PhoulBallz.com

Here are some blurbs, details, stats and more on the players that were selected by the Phillies on the third and final day of the 2011 MLB first-year player draft. The Phils selected three more catchers on the third day of the draft, totaling seven for the entire process. The first player taken on Wednesday was Kyle Olson, a catcher out of Jackson High School in Washington. A two sport (baseball & football) stand out, the 31st round pick Olson batted near .500 in his senior season. Olson, a righty hitter who turned 19-years-old last month, stands 6-feet-2-inches tall and weighs 195 pounds. Other catchers selected on day 3 were 18-year-old Austin Knight (43rd round), a right-handed hitter out of Sumrall High School in Mississippi, and 17-year-old Scott Tomassetti, a righty batter from Sierra Vista High School in Nevada. Another big focus on Wednesday was pitching, as Philadelphia selected 11 pitchers in their last 19 rounds. Among the hurlers taken by the Phils in day 3 of the draft...

With their initial pick on day two of the 2011 MLB amateur draft, the Phillies tipped their hand for a game plan set to coordinate with the potential future of the game of baseball. As the game has begun to go the way of speed, small ball, defense and pitching, the Phillies took shortstop Roman Quinn, a product of Port St. Joe's High School in Florida. Quinn, who stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and weighs around 170 pounds, had played some center field and second base during the past couple of seasons as well. According to the Phillies' director of scouting Marti Wolever, Quinn spent time last Sunday working out at shortstop for the Phillies at their complex in Clearwater. The organization and the 18-year-old Quinn alike have interest in the youngster pursuing a professional career at shortstop. Quinn was proclaimed, by some, to be the player with the most speed in this year's MLB first-year player draft, which was appealing to the Phillies. "I've always been a big sp...

When the Class A South Atlanic League All-star Game gets underway on Tuesday, June 21st, in Salisbury, MD, five Lakewood BlueClaws will be there representing the Northern Division. On Tuesday it was announced that pitchers David Buchanan , Garett Claypool and Lisalberto Bonilla will join first baseman Jim Murphy and outfielder Anthony Hewitt will all represent the two-time defending league champions in the annual exhibition. Lakewood's five representatives ties Hagerstown for most by a team from the Northern Division. David Buchanan in action against Hagerstown in May Buchanan, a Georgia native, is slated to start the SAL All-star Game for the Northern Division. Buchanan, 22, was a 7th round draft selection by the Phillies last year. In 11 starts, Buchanan has posted a 7-2 record with a 2.15 ERA. His teammates playfully refer to the right-handed Buchanan as "Buck Nasty". Claypool, a UCLA product, began the season in the bullpen, but has since proven himself worthy of a...

On Monday night in Secaucus , NJ, the Phillies selected one of the few players that was actually present at the MLB Network studios. With the 39 th overall pick, announced by short-season Williamsport Crosscutters manager Mickey Morandini , the Phillies selected high school outfielder Larry Greene. Described as a slugger with great tools, Greene stands 6-feet-1-inch tall and is listed at 235 pounds. Greene was an AFLAC all-American in 2010 out of Berrien County High School. According to the Phillies , Greene posted a .536 average in 30 games with 11 doubles, 19 homers, 52 RBI and 37 walks this season. At times, the 18-year-old Greene has dabbled with switch hitting and playing third base, but both could likely be discontinued as his natural side (lefty) has proven to be superior and the Phillies will prefer Greene to move forward exclusively in the outfield. Greene, whose mother passed away late last year, asserted on TV, following the announcement of his selection, that his m...

No intro...just stats. Dodgers (28-32, 3rd place NL West) at Phillies (35-24, 1st place NL East). Philadelphia won 4 of 6 meetings with Los Angeles last year. Monday, 7:05PM. Ted Lilly (4-4, 4.22 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (4-5, 3.94 ERA). In 6 career starts against the Phillies, Lilly has a 1-4 record with a 5.91 ERA. The left-handed Lilly is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA in his last 3 road starts this season. Lilly has a 7.16 ERA in 3 career starts at Citizens Bank Park. In 6 home starts this season, Lee has posted a 3-1 record and a 2.72 ERA. In his lone career start against the Dodgers, Lee allowed 1 earned run in 7 1/3 innings. Catcher Rod Barajas is 0-for-12 in his career against Lee. Tuesday, 7:05PM. Rubby De La Rosa (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. Roy Oswalt (3-3, 2.70 ERA). Righty rookie De La Rosa will be making his first MLB start. Opponents are batting .176 against the 21-year-old De La Rosa in 5 innings for the Dodgers. In 8 starts with Class AA Chattanooga, De La Rosa had a 2-2 record with a 2.93 ER...

Philadelphia's 2010 1st round draft pick, LHP Jesse Biddle What's up: Monday evening at 7 PM Eastern, the 2011 MLB Draft is set to begin. Phillies fans that are used to getting excited over that first selection of young, mysterious talent will have to wait just a bit longer this time around. Philadelphia will not pick in the amateur draft's opening round, due to their signing of free agent pitcher Cliff Lee last off-season (they lost that pick to Texas), however, the were granted a selection in the supplementary round that follows the first round because outfielder Jayson Werth left, as a free agent. The Phillies' first pick in this year's draft will be 39th overall. What to expect: In recent years, the Phillies have shown they are partial to take what are known as "toolsy" offensive guys with their earliest picks, as proven by the selections of players like Greg Golson (1st round, 2004), Anthony Hewitt (1st round, 2008), Zach Collier (supplementary round...

