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On episode 56 of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast, Tug and Jay chat about the minor league promotions that stand out for the coming season, plus several Phillies transactions including the team moving on from Bobby Abreu , Mike Stutes and Kevin Frandsen . Also news related to former Phils Seth Rosin , Vance Worley and Carlos Carrasco is discussed. Use the media player below to stream the full episode, or simply download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes . 

After some serious bumps in the road Carlos Carrasco , is headed back to full health and is focused on a successful future in the big leagues. As a highly rated prospect in the Phillies organization, Carrasco once battled for an opening day roster spot with the Phils. During spring training 2009, the right-hander appeared in six games, posting a 2-2 record with a 5.95 ERA. The statistics weren't overly impressive, but "the stuff" was there, just as it had been six months prior when he posted a 1.72 ERA over six starts as a 21-year-old in Triple-A. Phils brass as well as scouts throughout baseball saw great potential in the Venezuelan hurler and he became a sought after commodity. By mid-season that year, Carrasco would become the key prospect dealt in a package that allowed the Phillies to acquire Cleveland ace Cliff Lee . By the end of that season, at age 22, Carrasco had made his big league debut for the Indians, while Lee led a charge to the World Series for the Phi...

In recent seasons, the Phillies have parted ways with a considerable collection of well-regarded prospects in efforts to acquire established big league players. As time passes, those young players get closer to contributing for their new organization at the highest level and some are already doing so. As this year's trade deadline approaches, here’s a glance at how many of those former Phils’ farm hands have performed throughout the pros thus far in 2012. Jonathan Singleton , 1B, traded to Houston in the 2011 Hunter Pence deal- In 82 games with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, the 20-year-old has posted a .271 batting average with 18 doubles, 3 triples, 12 HR and 49 RBI. Jarred Cosart , RHP, also dealt in the Pence trade- In 13 starts for Corpus Christi, the righty hurler is sporting a 4-5 record with a 3.91 ERA and a .273 batting average against. Cosart, 22, made 1 start for Triple-A Oklahoma City in May, allowing 4 earned runs in 6 innings of work. Overall in 79 2/3 innin...

In recent seasons, plenty of well-regarded prospects have been traded by the Phillies to acquire established MLB talent and other key contributors. Many of those minor leaguers have been spending time with their respective clubs' big league teams this spring training. Here's a glance at how many of those former Phils' farm hands have done thus far in the exhibition season. Jonathan Singleton , 1B, traded to Houston in 2011 as part of the Hunter Pence deal- 9 games, 4-for-10 (.400 avg.), 1 double, 3 runs scored. Jonathan Villar , SS, traded to Houston in 2010 as part of the Roy Oswalt deal- 4 games, 0-for-2, with 2 walks. Anthony Gose , OF, traded to Houston in 2010 as part of the Roy Oswalt deal (subsequently flipped to Toronto)- 11 games, 4-for-15 (.267 avg), 1 double, 1 RBI. Travis d'Arnaud , traded to Toronto in 2009 as part of the Roy Halladay deal- 7 games, 3-for-15 (.200 avg), 2 doubles, 1 HR, 4 RBI. Kyle Drabek , traded to Toronto in the 2009 Roy Halladay deal...

With a steady mix of new pitchers rotating through the Phillies' club house recently, one can only wonder, "who is next?" Pitchers like Sergio Escalona, Tyler Walker, Kyle Kendrick, Antonio Bastardo and Andrew Carpenter have all made visits to the big league roster this season as call ups and fill-ins. One name that most phans are familiar with and likely expected to see in a Phillies uniform sooner than later is Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco, however, has been a considerable disappointment at the triple A level, going 1-7 with a 5.56 ERA, over 12 starts this season for Lehigh Valley. A name that could soon surpass Carrasco on the Phils' prospect list is lefty Joe Savery. Savery, a former top draft pick of the Phillies out of Rice University, is quickly mowing through double A opposition. He won his 8th game today for the Reading Phillies and lowered his ERA to 3.47. Savery has lost just one game in his 13 starts. Phillies phans who don't live close enough to make the...

Long before my idea of a Chan Ho's Banjos fan group could take the region by storm, like I once thought it might, Chan Ho Park guy continues to struggle. Park allowed 7 earned runs and walked 6 batters, in 4 2/3 innings pitched on Friday in game 1 against the Metropolitans. Park's season ERA stands at 8.57, over 5 starts. Park seems to be pitching himself out of the Phillies' rotation. But, who might be the answer to fill his spot? Prospect Carlos Carrasco is still winless at triple A Lehigh Valley, and has had rough times in his last two outings. He has a 4.50 ERA and 31 strike outs and a 1.23 WHIP in 26 innings, over 5 starts. Reliever "Jay" Happ has a 3.52 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 9 appearances this season. Kyle Kendrick is earning himself consideration with a 2-1 record and a 2.77 ERA over 5 starts for Lehigh Valley. Time will tell what the team will do with the 5th spot in the rotation. ************** Links from around my bloggerhood- Swing and a Long Drive...

