A Critical Look at the Phillies Organization and Minor League Baseball
We will likely never see something like the 2015 Reading Fightins again. It was the perfect combination of top prospects, post promotion breakouts, and a huge influx of talent via trade. The team was the favorites going into the Eastern League playoffs and steamrolled through the first round. But in the end they ended up … Read more
This is the interview I have looked forward to the most since I started this series. Given how many Reading games I watched and listened to this year, I have heard Mike Ventola’s voice more than any other baseball radio/TV person out there. Chris LaBarge wrote here this summer before starting his own site and … Read more
The season has come to an end so it is time to recap everything that happened. We will have wrap ups on all the affiliates complete with interviews with individuals covering the teams. Additionally, all the players who graduated from offseason lists will get a send off. Any other content from recaps will go where … Read more
Much like Nick Pivetta in the Carolina League, the Phillies acquired some players at the deadline that had some previous pedigree. Today’s group come from the small (but prospect laden) Texas League and were the core of the deal that sent Cole Hamels to Texas to lead the Rangers to the playoffs (though Jerad Eickhoff … Read more
The list everyone was waiting for. The Reading team was stacked this year, as was the whole Eastern League. Before jumping into the names from the Phillies, Zach Eflin and Roman Quinn did qualify for this list, but Nick Williams and Jake Thompson did not. Once again I want to emphasize that this list was … Read more
The Fightin Phils dispatched the Binghamton Mets with ease in the first round of the Eastern League playoffs, setting them up for a 5 game series with the Bowie Baysox (Orioles) for the championship. Starting Pitching: Game 1 (@Reading): Zach Eflin Game 2 (@Reading): Ethan Martin Game 3 (@Bowie): Jake Thompson Game 4 (@Bowie): Ben Lively … Read more
Outside those that follow the minor leagues closely, Ken Giles was a relative unknown before he showed up to camp in 2014. It was with good reason, because while Giles was a known quantity out of JuCo in the 2011 draft (he touched 100 with an average to above average slider), he missed most of … Read more
The best team in the Phillies’ system both on the field and for prospects all season has been the Reading Fightin Phils. The rotation has gone from vaunted to fringy, to vaunted again. The team received a big boost this July as it was bolstered with trade acquisitions and the explosion of Andrew Knapp. Based … Read more
First the bad news, Nick Williams suffered a concussion during a collision at first base where the first baseman received the ball while standing on top of the base. I assume the Phillies will be slow with Nick’s recovery, and he may be ready by the Fightin’s postseason run, but that is small significance compared … Read more
Last night, Joely Rodriguez but up yet another solid line for a Reading pitching staff that seems near unbeatable as he went 7 innings, while allowing 4 hits (1 a solo HR), the 1 run, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts. It was the 5th straight solid start for the 23 year old left hander after … Read more