PhoulBallz.com

We're more than a week into the minor league season and there are some players performing at a level that is what one may expect based on a guy's previous performance and reputation.  There are also players widening eyes and tilting heads...some in a good way...others not in a good way.   Here's a list of names doing well, as should be expected...we'll call this list an excited "OH, FOR REAL?!" Left-hander Damon Jones is doing Damon Jones things with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  Two appearances, 3 1/3 innings, one hit allowed, zero runs, one walk surrendered, five strike outs.  The Phils' 18th round pick from 2017 has a 3.29 career ERA, a .218 batting average against and an 11.1 K/9 mark in his professional career to date. Matt Vierling is off to a great start.  In eight games with Double-A Reading, the righty hitting outfielder sports a .310 average with two homers and two stolen bases.  He was a 5th round draft selection by the Phillies in 2018. ...

On Saturday night, outfielder Hunter Markwardt capped off an exciting 4-3 comeback win with a walk-off hit for the Class A Clearwater Threshers.   The team entered the bottom of the 9th trailing 3-0, but a convincing four-run outburst notched an impressive victory for the Phillies affiliate over Lakeland.   Thus far on the young season, the 23-year-old lefty batter has posted a .375 batting average through three games.  Markwardt was the Phils' 13th round draft selection out of Oklahoma Christian University in 2019. Last week I spoke with the promising outfielder about his excitement level for the new season, among other things.  Read ahead for that interview. -What's your level of excitement to get this season started?    Having not played in an official game since 2019, it's crazy to say the least.  With all the work put into the extended off-season, it's been super exciting to see how it's going to pay off in the the near future.  T...

This weekend over on Patreon.com/PhoulBallz I've featured some exclusive quotes from around the Phillies minor leagues.   Among the latest on the Patreon page, are Double-A Reading manager Shawn Williams talking about pitching prospect Francisco Morales among other topics, righty pitching prospect Ben Brown discussing his return to the mound following Tommy John surgery and right-hander Mark Appel sharing thoughts on his return to professional ball after taking a leave of absence a few years ago.  Additionally, you find the latest on injured pitching prospect Erik Miller .   Please consider joining the Patreon site and contributing toward my work in order to gain access to exclusive content like this all season long.  

Stepping up to the plate with the bases loaded, trailing by a pair of runs in the 11th inning, Clearwater first baseman D.J. Stewart did so 0-for-5.  His focus at the plate was no different that time than it had been the previous handfull of turns.  Make loud contact was the approach.  The contact was loud, the reaction from his team and the approximately 1,100 fans in attendance was louder.   A convincing round-tripper in that moment plated Edgar Made, Johan Rojas, Luis Garcia and Stewart.  It gave the Class A Threshers their first win on the young season by a score of 13-11 over the Tigers affiliate Lakeland.  The grand slam was the 22-year-old's first ever four-run homer as well as his first ever walk-off hit as a professional. Describing the feeling of walking a game off in such a remarkable fashion as unreal and realizing that his teammates were as hyped for him as he felt personally, Stewart also described the "loud contact" mindset as a new focu...

Ben Brown, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ- In the inagural contest under their new moniker and their initial contest as a Class A Advanced level club, the Jersey Shore BlueClaws were victorious, as they downed the Hudson Valley Renegades by a score of 6-2 on Tuesday night. Starting pitcher Ben Brown, who underwent Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2019, tossed four scoreless frames, striking out six and walking one.   After the Renegades took a 1-0 lead on an RBI double by third baseman James Nelson off of reliever Tyler McKay in the top of the 5th inning, the BlueClaws did not wait long to clap back.   A looping opposite field single by right fielder Jhailyn Ortiz plated two runs to give the BlueClaws the lead.  Catcher Logan O'Hoppe launched a homer in convincing fashion, plating Ortiz, to pad the home club's lead. Jersey Shore's third and fourth batters in the lineup lead the offense again in the 7th inning when Ortiz plated another run on a single and O'Hop...

With the minor league season set to get started on Tuesday, May 4th, the Phillies' four full-season teams unveiled their initial rosters today. Of note is the absense of rising infield prospect Kendall Simmons, who is apparently sidelined with an undisclosed injury.  The middle infielder was active in spring training action in recent weeks, but was contributing as a designated hitter.  He's likely being kept at the Phillies' complex in Florida in order to focus on recovery and limit unnecesary travel. Also, as reported recently on my Patreon page , pitcher Albertus Barber got a late start to his spring season due to an unspecified nerve issue.  He's healthy, but needs to ramp up his efforts in order to get game-ready before he joins a team. One of the Phils' most promision pitching prospects, Erik Miller, is also absent from these lists.  No word yet on what the situation is with this hard throwing 24-year-old, who was ranked as the organization's 5th best prosp...

