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It wasn’t the debut Colby Shreve wanted to make at the Double-A level. On Thursday, fresh off the excitement of his second promotion of the season, the 24-year-old surrendered three hits and walked three batters, while letting up six runs (five of those earned) in two-thirds of an inning, in relief for the Reading Phillies. The disappointment was far greater than he had felt at any point on the pitcher’s mound, but Shreve knew that he would bounce back and prove himself worthy of competing in the Eastern League and beyond. Following six outings with Class A Lakewood early this season, the right-handed Shreve, sporting a 3.60 ERA and 9.6 strike outs per nine innings, was promoted to Class A Advanced Clearwater. Shreve then sported a 2.25 ERA and an 8.55 K/9 mark in 13 outings for the Threshers while recording two saves. Last week, the Southern Nevada Community College product then took another step upward and didn’t make the kind of splash he hoped for. His initial outing for the R-Ph...

It was announced on Tuesday that Clearwater Threshers right-handed pitcher Tyler Knigge was added to the Northern division All-Star team in the Class A Advanced Florida State League. Overall in 24 games this season, Knigge, a 12th round draft selection from 2010, is sporting a 3-1 record with 5 saves, a 0.82 ERA and a .184 batting average against. Additionally, Knigge has struck out 27 batters and walked 9 in 33 innings. After receiving word of the honor, Knigge was absolutely pleased to be recognized for his exceptional efforts this season. "I'm honored to be a part of something like this," Knigge said. "I'm happy that I was chosen to take part in the All-Star Game and I will represent the Threshers and the Phillies organization to the best of my abilities." Knigge, a product of Lewis & Clark State College, will join Threshers teammates Cameron Rupp , Cody Asche , Jesse Biddle , Adam Morgan and Austin Wright on the Northern division r...

Inter-league play continues as the Phillies (29-33) travel to Minnesota to take on the Twins (24-35) in a three-game series beginning on Tuesday night. Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups as well as plenty more statistics from this series. Tuesday, 8:05 PM. Kyle Kendrick (2-5, 4.44 ERA) vs. Nick Blackburn (2-4, 7.75 ERA). In 7 road outings this season, Kendrick has posted a 1-1 record with a 3.42 ERA. Over his last 5 starts, Kendrick has tallied a 2.73 ERA. Blackburn allowed 8 earned runs in 1 2/3 innings in his lone career outing against the Phillies. In 4 home starts this season, Blackburn is 1-2 with a 7.92 ERA. Wednesday, 8:10 PM.  Cole Hamels (8-3, 2.93 ERA) vs. P.J. Walters (2-1, 4.42 ERA).   Hamels has a 4-0 record with a 2.50 ERA in 5 road starts this season. In his last 3 starts, Hamels has posted a 5.22 ERA.  Ryan Doumit is 3-for-9 with 2 doubles in his career against Hamels.  The righty Walters is 0-1 with a 4.76 ERA ...

Jim Callis, of Baseball America, reported via Twitter this evening that the Phillies have signed 14 draft picks, including supplemental 1st round selection Shane Watson for $1,291,300, which is the full pick value. Watson attended the same high school (Lakewood, California) that former 1st round draft pick Travis d'Arnaud attended when he was selected by the Phillies in 2007. d'Arnaud recently shared his thoughts about Watson exclusively with PhoulBallz.com. "I played with his older brother and used to watch (Shane) play a little," d'Arnaud stated. "I am really happy for him and I know he will enjoy the Phillies organization, as I did." Additionally, the Phillies have also signed their 2nd round pick, high school outfielder Dylan Cozens for $659,800, also at pick value. 4th round draft choice Southern Illinois first baseman Chris Serritella signed for $200,000, which is under pick value, and 6th rounder Purdue 3rd baseman Cameron Perkins has a...

It's time, once again, for the (usually) weekly Phillies minor league review. In this edition, we'll take a look at some hot performers, some less-than-hot performers and a college draftee headed to the College World Series.   Lakewood BlueClaws, Class A South Atlantic League. 21-41 record, 6th place out of 7 (19 1/2 GB) in Northern division.   Right-handed starter Colin Kleven (pictured, left) was named Lakewood's lone representative in the SAL All-Star Game this past week. The 21-year-old native of British Columbia has posted a 3-5 record with a 3.90 ERA in 11 starts this season.  Kleven was a 33rd round draft choice in 2009. Lefty starting pitcher Ethan Stewart has been on a roll this month, posting wins and an ERA of 3.00 in back to back starts. The New Mexico Junior College product was a 47th round draft choice by the Phillies in 2010. Infielder Stephen Malcolm has had a considerably slow start with Lakewood since joining the team out of extended...

On Saturday night, as part of the Reading Phillies' Yuengling Post-Game Concert Series, right-handed hurler Trevor May performed as his alter ego DJ Hey Beef, following the club's 7-2 victory over the Harrisburg Senators (Washington affiliate). May, who has DJ'd publicly in his home state of Washington, has never had the opportunity to spin music for fans in the Philadelphia region before. When a spot opened up on the schedule in the R-Phils' weekend concert schedule, May welcomed the opportunity to display his musical hobby to a game day crowd.  The Phillies' 4th round draft selection from 2008 had previously reached out to the team about hosting a show in some fashion. "It should be a lot of fun.  That's one thing that he's really big into. I was his roommate on the road, earlier this year, and that's all he was talking about. He was on the computer, trying to find a gig to do...and it should be a lot of fun, Reading outfielder Jiwan Ja...

