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Spencer Howard, image- Jay Floyd Compared to some of his Lakewood BlueClaws teammates starting pitcher Spencer Howard may not be having an exceptionally remarkable campaign, but he’s starting to show enough progress to get both the Phillies and fans excited. On a pitching staff that leads the Class A South Atlantic League in earned run average with a 2.81 ERA through action played on Sunday, a hurler with a personal ERA of 4.50, as Howard has, might normally not be all that noteworthy. That could especially be the case when a pair of his teammates, Will Stewart and David Parkinson, rank first and third in the league in ERA respectively. But the Phillies second round draft choice from 2017, Howard, feels that he’s made the right amount of progress and is proud of what his teammates are accomplishing. The environment is enjoyable and fortifying for all of the BlueClaws’ promising young pitchers. They're supportive of one another and they each push the next man with friendl...

Joe Jordan, image- Jay Floyd On Sunday, Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan took some time to talk with me about plenty of prospects throughout the Phils developmental levels. Topics discussed include injury updates for several hurlers including Jose Taveras , Nick Fanti , Bailey Falter and a critical note on Triple-A reliever Brandon Leibrandt .  Also mentioned are outfielders Jhailyn Ortiz and Jose Pujols , catcher Deivi Grullon , Lakewood starters Will Stewart and David Parkinson as well as impressive Double-A reliever Kyle Dohy along with Triple-A reliever Tyler Gilbert. Read onward for much of my interview with Joe and check back in the coming days for his thoughts on some other names that are worthy of interest.  -Kyle Dohy's graduated out of Lakewood and Clearwater, landing in Reading.  He's started to get some attention, after he was a 16th round draft pick and pitched in short-season Class A last year.  Can you talk...

Roman Quinn, image- Jay Floyd Multiple reports on Friday have the Phillies promoting often injured outfielder Roman Quinn to fill a spot on the team's major league roster.  The addition will give the club an elite defender and a switch-hitting contributor that is a stolen base threat that can get in pitchers' heads .  The Phillies' 2nd round draft pick in 2011 has posted a .305 average with a pair of homers, 11 RBI and 14 steals in 28 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley this year.  He's been working his way back of late, following surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right hand. Starting with his first full season in professional baseball in 2013, the center-fielder and sometimes-shortstop, Quinn, has played in 378 games throughout the Phillies organization. During those five and a half seasons, the 25-year-old has spent 405 total regular season days out of action with injuries that, in addition to this year's ailment, range from a broken wrist to a torn m...

Earlier this week I posted an article about the impact that Gulf Coast League Phillies catcher Logan O'Hoppe is making in his first professional campaign.  The 18-year-old righty batter sports a .500 average with three doubles, a triple, a home run and eight RBI through 15 games played with the Phils' West team in the rookie level GCL. In quotes that didn't make the article, the 23rd round draft selection from this year shared insight on guidance from his pitching coach Matt Hockenberry, already knowing some Phillies farm hands before signing with the organization and more.  Read ahead for those excerpts. -On the topic of what coach Matt Hockenberry has helped him with... It hasn’t been really anything specific to be honest with you.  It’s just been sequencing different hitters as far as with pitches and just controlling the game behind the plate.  Just overall I can tell he’s helped me a lot and I mean still there’s a whole lot of room for improvem...

What a day it was for Ben Brown . The right-handed pitcher showed why he’s considered a standout on the Gulf Coast League Phillies West team in a 5-0 victory over the Tigers East team on Tuesday afternoon in Lakeland, FL.  In six innings of work, the 18-year-old Brown looked dominant, holding the opposition to two singles and a walk while recording 16 strike outs. “Ben Brown to me has been my most consistent starter,” said GCL West pitching coach Matt Hockenberry. “He has been a guy that he’s a leader on the field. He gets outs. He gets quick outs. He pitches to contact. He’s just a guy that’s going to be exciting to watch in the future.” Contact wasn’t truly on the docket for Brown on Tuesday, though, as he missed a ton of bats.  The Phillies’ 33rd round draft selection last June, Brown sports a 3-0 record with a 1.80 ERA and a .193 batting average against and a 13.5 K/9 mark in six appearances (five starts) for the GCL West team. Brown, whose repertoire feat...

Fresh out of the MLB first year player draft catcher Logan O'Hoppe (pronounced oh-HOP-y) is just about a month into his professional playing career, but he’s already making some pretty big impressions. O’Hoppe, the Phillies’ 23rd round draft selection this year, is assigned to the Rookie level Gulf Coast League and spends time behind the dish for the Phillies’ West team (they also field an East team while there was previously a single GCL club in prior seasons). Through 13 games, the 18-year-old Long Island, NY native sports a lofty .500 batting average with three doubles and six runs driven in. While he's paying offensive dividends in the early going, it's his work with the team's pitching staff that's helping O'Hoppe build a meaningful reputation. Phillies West pitching coach Matt Hockenberry cites the six-foot-two 185-pounder's skill set and mindset as reasons to be excited about the Phillies’ first high school catcher signed since 2010 (Ch...

Here we go with a rundown of top performers of late throughout the Phillies minor league levels.  Statistics and standings are current through games on Wednesday.  Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs (57-38, 1st place in the International League North Division)- Joey Meneses, image- Jay Floyd Outfielder Joey Meneses continues with his strong efforts for the 'Pigs.  Among the league leaders in batting with a .304 mark, the 26-year-old Mexico native has 17 home runs and 55 RBI through 87 games.  The righty batter was a free agent signing over the off-season. Left-handed starting pitcher Cole Irvin continues to rank among the top three in ERA this season in the International League with his 2.73 mark.  Through 18 starts, the 24-year-old is holding opponents to a .233 batting average while posting an 8-3 record and a 7.5 K/9 mark. Since he was signed as a free agent this month, infielder Ryan Goins has tallied a .300 average with three doubles, a homer a...

Ke'Bryan Hayes, image- Jay Floyd Pirates prospect Ke'Bryan Hayes has become a hot name among rising baseball prospects.  Fresh off a Double-A Eastern League All-Star appearance the son of former Phillies and Yankees third baseman Charlie Hayes slammed a home run in Sunday's MLB All-Star Futures Game. With the Altoona Curve this season, the righty batting Hayes sports a .293 average with 21 doubles, six triples, four homers and 21 RBI in 74 games. He was a first round draft selection of Pittsburgh in 2016.  Last week at the Eastern League All-Star festivities, along with Trentonian reporter Kyle Franko, I spoke with the 21-year-old who also plays third base.  We talked with Ke'Bryan about the influence of his father and his brother Tyree, who pitched in the Reds system, what the All-Star nods mean to him, his biggest goal and more.  Read ahead for that interview. -Do you feel like you were building toward this All-Star moment with the season you've h...

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...

Adam Haseley, image- Jay Floyd A tap on the shoulder from the skipper while sitting at your locker after a game can usually mean you did something wrong on the field and a talking to is in order.  For Adam Haseley on Monday night, it was a little bit of a better meeting than what initially may have crossed his mind. The Phillies' first round draft selection (8th overall) from last year was informed after Clearwater's contest on the road at nearby Dunedin by manager Shawn Williams that he had earned a promotion to Double-A Reading .  There was relief and joy all at once. Through 79 games in the Class A Advanced Florida State League this season, the 22-year-old lefty batter posted a .300 average with 13 doubles, five triples, five home runs, 38 RBI and seven stolen bases. The production is exciting to see for many, as Haseley, a University of Virginia product, struggled out of the gate this season, sporting a .222 average after two weeks of the season.  Since t...

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...