Garett Claypool is a name that folks all around the South Atlantic League are being forced to take notice of. The Phillies' 11th round draft pick from last season has been excellent thus far in 2011, pitching in multiple roles and holding opposing hitters to a .188 batting average through 12 games for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. The 6-foot-2-inch 175-pound UCLA grad began the season in the Lakewood bullpen, but after breaking into the rotation, when the club was forced to play multiple double headers brought on by rain outs, Claypool proved himself worthy of sticking as a starter going forward. Armed with a fastball that is regularly clocked at 91-92 MPH, Claypool has posted a 1-2 record and leads the South Atlantic League with a 2.00 ERA. Additionally, the 22-year-old California native's 66 strike outs, in 54 innings pitched, rank 2nd in the league. After signing with the Phillies and making his professional debut with the short-season Williamsport Crosscutters last year...

The Phillies (34-22) continue their road trip in Pittsburgh this weekend, where they will play their Keystone State rivals, the Pirates (26-29). Expected to return to the Phillies' active roster in time for the series opener is outfielder Shane Victorino, who has been sidelined with a right hamstring strain since May 19th. To make room for Victorino, the Phils will reportedly option OF/1B John Mayberry Jr. to the minors. Victorino went 2-for-13 with a HR in 4 minor league rehab games since last Saturday. In the opener of the 3-game series, the Phillies will send their "fourth ace", Cole Hamels, who has won three straight starts, to the mound. Pittsburgh will counter with Jeff Karstens, who has spent time in the Pirates rotation and their bullpen this season. Read ahead for more info on the pitching match ups and more key details for this series. Friday, 7:05PM. Cole Hamels (7-2, 3.01 ERA) vs. Jeff Karstens (3-4, 3.58 ERA). In 4 career starts against the Pirates, Hamels i...

On Thursday, the Class A Advanced Florida State League announced its mid-season All-star rosters. Among the players chosen were four members of the Phillies' Clearwater Threshers club. Pitchers Julio Rodriguez , Jonathan Pettibone , Justin Friend and their battery mate Sebastian Valle were all selected to represent Clearwater on the North division squad in the annual exhibition to be held on Saturday, June 18th. Clearwater will host the game at Bright House Field, the spring training home of the Phillies. Rodriguez, 20, has posted a 6-3 record with a 2.28 ERA in 10 starts this season. Despite losing a stretch of 3 straight starts recently, Rodriguez has maintained strong numbers all season long. Last year, the right-handed Rodriguez was an integral addition to the Lakewood BlueClaws roster that locked down its second consecutive South Atlantic League title. Pettibone, another 20-year-old righty hurler, is 5-4 with a 2.03 ERA in 11 starts for Clearwater. Pettibone's ERA current...

Right-handed hurler Austin Hyatt began the 2011 season on a roll for the Double A Reading Phillies, posting a 5-1 record with a 3.18 ERA over his first 7 starts. Slumping a bit since then, Hyatt has gone 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in his last 3 starts. A 15th round draft pick out of the University of Alabama by the Phillies in 2009, Hyatt made his professional debut that year with the short-season Williamsport Crosscutters. In 17 games in the NY-Penn League, Hyatt posted a 3-0 record with 6 saves and a 0.66 ERA while striking out 81 batters in 54 1/3 innings. Those stats earned him a promotion to join the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, serving as their set-up man for the postseason. In 2010, the 6-foot-2-inch 180-pound Hyatt was named the Florida State League's Most Valuable Pitcher, as he notched an 11-5 record and a 3.04 ERA in 23 games (21 starts), as a member of the High A level Clearwater Threshers. In August, he was promoted to Reading, where he made 4 starts (1-0, 4.91 ERA) to wrap u...

The following tale, originally posted on June 21st, 2011 at 2:30 AM, is not accurate. Read the update at the end of this post for more details. However, I know multiple sources linked to this piece, so I shall let it live. Occasionally, a sensation will take the Nation of Phils tweeters by storm. This past weekend, it was the move by Phillies right-handed reliever Mike Stutes to join the online Tweetfest. Interestingly, Stutes had a bit of a wager going when he decided to create his own Twitter account last Friday. Scott Mathieson, who has pitched in relief for the Phillies this season but is currently settling into the role of starter for the first time in four years with the Triple A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, felt that Stutes could not collect 1,000 followers on the social networking site within the first 24 hours. Not only did Stutes exceed the 1,000 mark, but he more than doubled that goal after a single day. Mathieson, who last week had to watch his hometown Vancouver Canucks...

This afternoon, Phillies pitcher Brad Lidge appeared in an extended spring training game in Tampa against the Yankees club, as he rehabs his strained right rotator cuff. The former All-star reliever has been on the disabled list since spring training and has not appeared in a Major League game this year. The 34-year-old right-hander made his extended spring debut with the Phillies club on Saturday, throwing 24 pitches, while allowing a hit and striking out one batter. On Tuesday, Lidge recorded 5 outs in the same inning, as the rules in extended spring games can be altered a bit in order to accommodate the likes of rehabbing players. After walking the lead-off batter on 4 pitches, Lidge settled in, striking out the next 2 batters, forcing a pop up, striking out another and then wrapping up his game action with a fly out. Following his efforts in his outing on Tuesday, Lidge told a source that he feels he'll be ready to pitch again after 2 days and that his next rehab appearance sh...