It's another brand new edition of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast, brought to you by me and Tug Haines. In epiosde 6, we talk about Domonic Brown 's offensive surge at Triple-A, the Phillies' draft focus as well as departed prospects like Jonathan Singleton , Travis d'Arnaud and Brian Gump . Tug and I also play the Twitter Game and provide an exclusive update on Eric Pettis ' pro career. In addition to listening to the show with the embedded player below, you can also download the show by clicking HERE and check out previous episodes by clicking HERE . __________________________________________________________ You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE . Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE

Interleague play returns as two teams with similar recent success and completely opposite spots in the standings meet for a three-game series this weekend.  The Orioles (32-25), who have lost 8 of their last 11 games, sit atop the American League East division (tied with Tampa Bay).  Beginning Friday, they will host the Phillies (28-31), who have dropped 6 straight games and are in last place in the National League East division. While the Phillies have struggled considerably all season, the club has a winning record of 16-12 on the road. In the opener of the series, the clubs will send two struggling hurlers to the mound as Joe Blanton , who has surrendered 10 home runs in 19 2/3 innings over his last 4 starts, takes on right-hander Jake Arrieta , who has lost three consecutive starts. Read ahead for more details on the pitching match ups and plenty more details for this series.  Friday, 7:05 PM.  Joe Blanton (4-6, 5.27 ERA) vs. Jake Arrieta (2-7, 5.5...

Former 2nd round draft choice Kelly Dugan has been performing quite well this season for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws.  The 21-year-old first baseman/outfielder has a .263 batting average with 5 HR and 16 RBI through 37 games this season. The son of motion picture director Dennis Dugan, Kelly was on the set of his father's film Grown Ups , which starred Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock and David Spade, when he was drafted by the Phillies in June 2009. Dugan, who stands six feet three inches tall and weighs 195 pounds, has missed time throughout his professional career with injuries and had not played with a full-season club until this year.  He missed roughly three weeks this year with a severely sprained ankle. Recently, I spoke with Kelly about his performance this season, his draft day with the stars, dealing with injuries, his manager Mickey Morandini and more.  Check out the media player below to hear excerpts from that interview. Additionally, c...

With their first pick on day 2 of the 2012 MLB amateur draft, the Phillies selected outfielder Dylan Cozens with the 77th overall pick. The 6-foot-5-inch 230-pounder attended Scottsdale Chapparal High School in Arizona, where he posted a .520 batting average with a state-best 19 home runs and 52 RBI this season. The youngster, who has a scholarship in place to play football at the University of Arizona next year, is expected to sign with the Phillies. Cozens was a defensive end in high school and also had football scholarship offers from Boise State and Washington. The Phillies also chose right-hander Alec Rash with the 95th overall pick. Rash, from Adel Desoto Minburn High School (Iowa), stands 6-feet-5-inches tall and weighs 195 pounds.  His fastball reaches 95 MPH and he is armed with some solid secondary pitches. Rash is a Missouri recruit. In round 3, the Phils selected high school shortstop Zach Green. The Jesuit High (Carmichael, CA) product batted .417 this season. ...

Reports out of Allentown on Monday night, following Lehigh Valley's rain out against Pawtucket, said that righty hurler Dave Bush has opted out of his contract with the Phillies and is headed to Korea to pitch. Through 11 starts this season, Bush had posted a 4-3 record with a 3.16 ERA.  Bush, a graduate of Conestoga High School, in PA, has pitched in the big leagues with Toronto, Milwaukee and Texas.  The 32-year-old stood a fair chance at being called upon if any further injuries occurred to the Phils' starting rotation.  In other IronPigs news, outfielder Derrick Mitchell is sidelined with a broken right hand after he was hit by a pitch from Pawtucket's Garret Mock on Sunday night.  The 25-year-old Mitchell, a 23rd round draft selection in 2005 by the Phillies, was fresh off an 8 RBI day after he drove in 4 runs in each game of Saturday's double header.  Right-handed pitcher J.C. Ramirez was promoted from Double-A Reading to Lehigh Valley on Mon...

On the opening day of the 2012 MLB amateur draft, the Phillies had two picks and used them in a familiar manner.  With their selections, the team stuck to their usual style and chose a pair of high school players.  With the 40th overall pick in the draft, the Phillies chose Shane Watson out of Lakewood High School in California.  Additionally, the Phils took Mitch Gueller with the 54th overall selection out of William F. West High School in Washington state. Watson and Gueller, both right-handed hurlers, are committed to play college ball...Watson at the University of Southern California and Gueller at Washington State University. Watson's pitch repertoire features a fastball that is steadily clocked at 93 MPH and climbs into the mid-90's at times, a great curveball as well as a cutter and a change up.  Watson stands 6'4" and weighs around 200 pounds. As a pitcher this season, Gueller posted a 6-0 record with 2 saves and a 0.80 ERA.  Reports also state t...