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READING, PA- A new role could have Francisco Morales on the fast track to the Phillies' bullpen.   After experiencing limited success last year primarily as a starter, the organization has decided to utilize the 22-year-old strictly as a reliever moving forward.   Signed by the Phils in 2016 at the age of 16 for a reported $900,000, the Venezuela native has spent roughly six years showing flashes of the hurler that he could be.  The new assignment could finally be the factor that makes it happen.   According to Double-A Reading manager Shawn Williams, the talented Venezuelan is excited for the refined duties. "I think he's always wanted to be a reliever," Williams shared.  "He loves it.  He's looking forward to it.  He had a great spring training as a reliever, closing (and as) a late inning guy." In 22 appearances (20 starts) last year with Reading, the six-foot-four 185-pounder notched a 4-13 record with a 6.94 ERA, a .240 batting aver...

This weekend over on Patreon.com/PhoulBallz I've featured some exclusive quotes from around the Phillies minor leagues.   Among the latest on the Patreon page, are Double-A Reading manager Shawn Williams talking about pitching prospect Francisco Morales among other topics, righty pitching prospect Ben Brown discussing his return to the mound following Tommy John surgery and right-hander Mark Appel sharing thoughts on his return to professional ball after taking a leave of absence a few years ago.  Additionally, you find the latest on injured pitching prospect Erik Miller .   Please consider joining the Patreon site and contributing toward my work in order to gain access to exclusive content like this all season long.  

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.  Morales, image- Jay Floyd Right-handed pitcher  Francisco Morales  has emerged as not only one of the Phillies' best prospects but quite possibly one of the best young arms in the sport. Inked by the Phils in 2016 at age 16, for a reported $900,000, the Venezuela native participated that year in the Florida Instructional League. He made his regular season minor league debut the following year with the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, posting a 3-2 record with a 3.05 ERA, a .225 batting average against and a 9.6 K/9 mark in 10 games (nine starts). In 2018 the six-foot-four 185-pounder stepped up to the Class A short-season New York-Penn League.  There, in 13 starts for Williamsport, Morales collected a 4-5 record with a 5.27 ...

Subscribers of my Patreon site have gotten some details from the Phillies' Fall Instructs in recent days.   The Florida Instructional League is an annual month-long off-season combine that will feature workouts as well as practices and regularly pits players from different organizations against one another in exhibition games.  This year's version in a pandemic impacted world won't see different teams facing one another, but the Phillies' players will see exhibition competition, as the organization is slated to have some intrasquad games in the coming weeks. Players that are currently in Clearwater, FL seeing some long overdue time on the field include this year's first round draft selection Mick Abel.  The high school hurler inked a deal for over $4 million dollars after  being taken with the 15th overall pick in June. Francisco Morales, image- Jay Floyd Highly touted Venezuelan pitcher Francisco Morales is also in attendance.  The 20-year-old right-han...

I invite you to visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz in order to support my work and get access to material like this before anyone.  Plus you'll get exclusive interviews as well as other content you won't be able to enjoy anywhere else.  I could use, and I would value, your backing. Francisco Morales, image- Jay Floyd Right-handed pitcher Francisco Morales has emerged as not only one of the Phillies' best prospects but quite possibly one of the best young arms in the sport. Signed by the Phils in 2016 at age 16, for a reported $900,000, the Venezuela native participated that year in the Florida Instructional League. He would make his regular season minor league debut the following year with the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, posting a 3-2 record with a 3.05 ERA, a .225 batting average against and a 9.6 K/9 mark in 10 games (nine starts). In 2018 the six-foot-four 185-pounder stepped up to the Class A short-season New York-Penn League.  The...

Continuing with my multi-part exclusive interview with 2019 Lakewood pitching coach Matt Hockenberry, here's another entry. In this post, Hockenberry talks about the success of his young staff and their improvements throughout the season this year.  He also discusses exciting 19-year-old right-hander Francisco Morales , his ceiling and what the future could hold for the talented Venezuelan.  He also discusses hurler Victor Santos and plenty more. Morales, who stands six-foot-four and is listed at 85 pounds, notched a 3.82 ERA, a .226 batting average against, a 1.32 WHIP as well as a 12.0 K/9 mark in 27 appearances for the BlueClaws. Read ahead for this portion of my interview with Matt Hockenberry that can't be found anywhere else! Here's a brief sample of "Hock" chatting about his team keeping momentum going throughout the 2019 campaign: You’ve got guys like Manny Silva, Francisco  Morales, you’ve got (Victor) Santos that have continued to tak...

