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Due to the Coronavirus pandemic the Blue Jays are playing their home games at Buffalo's Sahlen Field, the home of Toronto's Triple-A affiliate, the Bisons.  They'll host the Phillies for a double header on Thursday afternoon. Here's a quick rundown of the pitching match ups and some other key notes from this pairing. Game 1, 1:05PM.  Spencer Howard (0-1, 7.88 ERA) vs. Chase Anderson (0-0, 3.00 ERA).  Howard, a righty, was the Phils' 2nd round draft selection out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo back in 2017.  In two MLB starts to date, the rookie Howard, who entered the past two seasons as the Phillies' top prospect , has notched six strike outs and three walks over eight innings.  The right-handed Anderson joined the Blue Jays this year after spending the last four seasons with the Brewers.  In six career starts against the Phils, Anderson has a 1-3 record, a 6.75 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.  Jay Bruce is 1-for-18 (.067 avg) in his career against Anderson....

I invite you to visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to exclusive material like this as well as early access to all my other content. Darick Hall, image- Jay Floyd This week I talked with Phillies first base prospect Darick Hall about his down time due to the cancelled minor league season.   In 132 games with Double-A Reading last year, the lefty batting slugger notched a .235 average with an Eastern League leading 38 doubles, a triple, 20 home runs (2nd in the league) and 67 RBI.  This year, the 25-year-old spent time with the big league club in spring training where he saw action in 14 Grapefruit League games. Hall, who was the Phillies' 14th round draft selection 2016, offered his thoughts on being left off of the team's player pool roster, how he's staying in shape, what he's doing with his free time and more.  Read ahead for a sample of that interview. - I'd have to feel like the team would have had to give some considerati...

For early access to material such as this and exclusive access to other content like player interviews, consider supporting my work with subscribing on Patreon.com/PhoulBallz . With several Phillies pitching prospects making their big league debuts recently and the performance of most of the big league 'pen pieces not impressing many, fans are likely to be wondering, "Who's next?" Some talented young hurlers have earned promotions to join the major league roster thus far in the shortened season.  Names like Ramon Rosso , Connor Brogdon , Spencer Howard and JoJo Romero have gotten the call.   Rosso, who tallied a 2.80 ERA and a 10.1 K/9 mark in 62 career minor league outings, primarily as a starter, has been underwhelming for the Phils, but shows potential of figuring things out.  In four relief appearances, the 24-year-old has allowed three earned runs with four strike outs and three walks over 4 2/3 innings. Brogdon, 25, made his major league debut last week, al...

It's still early in the season, right?   With another opponent on the horizon, the Phillies will attempt to show that they aren't as bad as their 5-9 record would indicate.  Based on winning percentage, there's only one team (Pittsburgh) in the National League that has a worse record than the Phils. The Mets (9-11) come to town and will open a three-game series beginning on Friday at Citizens Bank Park.  Friday, 7:05pm.  Jacob deGrom (2-0, 2.45 ERA) vs. Spencer Howard (0-1, 7.71 ERA).  In 15 career starts against the Phillies the right-handed deGrom has a 7-1 record with a 2.23 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP.  In seven starts at CBP deGrom has a 3-0 record with two complete games.  Bryce Harper is 10-for-34 (.294 average) with two home runs in his career when facing deGrom.  The righty Howard, the Phillies' top ranked prospect headed into each of the past two seasons, made his big league debut last weekend, giving up four earned runs in 4 2/3 innin...

On Tuesday, the Orioles will travel north to open a three-game series against the Phillies.   The Baltimore club (7-7) will look to improve to a winning record following an off day on Monday and a series win over the weekend against the defending champion Nationals. The Phillies (5-6) will look to build off of an offensive trouncing in which they pounded five homers in a victory over the Braves. Read ahead for details on the pitching match ups and some other key statistics from this series. Tuesday, 8/11 7:05pm.  Alex Cobb (1-1, 2.51 ERA) vs Zack Wheeler (2-0, 2.08 ERA).   Cobb, a righty, went five innings and allowed just one run but took the loss in his last start against Miami.  The veteran Cobb is averaging more than a strike out per inning this season.  JT Realmuto is 3-for-6 with two homers in his career when facing Cobb.  Wheeler sports a 0.75 ERA in a pair of career starts against the O's.  Opponents are OPS'ing .631 against Wheeler in ...

Recently, I spoke with Phillies pitching prospect Ben Brown about his recovery from Tommy John surgery, how he's using the down time during the pandemic hiatus and more.  When the 20-year-old right-hander spared some time to answer the serious questions, he was also gracious enough to offer his thoughts on the silly-ass ones.  Read ahead for a sample of my bonus interview with Ben. -Who is your coolest Phillies teammate and why? Bruce Wang for sure. No explanation needed for that stud. -I have an "Uncle Chubby" and my son calls his grandmother "Gaga".  Do you have any unique names within your family?    We call my Uncle Scott "Bigs." He is a big, awesome guy. Very tall. For the complete version of this piece as well as many additional exclusive interviews head on over to Patreon.com/PhoulBallz and support my work.    