Spencer Howard, image- Jay Floyd Right-handed pitcher  Spencer Howard  is, once again, the Phillies’ top overall prospect. Howard was the team’s second round draft selection in 2017 (45th overall) out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and has proven to be an exceptional hurler in his time as a professional hurler. In his draft year/sophomore season, Howard notched an impressive 8-1 record with a 1.95 ERA and a 10 K/9 mark over 17 appearances (12 starts) for the Mustangs. As a red shirt freshman the previous year, he posted a 2.95 ERA in 21 appearances (two starts). After signing his first pro contract, Howard debuted with Class A short-season Williamsport, where he tallied a 1-1 record with a 4.45 ERA and a .214 batting average against while striking out 40 and walking 18 in 28 1/3 innings over nine starts. Following the regular season, he participated in the Florida Instructional League. In 2018, Howard felt great levels of comfort with his Lakewood teammates, describing his situat...

Please visit  Patreon.com/PhoulBallz  in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone.  Plus you'll get interviews as well as other exclusive content you won't be able to enjoy anywhere else.  Morales, image- Jay Floyd Right-handed pitcher  Francisco Morales  has emerged as not only one of the Phillies' best prospects but quite possibly one of the best young arms in the sport. Inked by the Phils in 2016 at age 16, for a reported $900,000, the Venezuela native participated that year in the Florida Instructional League. He made his regular season minor league debut the following year with the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, posting a 3-2 record with a 3.05 ERA, a .225 batting average against and a 9.6 K/9 mark in 10 games (nine starts). In 2018 the six-foot-four 185-pounder stepped up to the Class A short-season New York-Penn League.  There, in 13 starts for Williamsport, Morales collected a 4-5 record with a 5.27 ...

Have you heard of Patreon yet?  I hope so.  If not, it's simply a way for content creators to obtain compensation for their work from the people that enjoy it. Since parting ways with a previous employer more than a few seasons back, in an environment where online ads are more difficult to come by, I have lost money doing the work on this site.  Genuinely, I have spent more on gas and tolls than I've collected from advertisers, thus it has cost me money to provide Phillies and prospect fans with the coverage they crave. Over the years I have broken trades, organizational transactions along with plenty of other news.  Additionally, I've had the opportunity to tell the stories of players that would otherwise not see the light of day. I'd love to continue doing that and promoting all levels of the Phillies developmental system for you, the readers, but I prefer to do so without taking a financial hit. With your support, I can do that.   I've establis...

Please visit  Patreon.com/PhoulBallz  in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone.  Plus you'll get interviews as well as other exclusive content you won't be able to enjoy anywhere else.  Stott, image- Jay Floyd The Phillies' first round draft selection from 2019,  Bryson Stott ,  joined the organization and swiftly became one of the most promising prospects in their developmental system. In his junior season last year with UNLV, Stott posted a .356 average with 10 home runs, 36 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 58 games.  Additionally, the lefty batter that was drafted 14th overall boasted a .486 on base percentage with the Runnin' Rebels. Soon after the draft, Stott signed with the Phillies and made his professional debut with the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies East team.  In four games, he went 6-for-9 with a double, a triple and a home run.  With a promotion to Class A short-season Williamsport, Stott...

Please visit  Patreon.com/PhoulBallz  in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone.  Plus you'll get interviews as well as other exclusive content you won't be able to enjoy anywhere else.  At a valued position, backstop  Rafael Marchan   is one of the Phillies' most valued prospects as he has built a reputation as an intelligent and physically talented player. Signed in the same off-season that the Phils dished out a $4 million signing bonus to outfielder Jhailyn Ortiz, Marchan inked a deal for a reported bargain price of $200,000, as a 16-year-old in 2015. He made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League in 2016, posting a .333 average with seven doubles, a triple and 34 RBI in 44 games. In 2017, Marchan tallying a .238/.290/.298 slash line in 30 games in the short-season Rookie level Gulf Coast League. The following year as a 19-year-old, the Venezuela native played with Class A short-season Williamsport and...

Please visit  Patreon.com/PhoulBallz  in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone.  Plus you'll get interviews as well as other exclusive content you won't be able to enjoy anywhere else.  Left-handed pitcher  Erik  Miller is widely regarded as one of the Phillies most promising prospects.  Selected in the 4th round of the 2019 draft out of Stanford, the Missouri native quickly made an impact as a professional and was promoted twice in his brief stint in the minor leagues. At three levels of the minors as a 21-year-old, Miller tallied a 1-0 record with a 1.50 ERA, a .188 batting average against, a 1.11WHIP along with a 13.0 K/9 mark in 11 appearances. Listed at six-feet-five, 240 pounds, Miller likely would have pitched at the Double-A level last year if the minor league season had not been cancelled due to the pandemic.   Regarded as one of the best college lefties in his draft class, Miller was outstandin...