory Crawdads (Rangers). The 22-year-old Rupp will be counted on to continue his recent offensive success and help the two-time defending SAL champions reach the playoffs and continue their streak of post-season dominance. This p...

From his time as a star with Washington Township High School, through his years of college, Bill Rice would keep tabs on the annual Major League Baseball draft. He never heard his name called. The Sewell, NJ native never gave up hope, however and forced a professional team to take a close look at him when he attended an open tryout hosted by the Phillies in Lakewood last summer. The result of that was everything he hoped for. The tryout had a large turnout. The lefty hitting Rice, who played at Gloucester County College prior to transferring to the University of South Carolina-Aiken, had low expectations going in, but felt that an opportunity to be seen by professional talent evaluators couldn't be a bad thing. Following the audition, Rice said there was a stretch when he didn't hear anything from the Phillies and he began to doubt there ever would be. Rice thought the club would never reach out to him. However, roughly three weeks later, a phone call from the Phils'...

After finishing off a series sweep in Colorado, the Phillies (71-39) travel further west to face the club that knocked them out of the post-season last year, the San Francisco Giants (62-49). In the opener of the four-game set, the Phillies will send lefty All-star Cliff Lee, who lost two games against the Giants in the World Series last year, to the mound. The Giants will counter with Madison Bumgarner, who let up 3 runs in 6 2/3 innings against the Phillies in last season's National League Championship Series. Both teams sit atop their respective divisions. San Francisco won 2 of 3 games when the two clubs met last week in Philadelphia. Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and other key information on this series. Thursday, 10:15PM. Cliff Lee (10-7, 3.14 ERA) vs. Madison Bumgarner (6-10, 3.80 ERA). In 3 career regular season games against San Francisco, Lee has a 3-0 record with a 1.13 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Lee is 1-2 with a 4.91 ERA. Lee is 2-5 with a 4.5...

Tuesday night, following a 7-2 win over the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Phillies' short-season Class A team, the Williamsport Crosscutters, was involved in a motor vehicle accident, when their bus collided with a sport utility vehicle, then crashed into a guard rail. The chartered Susquehanna Trailways bus, carrying 52 passengers, was en route back to the team's hotel at the time of the accident. News reports stated that two pitchers and the club's strength and conditioning coach were treated for injuries at a local hospital and released. Pitcher Bryan Morgado spoke with WNEP , stating how lucky the team was to escape tragedy. "We hit the railing and looked down and saw we were five feet from falling off the railing, so thank God everybody's good, everybody is safe, escaped from the window every body is fine," Morgado stated. Just over 12 hours after the accident, the 'Cutters were back on the field in Brooklyn. The Cyclones prevailed by a score of 3-2, but ...