Image- MiLB.com Out of action since last May when it was determined he required Tommy John surgery, righty pitching prospect Ben Brown is using the downtime of the pandemic hiatus to continue his physical recovery.  A 33rd round draft selection of the Phillies back in 2017, Brown made his professional debut that same year, posting a 2.57 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in 10 appearances in the rookie level Gulf Coast League.  The following season, Brown began to make a name for himself in the GCL, striking out 16 batters in one July appearance.  He would post a 3.12 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 10 games (eight starts) before earning a promotion and finishing the season with a pair of outings with Class A short-season Williamsport. Brown, a Long Island, NY native, opened last year with Class A Lakewood.  In four appearances with the BlueClaws, he struck out 20, walked four and allowed no runs in 13 2/3 innings and looked well on his way to making an impact on betting odds and avai...

On Monday the Phillies will open up a home-and-home four-game series against the Yankees, with the first pair taking place in Philadelphia and the last pair happening in New York City. After dropping two of three in their season opening series against the Marlins, the Phils look to bounce back and get on the winning track.   New Phillies skipper Joe Girardi managed the Yankees for a decade, winning a World Series title against the Phils in 2009.  Two days shy of the 10-year anniversary of the day the Phillies traded him to Houston in the Roy Oswalt deal, J.A. Happ will start the series opener against veteran Jake Arrieta.  Read ahead for breakdowns of the pitching match ups and other key stats from this series. Monday 7/27, 7:05PM.  LHP J.A. Happ (12-8, 4.91 ERA in 2019) vs. RHP Jake Arrieta (8-8, 4.64 ERA in 2019).   In 30 career appearances at Citizens Bank Park, the 37-year-old Happ sports a 3.87 ERA.  In his career against Happ, Andrew McCut...

Rhys Hoskins, image- Jay Floyd At long last, it is Opening Day for the Phillies.  The delayed season, a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, gets underway for the Phils and Marlins on Friday, as the two teams open a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. Entering the 2020 campaign with new manager Joe Girardi at the helm, the Phillies hope this is the year they can return to the postseason for the first time since 2011 after under-performing and faltering down the stretch in each of the past two seasons. On Thursday, Major League Baseball announced arrangements for an expanded playoff format this year, increasing the amount of post-season teams from 10 to 16. Coming off back-to-back last place finishes in the National League East division, Miami looks to surprise many and contend for one of those spots.  The Marlins lost 105 games last year. Read ahead for specifics on the pitching match ups and more from this series.  Friday, 7/24/20...7:05PM....

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Logan O'Hoppe was the subject of a recent player feature I posted here three days early.  When I talked with Logan, he was kind enough to not only chat about some serious baseball related topics, he also had some fun with me and answered Nine Silly-Ass Questions! In this interview, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, offered his thoughts on his experiences playing in Australia last off-season, super powers, some surprising movies he's never seen, teammate Albertus Barber and plenty more.  Read ahead for some excerpts from this Silly-ass interview... -You can 4-for-4 and your team loses, or you can get hit in the groin and your team wins...which do you choose? I mean, if we win, then the whole team has a good night, so I have to go with that one.  That really benefits everybody. -Tell me, if you can, four words to describe Albertus Barber . One,...

Jose Pujols, image- Jay Floyd It was announced that the Phillies released outfield prospect Jose Pujols along with two minor league pitchers on Wednesday. The 24-year-old righty hitting Dominican missed all of the 2019 regular season following a reported Achilles tendon injury. Pujols made a name for himself during his first campaign in full-season Class A in 2016,  when he set Lakewood's single season home run record at the time, at that time, with a mark of 24. Overall in 128 games in the South Atlantic League that year, Pujols tallied a .241 batting average with 82 runs batted in. In six minor league seasons, the six-foot-three 180-pounder notched a .238/.304/.406 slash line.  The father of two posted a message about the release on his Instagram account on Wednesday night.  An image of that statement is embedded below. Tip of the cap to OF Jose Pujols, who was released yesterday by the #Phillies . He posted a statement about it on his Instagram a...

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Please consider supporting my work and via my Patreon page .  For a small monthly fee, your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this feature.  Thank you.   On Friday, the Phillies added a pair of catchers to their 2020 player pool.  Minor leaguers Logan O'Hoppe (pronounced Oh-HOP-ee) and Henri Lartigue arrived in Philadelphia to help catch bullpen sessions for the team's collection of approximately 30 pitchers. The call to O'Hoppe was extremely welcome as the 20-year-old had been staying as active as he possibly could, working out with other players that have been been waiting out quarantine due to the current pandemic at his home on Long Island.  However, he had been very eager to step back onto an actual baseball field. "I just hope I can play soon.  Where ever that is or whatever form that is, that'd be aw...