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Jake Kelzer, image- Jay Floyd Righty hurler Jake Kelzer closed out a solid campaign this month, proving to be a key contributor out of the Class A Lakewood bullpen down the stretch. The 24-year-old, who stands six-feet-eight and is listed at 230 pounds, pitched in four game with the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters before he was promoted to the Sally League the week of Independence Day. In 14 outings for the BlueClaws, Kelzer posted a 1-1 record with a 3.74 ERA, a .235 batting average against and a 7.9 K/9 mark.  Prior to the end of the minor league regular season, I chatted with Jake, the Phillies' 18th round draft pick in 2016, about his season, his coaches, his pitch repertoire and more.  Read ahead for that full interview. -You seem to be closing out the season with a some good outings.  Has your 2017 been as successful as you would have liked it to be? I mean I think every athlete is going to say that they can do better.  This year's ...

Scott Kingery, image- Jay Floyd Last week I talked with Phillies second base prospect Scott Kingery about recent accolades, as he was honored as the organization's annual Paul Owens Award winner and collected a Gold Glove Award for his stellar efforts on defense. Click here to read my complete feature on those honors. The following is interview excerpts featuring the 23-year-old's thoughts on the possible need for additional protective netting at big league ball fields and other topics related to his awards.  Read ahead for those exclusive quotes from Kingery. -He spoke about being named the top Phillies minor leaguer for the 2017 season... First of all the Paul Owens Award, it's an incredible honor to be able to get that aware when so many great players have come through and won that award, so it just shows the success that I was able to have this year and what I was able to do.  It's an honor just to have the Phillies think so highly of me and to ...

Scott Kingery, image- Jay Floyd Much attention was paid throughout the recent minor league season to Scott Kingery 's offense, but it's the defensive side of his game that he takes the most pride in. Fresh off a .304 average/26 home run/65 RBI/29 stolen base campaign combined at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season, Kingery was honored with a Rawlings Gold Glove Award this week.  The nod, given for defensive excellence, is awarded to one player at each position throughout the minors, putting Kingery in select company among thousands of players. The five-foot-ten 180-pound second baseman asserts that this honor didn't come as a surprise.  In fact, it was something that crossed his mind long ago. "Defense is something I take pride in and I set that goal for myself at the beginning of the year.  I told myself I wanted to be so solid that I had the chance to be put in the category or have the opportunity to win that award," Kingery said...

Zach Green, image- Jay Floyd Corner infielder Zach Green got a late start to his season this year after dealing with hip and elbow issues. Despite a late start and not posting the most ideal statistical production (.227 avg. at three levels), the 23-year-old feels his season was a success. He did lace 10 doubles and a triple while slamming nine homers and driving in 26 runs over his 57-game season, which isn't too shabby. Green, who was the Phillies' 3rd round draft choice in 2013, has long been viewed as a prospect that possesses plenty of power potential.  He has missed part of each of the past two seasons with injuries and simply may need luck on the health front in order to put together a bust-out season.  He is expected to play this autumn in the prominent Arizona Fall League. I spoke with the talented righty batter prior to the end of the minor league regular season about reaching the Double-A Eastern League, rivalries with other clubs and plenty more.  Re...

Adam Haseley, image- Jay Floyd I recently chatted with Phillies first round draft pick Adam Haseley about his successful first pro campaign that wrapped up this week with the Lakewood BlueClaws.  That session resulted in a feature ( link here ) about Adam collecting souvenirs through his playing career for his father. Many more topics were touched on during our talk, including his promotion to Class A Lakewood, playing along side another top Phillies draft pick Mickey Moniak, which players Haseley looked up to as a youth and plenty more.  Read ahead for all the spare quotes from the 21-year-old Virginia product. -Did you find it tough to adjust here late in the season to a new team or to the higher level? I think both of it is a little difficult at first.  Being on a new team and then being around new guys and then being at a whole new level.  But the guys were great at welcoming me in.  I knew a couple of them from Williamsport.  I think...

Adam Haseley, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ-- In Florida, Rich Haseley has a growing collection of baseballs.  Kept in a basket in a room at his home, each of the balls are scribbled with notes and dates.  Every one is a souvenir of a special moment achieved on the field by his son Adam. The younger Haseley was the Phillies' top draft selection this year, taken with the 8th overall pick out of Virginia. As Adam has progressed through his baseball career, even dating back to high school, the outfielder has regularly kept baseballs and given them almost as payment to his father for making sure he could compete in all the leagues that helped him to develop as a player. Not to be forgotten, though, Adam also stresses that his mother, Mary-Kay, also helped with the taxiing and making sure he got to step between the lines in all of the beneficial leagues throughout his younger playing days. Not only has Rich been supportive of Adam in terms of rides, travel costs, dues ...