Jason Knapp Today's pitching performances from Phillies' minor leaguers were sparkling, exciting and phantastic, to say the least. Gems all around from the Phillies' deep corp of minor league arms, and here is a full report. Carlos Carrasco had a solid outing for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Against the Syracuse Chiefs, the Nationals' triple A affiliate, Carlos threw 7 innings and allowed 3 runs on just 3 hits, walked 1 and struck out 10. Reading Phillie Tyson Brummett faced the Altoona Curve, the Pirates double A affiliate. Brummett gave up just 1 earned run on 5 hits, in 7 2/3 innings, walking none and striking out 5. High A ball Clearwater had former top draft pick Kyle Drabek on the hill tonight. Drabek threw 6 2/3 innings, following a scoreless 1 inning start appearance by Mike Zagurski. Drabek walked 2, gave up 4 hits and allowed no runs, while striking out 10. After all those, the best start of the day came this morning from Lakewood's 18 year old prospect Jas...

We're all aware that our Philadelphia Phillies have a .500 winning percentage with a 4-4 record. Low A Ball Lakewood is also .500 at 4-4 Those double A Reading Phillies are .500 also, at 3-3. Triple A Lehigh Valley and High A Clearwater total out to .500 with their 2-5 and 5-2 records respectively. A look around the stat boards after just over a week of minor leagues games delivers some surprises... Lakewood's first baseman Jim Murphy is roughing up South Atlantic League pitching. His .522 batting avg. and 1.288 OPS through 6 games are very impressive. Meanwhile, top catching prospect Travis D'Arnaud has a .207 batting avg. in 7 games. D'Arnaud does have a homer and 6 RBI in those 7 games though, so don't count him out. 23 year-old Clearwater first baseman, Matthew Rizzotti has 7 RBI in 6 games with a .476 batting avg. and a 1.187 OPS to go along with them, while OF prospect Dominic Brown struggles. Brown's .231 average and 2 RBI through 5 games is small time, b...

Carlos Ruiz says have a fun time time celebrating St. Patrick's Day this weekend! Be safe, don't drink and drive, and wear protection...just like Carlos does behind the plate. And here's a shot of today's game action and Phillies top pitching prospect Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco surrendered 1 earned run in 3 innings pitched while striking out 4, in the Phillies' 5-2 win over Houston. Click the image for a better look. Happy weekend to you all.

...And we should all feel fine. I know where everyone's heads are. Some phans may be thinking the worst. The Phillies have begun the pre-season with 3 losses and no wins. How can we ever recover? Relax...it's not that bad. I'll tell you method #1 for recovery- release Adam Eaton. Method #1, completed! That is all. Still not feeling better? Just consider that these games mean nothing. And take notice of the fine spring performances so far for Jamie Moyer, Carlos Carrasco, "Jay" Happ, John Mayberry Jr., Raul Ibanez, Pablo Ozuna, Greg Dobbs, Jason Donald, JC Romero and Gary Majewski. Oh also, forget about the awful spring performances so far from Andrew Carpenter, Sergio Escalona and Joe Bisenius. So, back to Eaton. Yes, the Phillies finally bit the proverbial bullet and gulped down hard to eat the $9 million that they owe him. Eaton spoke to reporters after the release and the most intriguing comment he made was this..."I know there's a lot still left in my...

Tim McClelland, the Major League umpire famous from the George Brett pine tar incident, was the guest speaker at an Iowa baseball dinner last week and he had some interesting things to say about the steroids issue, in his sport. Here are some gems, from McClelland... "I'd like to see people kind of get over it. It was part of that era. In 2004, baseball instituted the ban on steroids. The previous 15 years, you just have to realize there were a lot of people taking steroids." "They used it to make themselves better. I can't fault a player for doing that." The Brett/pine tar incident was during a 1983 game with Brett's Royals visiting Yankee Stadium. While trailing in the 9th inning, Brett smacked a homer off closer Goose Gossage, and gave the Royals a lead. The Yankees knew of Brett's habits of adding too much pine tar (a legal substance used on bats for grip), too far up his bat. The Yanks chose a crucial time to point it out, and Tim McClelland rev...

It's January, and for me that means prep time for fantasy baseball. It's true. I really do start running scenarios and draft strategies in my head this early. January is a good time for that. My fantasy football teams have usually recently made an early exit in the playoffs, and my fantasy basketball teams tend to be struggling at this stage. As I've now just traded away my prized power forward, as a desperation move in my salary cap auction hoops league, just about all that will calm my nerves is looking forward to fantasy baseball. While the other sports tend to stress me out, fantasy baseball soothes me. I don't always win, as my uncle will testify to, but I always enjoy it. My yearly interest increase in the fantasy game coincides with the releases of various fantasy baseball magazines and guides. The Sporting News annual Fantasy Source guide is on news stands, and Phillies phans should be pleased to know that in the Sporting News experts' mock draft, three Phi...

Chan Ho Park has signed with the Phillies. Park was quoted in a press conference from his native Korea today saying, "I selected Philadelphia because they are the World Series champions and have high expectations for a playoff berth next season." Park also mentioned that part of the Phillies' pitch to him, was that they viewed him as a starter, which he liked. Park will make a base salary of $2.5 million with incentives that could double his salary. Charlie Manuel was interviewed by Comcast Sportsnet at an autograph signing yesterday. Charlie stated that he feels strongly that the Phillies should re-sign Jamie Moyer. There's still no real news on that front. Moyer could still sign with the Phils and be the 4th starter. That would leave Park, JA Happ, Kyle Kendrick, Carlos Carrasco and possibly Adam Eaton and Joe Bisenius battling for that 5th starter spot. However, if the Phillies really look at Park as a starter, 6 guys trying to earn two spots, might be mor...