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Dave Lundquist, image- Jay Floyd Recently, I talked with the pitching coach of the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs Dave Lundquist.  Among the topics of discussion were well-regarded Phillies pitching prospects Mark Appel, Jake Thompson, Tom Eshelman, Edubray Ramos and much more. Lundquist pitched in the major leagues with the White Sox and the Padres prior to joining the coaching ranks.  He has been with the Phillies developmental staff since 2008. Read ahead for my full interview... -Mark Appel has gotten back on track of late (posting a 2.20 ERA over his last seven games, after two weak starts in May).  What have you seen from him to help him improve? He started out-- he had some good games early and he hit a rough patch.  For me really, he was just trying to do too much.  But he's made some good adjustments in his delivery, calmed himself down a bit and is throwing a lot more strikes.  He has gotten his secondary pitches a lot sharper, able...

Andrew Knapp, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Andrew Knapp launched a solo home run to help the International League All-Stars down the Pacific Coast League team in the Triple-A All-Star Game by a score of 4-2 on Wednesday in Charlotte. In 69 games with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs this season, the switch-hitting 24-year-old sports a .264 average with seven homers and 32 RBI. Recently, I spoke to Knapp about his All-Star nod, learning from veterans, his own progress, the Lehigh Valley staff and plenty more. Read ahead for that full interview. -With the All-Star honor coming your way, what were your feelings on that? Do you feel a level of accomplishment? Yeah, it's awesome. It's great to get any acknowledgement. A lot of hard work went in. I really hammered the defensive stuff this year and I've kind of been battling through the offense, you know? Not getting too down on myself early in the year and being able to put together some good at b...

Dave Lundquist, image- Jay Floyd Last week I chatted with the pitching coach for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs Dave Lundquist. Topics of discussion included his team's All-Star catcher Andrew Knapp , reliever Edubray Ramos , righty David Buchanan and plenty more. Read ahead for that interview. -Feedback I've gotten on Andrew Knapp has included his skills at leading a pitching staff and being a good leader. Have you seen growth from him in this aspect of his game? One thing here, with some older pitchers, you gotta learn each pitcher a little bit and he's doing good. He gets to evaluate the pitches from inning to inning and prioritize certain things and stay within the game plan, so a lot of that is getting better. Doing a good job there and he's getting to learn some veteran pitchers that have been around and see some different sequences, so it's good for him. -News about Mark Appel 's season ending elbow surgery is disappointing for t...

Tommy Joseph, image- Jay Floyd The standout player on any hotlist of late should be the man that I receive daily tweets from fans about, asking when he’ll be called up to replace Darin Ruf or Philadelphia legend Ryan Howard . The man who was recently an afterthought or a player most fans thought was a fizzled out prospect who had been ravaged by concussions. The player that had to abandon his catching position due to those injuries and moved elsewhere on the diamond in order to continue his career. The guy that was acquired from the Giants in a trade for Hunter Pence back in 2012, Tommy Joseph . The 24-year-old first baseman/designated hitter has been on fire, excelling at the plate all season. In 23 games for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, he sports a .392 average and a 1.126 OPS, both of which lead the Triple-A International League. Joseph a right-handed hitter, has slammed seven doubles and six homers while driving in a team-best 17 runs. He’s playing like someone very deser...

On Friday in Clearwater, the Phillies blew a sizable lead, walking six batters in the 8th and 9th innings combined, but did not quit and held on to lock down a shocking win over the Braves by a score of 12-11. Early on, third baseman Maikel Franco was the top offensive performer for the Phils, as he went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI. The strong effort takes Franco's spring average to .364. Expect to see a lot of this from @MaikelFranco7 this season: https://t.co/A4CunZ2MWv #SpringTraining pic.twitter.com/OAIpSyQt4O — MLB (@MLB) March 4, 2016 Flame thrower Luis Garcia struggled, as he was charged with four earned runs on five hits and two walks in one inning pitched. Hector Neris loaded the bases in the ninth and walked in a run before the team called on youngster Edubray Ramos to close out the game, clinging to a 9-8 lead. Ramos would walk home the tying run and then a Darnell Sweeney throwing error, his second miscue of the day, allowed two more runs to score, ...

Edubray Ramos, image- Jay Floyd Righty pitcher Edubray Ramos took strides with an exceptional campaign last year and locked himself into discussion among hurlers that could impact the big league roster very soon. Equipped with a fastball that steadily ranges from 93 to 95 MPH, the promising reliever also has a standout breaking pitch described by battery mate Andrew Knapp as "a wipe out slider" that is a plus offering as his out pitch. He also tosses a curve ball to get ahead in the count at times along with a change up to keep batters honest. Splitting his time rather evenly at three levels in 2014 after missing two seasons, Ramos tallied a 2-1 record with 10 saves, a 0.81 ERA and a .189 batting average against in 26 total games combined with the Phillies' Venezuelan Summer League team, the rookie level Gulf Coast League team and with the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters. Lights out stats with Class A Advanced Clearwater had fans and media memb...

Knapp, image- Jay Floyd One of the biggest events of the off-season league schedule takes place this Saturday when the Arizona Fall League's Rising Stars Game happens at Scottsdale's Salt River Fields. The "Fall Stars" exhibition marks the 10th annual event and will be nationally televised at 8PM Eastern on MLB Network and will stream live online at MLB.com. Representing the Phillies will be righty hurler Edubray Ramos and catcher Andrew Knapp , who were part of the Double-A Reading team that went to the Eastern League Championship Series this year. Ramos, a 22-year-old Venezuelan, was a stand out performer this year, when he tallied a 4-6 record with eight saves, a 2.07 ERA and a .196 batting average against in 47 games in relief for Class A Advanced Clearwater and Reading. As a member of the Glendale Desert Dogs in the AFL, Ramos has allowed seven earned runs in 6 2/3 innings (9.45 ERA) while striking out eight and walking none. The switch-hitting Kn...

Off-season leagues are underway for many Phillies players including some stateside in the Arizona Fall League, but with several players taking the diamond abroad. Read ahead for a complete rundown of how your Phils are doing across the globe. Stats listed are current through Saturday's games. Arizona Fall League- JP Crawford, image- Jay Floyd In two games, shortstop J.P. Crawford is 1-for-8 (.125 avg) with a walk and a strike out. The 20-year-old was the Phillies' first round draft selection in 2013. In 86 games with Double-A Reading this year, Crawford posted a .265 average with five home runs and 34 RBI. Catcher Andrew Knapp is 1-for-3 with a double and a walk in one game played as a designated hitter. The 23-year-old was the Phils' second round draft selection in 2013. With Reading this year, Knapp sported a .360 average with 11 homers and 56 RBI in 55 games. Edubray Ramos allowed an earned run in 1 1/3 innings while allowing a hit and striking out ...