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The Phillies initiated steps to begin a necessary makeover of their troubling bullpen on Friday as the team made two trades to help improve the relief corps that had posted MLB's worst ERA (8.07) heading into action that day. In a pair of trades, the Phillies acquired right-hander David Hale from the Yankees as well as righties Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree from the Red Sox.  Originally a 3rd round draft pick out of Princeton University by the Braves in 2009, Hale has posted a 4.23 ERA with a 6.0 K/9 mark and a 1.43 WHIP in 95 career big league appearances.  Hale had been designated for assignment recently by the Yankees. In 195 big league games dating back to 2013 Workman has notched a 24-16 record with 20 saves, a 3.75 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Workman ranked first in MLB last year in opponents' xSLG (.238), which measures exit velocity and launch angle of each batted ball in an effort to remove defense and ballpark factors from the equation.   Hembree sports a 3.6...

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...

Please visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone.  Plus you'll get interviews as well as other exclusive content you won't be able to enjoy anywhere else.  I could use, and I would value, your backing. Connor Seabold, image- Jay Floyd Selected by the Phillies in the third round of the 2017 draft, right-hander Connor Seabold made an immediate impact upon debuting as a pro and has continued to impress as he has moved upward in the developmental ranks at a swift pace. In his college career at Cal State Fullerton, the California native tallied a 23-15 record with a save, three complete games, a 2.96 ERA and a 9.5 K/9 mark in 56 appearances (42 starts) overall. After signing with the Phillies, Seabold posted a 2-0 record with a 0.90 ERA and a .143 batting average against while striking out 13 batters and walking two in 10 innings of work as a reliever for the short-season Class A Will...

Over the off-season, sometimes this site can go stretches of several days without a post or an update, but if you're looking for constant news, stats and insight on what is taking place with Phillies developmental talents throughout the autumn and winter months, follow me on Twitter or simply bookmark my Twitter profile page ( https://twitter.com/PhoulBallz ) to get daily alerts and details. In the Dominican Winter League thus far, catcher Deivy Grullon and shortstop Malquin Canelo have each posted a .143 batting average in four games for their respective teams. In the Arizona Fall League, where Phils prospects are playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions, corner infielder Alec Bohm is sporting a .361 batting average with a pair of homers, nine RBI and five walks in 19 contests. Righty pitcher Spencer Howard has notched a 1-1 record with a 2.11 ERA and an 11.4 K/9 mark in six starts. In eight appearances left-hander JoJo Romero has posted a 1-0 record, a 0.84 ERA and ...

A couple of weeks into action, here's a rundown of how Phillies players are performing in the Arizona Fall League. Each Phillies prospect plays for the Scottsdale Scorpions. The team has a 6-6 record through 12 games this year.   Alec Bohm, image- Jay Floyd Third baseman Alec Bohm in eight games sports a .387 batting average with two doubles and five RBI.  The righty hitting Bohm was the Phillies' first round draft selection in 2018. In four games, Josh Stephen has tallied a .455 average with a triple and one RBI.  The 22-year-old lefty batter was an 11th round draft selection in 2016 by the Phils. Center fielder Mickey Moniak has notched a .161 batting average with a double, a triple, four RBI and a stolen base in seven contests with Scottsdale.  The 21-year-old lefty hitter was the first overall selection in the 2016 draft. In three games, infielder Nick Maton is batting .333 with a double a home run and a pair of RBI.  The lefty batting ...

Alec Bohm, image- Jay Floyd Mike Drago, who covers the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils for the Reading Eagle, is back with his annual prospect survey. Each August, Mike surveys a collection of writers, broadcasters and media types that cover the Phillies minor league levels closely to collect each person's list of ranked Phillies prospects. Using a point system, awarding points based on rank, he will tally out a complete list of all the organization's best developmental talents. Per Mike, third baseman/first baseman Alec Bohm was listed as the top prospect on two-thirds of the submissions. Here is a sample of the list, the top 10, right from the Reading Eagle piece. 1. Alec Bohm: Batted .367 at Lakewood. Scored a .395 on-base percentage at Clearwater. Slugged .500 at Reading. Pretty good for his first full season as a pro. Charlie Manuel gives him high marks for his approach as a hitter and thinks he could hit 40 bombs in the big leagues some day. What's not...

Mickey Moniak, image- Jay Floyd Arizona Fall League rosters were announced this week and the Scottsdale roster is slated to feature some of the Phillies' most exciting prospects. Set to represent the Phils in the prestigious off-season league that is operated by Major League Baseball are outfielder Mickey Moniak , right-handed pitchers Spencer Howard and Connor Seabold , corner infielder Alec Bohm , shortstop Nick Maton along with left-handed hurler JoJo Romero . A previously unannounced representative from the Phillies organization that is set to see action with the Scorpions is lefty reliever Zach Warren . Howard, who was ranked by this outlet as the Phils' top prospect headed into this season, has reached Double A Reading and will likely start game one of the Eastern League divisional playoffs this coming Wednesday.  He missed time earlier this season with a shoulder strain.  In 13 combined regular season starts with Class A Advanced Clearwater and Read...

Mickey Moniak, image- Jay Floyd ALLENTOWN, PA-- Double-A Reading batted around in the opening frame, plating five runs against Triple-A Lehigh Valley starter Drew Anderson and never looked back, dropping the host team by a score of 7-3 in the annual Rt. 222 Showcase exhibition. Right fielder Adam Haseley led off the first with a double and came around to score on a single by center fielder Mickey Moniak .  Shortstop Arquimedes Gamboa also drove in two with a key hit in the first. Anderson would calm down following the shaky start, looking in control and retiring 10 in a row and recording four K's as he completed four innings of work. Reading starting pitcher Mauricio "MoYo" Llovera surrendered a pair of runs in the second inning on an error and a run scoring single by Shane Robinson. Left fielder Cornelius Randolph notched three hits on the night, including an RBI double. The Fightins lead the all-time exhibition series six games to four. The IronPigs...

Connor Seabold, image- MiLB.com Selected in the third round of the 2017 MLB amateur draft, right-hander Connor Seabold made an immediate splash upon debuting as a pro and has continued to impress as he has moved upward in the developmental ranks at a swift pace. In his college career at Cal State Fullerton, the California native tallied a 23-15 record with a save, three complete games, a 2.96 ERA and a 9.5 K/9 mark in 56 appearances (42 starts) overall. After signing with the Phillies, Seabold posted a 2-0 record with a 0.90 ERA and a .143 batting average against while striking out 13 batters and walking two in 10 innings of work in relief for the short-season Class A Williamsport Crosscutters. Last season, Seabold took quite a jump, opening the season with Class A Advanced Clearwater and switching to a starting role. In 12 games there he notched a 4-4 record with a 3.77 ERA, a .213 batting average against as well as an 8.5 K/9 mark. The six-foot-three 190-pounder earned...