JP Crawford, image- Jay Floyd IronPigs beat reporter Tom Housenick was first to report , with others confirming, that top Phillies prospect J.P. Crawford is slated to join the Phillies for their road series against the Mets that gets underway on Monday night. Crawford, 22, struggled in the early going this season, but sported a .287 average with nine home runs and 29 RBI in 51 games since the International League All-Star break. Overall on the season, the Phils first round draft choice from 2013 posted a .243 average with 15 homers and 63 RBI in 127 games with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Crawford, an outstanding defensive shortstop, has added third base and second base to his defensive skill set in recent weeks, playing six games and five games at those positions respectively.   With Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis yet to sit out a game this season, the Phillies may need to get creative in order to squeeze Crawford into their lineup.

Damek Tomscha, image- Jay Floyd It's been a very productive season for Phillies prospect Damek Tomscha (pronounced like DAME-eck TOM-shay), who has posted a .304 batting average with 11 homers and 52 RBI in 106 combined at two levels with the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers and the Double-A Reading Fightins. Tomscha, who was the Phillies' 17th round draft selection in 2014 out of Auburn, has split time on defense, playing third base, first base and taking on left field this year in order to stick in the daily lineup. This weekend I spoke with Damek, a 26-year-old righty batter, about his successful campaign this year, how is compares to last year when he struggles in Clearwater, the depth of the Phils' developmental ranks, a surprising rivalry in minor leagues and plenty more. Read ahead for that full interview. -You've had a solid season overall. Putting up good numbers at two levels and making it to Double-A for the last quarter or third of the sea...

Scott Kingery, image- Jay Floyd Recently Mike Drago of the Reading Eagle conducted a survey of media members that cover and broadcast the Phillies minor league teams , designed to rank the top talents in the organization's developmental system. The participating individuals were asked to rank their personal top 30, which were tabulated on a points system based on each ranking to determine the paper's published list of top prospects. Participating individuals included Lehigh Valley beat reporter Tom Housenick, Tony Graham of the Lakewood BlueClaws, Mike Ventola of the Reading Fightins, Williamsport beat writer Mitch Rupert, Matt Winkleman of Crashburn Alley and several others including me.  Second baseman Scott Kingery, who represented the Phillies in the MLB All-Star Futures Game this summer and has been raking all year in a split season between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley, tallied the most overall points.  Ranked best overall by the group, the 23-y...

Leftwich in 2016 with Lakewood, image- Jay Floyd Right-handed hurler Luke Leftwich has had a successful campaign in 2017 that has seen the youngster change roles from a starter to a reliever.  Following an April in which he posted a 5.84 ERA in seven appearances with the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers, the 23-year-old has tallied a 2.20 ERA in 33 games since then.  Additionally, Leftwich sports an overall 10.8 K/9 mark, has notched eight saves and leads Florida State League relievers in innings pitched with 73 2/3. Last year as a starter with Class A Lakewood and Clearwater, Leftwich posted a 10-7 combined record with a 3.38 ERA in 23 games. The six-foot-three 205-pounder was the Phillies' 7th round draft selection in 2015.  I recently talked with Luke about his success this year, his switch to the bullpen, his approach in the new role, facing Tim Tebow and plenty more.  Read ahead for that full interview. -You've enjoyed success this year.  ...

Throughout each season, I get opportunities to chat with Phillies director of player development Joe Jordan.  The boss of the Phils' minors is always open and offers solid insight on his players.  This time around I asked Joe to talk about loads of prospects including bust out pitching performers like Jose Taveras, Nick Fanti and Cole Irvin.  He also shared thoughts out the team's past three first round draft picks Adam Haseley, Mickey Moniak and Cornelius Randolph, a trio of outfielders.  Aaron Brown's conversion from outfielder to pitcher was discussed, as was Lakewood offensive stud Darick Hall.  Additionally, he spoke on the organization's acquisitions from the trade deadline, a pair of top performers for the Gulf Coast League team and plenty more.  Read ahead of the interview. Taveras w/ Lakewood in 2016, image- Jay Floyd -Jose Taveras has had an excellent season and has been a lot of fun to watch.  Can you share some thoughts on him? I ...

Roman Quinn, image- Jay Floyd Phillies fans that have gotten recent doses of well-regarded prospects Rhys Hoskins, Nick Williams and Jorge Alfaro may be wondering which other stars of the future could be making their way toward the big leagues when rosters expand in September.  A player that stands a chance at getting the call for the second year in a row is outfielder Roman Quinn. The 24-year-old has been on the shelf since late May dealing with a strain of his UCL in his non-throwing elbow.  However after a lengthy rehab period, Quinn is nearing readiness for full baseball activities in the coming days according to Phils director of player development Joe Jordan. The minor league schedule wraps up on Labor Day, so he won't be back with Lehigh Valley this year. "Quinny is feeling good," Jordan said.  "He's getting close to getting really amped up with his baseball activities.  I'm gonna guess that if we were pushing him to action, we could probab...