Matt Hockenberry, image- Jay Floyd Over on my Patreon page , I am serving up a multi-part interview with 2019 Class A Lakewood pitching coach Matt Hockenberry. Part one features Big Hock talking about 22-year-old Dominican righty Rafi Gonell and his progress.  Part two includes quotes from Hockenberry discussing righty reliever Albertus Barber 's story of reaching the pro ranks and excelling as an undrafted free agent and his progress.  Also in part two, the subject of pitches thrown in two-strike counts by the BlueClaws and improving their walk rate throughout the season is addressed. Part three will land later this week and will include insight on promising hurler Francisco Morales . To access exclusive content such as these quotes from Hockenberry, please visit Patreon.com/PhoulBallz and support my work. Sample of the material included in the Hockenberry interview excerpts... I think it’s a great story.  The fact  that (Barber) played some ju...

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...

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!  Get early access to articles like this, EXCLUSIVE interviews and more- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz Lakewood's roster sports two buzz worthy prospects right now with outfield Malvin Matos on an extremely hot streak and pitcher Francisco Morales continuing to draw plenty of interest from prospect heads. Malvin Matos, image- Jay Floyd Matos, a 22-year-old righty batter, wrapped up, on Sunday, a 17-game stretch in which he went 27-for-62 (.436 average) with five doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, nine walks and seven stolen bases.  He notched an 0-for-4 effort on Monday, but rebounded Tuesday with a pair of hits, including a solo homer, and a walk.  Morales, a 19-year-old right-hander, is one of the Phillies' most well-touted prospects. In 23 outings this year, the talented Venezuelan has posted a 4.05 ERA with a .227 batting average against and an 11.9 K/9 mark. ...

This week I made my long awaited (by me only, I'd bet) to the Hittin' Season Podcast hosted by John Stolnis . The show's home is over on TheGoodPhight.com, of course, and I've contributed to the show plenty of times, appearing as a guest and contributing exclusive interviews to the program. The latest episode features John recapping the Phillies' series against the Tigers and a preview of the series to come against the division rival Braves. He also talks about what to expect as the MLB trading deadline approaches. Then I join John to discuss several promising Phils prospects such as Alec Bohm , Mickey Moniak , Bryson Stot t , Spencer Howard , Adonis Medina , Francisco Morales and others. Check out the embedded media player below to stream or download the episode and, if you like what you hear, subscribe to the show!

After nearly a month of minor league action, here is a rundown of some top names throughout the Phillies developmental ranks.  Some would be considered hot, while others are yet to warm up in the early stages of the long season. Class A Lakewood BlueClaws (8-18 record, last place in SAL Northern Division)... The team’s catchers have been contributors at the plate, each batting .300 or better.  Right-handed hitter Abrahan Gutierrez is batting .340 with three doubles and four RBI in 13 games while switch-hitter Rafael Marchan has a .310 average with six doubles and seven RBI in 17 games. Both backstops are natives of Venezuela. Kevin Gowdy, image- Jay Floyd Righty starter Kevin Gowdy has performed well for the BlueClaws, posting a 1.84 ERA with no decisions and a .140 batting average against through four starts.  He has, however, walked 13 while striking out 13 in 14 2/3 innings pitched.  Gowdy was the Phillies’ 2 nd round draft choice in 2...

Francisco Morales, image- MiLB.com Right-handed pitcher Francisco Morales has, at a very young age, become one of the most promising hurlers in the Phillies organization. Signed by the Phils in 2016 at age 16, for a reported $900,000, the Venezuela native participated that year in the Florida Instructional League. He would make his regular season debut the following year with the Rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, posting a 3-2 record with a 3.05 ERA, a .225 batting average against and a 9.6 K/9 mark in 10 games (nine starts). Last year, the six-foot-four 185-pounder stepped up to the Class A short-season New York-Penn League.  There, in 13 starts for Williamsport, Morales notched a 4-5 record with a 5.27 ERA, a .244 batting average against as well as a 10.9 K/9 mark. Morales wrapped up his regular season in 2018 with five solid outings, sporting a 2.91 ERA over that stretch.  He also recorded a career-high 11 strike outs in a six-inning effort that earned ...