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This afternoon Phillies Nation's minor league insider Jay Floyd joined Matt Leon on KYW 1060 AM to speak about the widely reported trade of Cole Hamels to Texas as well as the crop of guys the Phillies are slated to receive in return, mainly OF Nick Williams and catcher Jorge Alfaro . Also discussed is the current state of the Phils' minor league system and how the organization has bounced back in regards to possessing a collection of great young talents. Check out the media player below to listen to the segment.

The Cole Hamels to Texas trade is a six-for-two ( plus money ) deal with lefty reliever Jake Diekman joining the Phillies' former ace on his way to the Rangers in return for big league starting pitcher Matt Harrison as well as the following prospects- pitchers Jerad Eickhoff , Alec Asher and Jake Thompson , outfielder Nick Williams and catcher Jorge Alfaro . Eickhoff, a 25-year-old righty, tallied a 1-0 record with a 2.70 ERA in two starts at the Triple-A level this year and had a 4.25 ERA and an 8.24 K/9 mark in 18 games at Double-A this season. The six-foot-four 240-pounder was a 15th round draft pick in 2011. Eickhoff throws a mid-90's fastball as well as a curve ball and a change up. It's possible his future is out of the bullpen. Asher, a righty, tallied a 3-6 record with a 4.73 ERA in 12 games at Triple-A after posting a 1-4 record with a 3.98 ERA in eight Double-A games this season. The six-foot-four 230-pounder was a 4th round draft selection in 2012. With ...

Odubel Herrera, image- MiLB.com Selected by the Phillies last month in the big league portion of the annual MLB Rule 5 draft, muti-positional prospect Odubel Herrera is primed to make the team's opening day big league roster. The 23-year-old Venezuelan spent this off-season proving the Phils were right when they plucked him from the Rangers' system. With a league-leading .372 average, six homers, 27 RBI and eight stolen bases in 58 games for La Guaira, Herrera was named the Venezuelan Winter League Most Valuable Player as well as the league's Rookie of the Year. In the summer of 2008, Herrera signed for a reported bonus of $160,00 at the age of 16. He would begin his pro career the follow year in the Dominican Summer League. Herrera moved at a steady pace in the Texas developmental ranks, but was behind some of the Rangers' other top young infielders ( Hanser Alberto , Rougned Odor and Jurickson Profar ) on their depth chart, making him expendable to that c...

JP Crawford, Image- Jay Floyd Two Phillies prospects participated in this weekend's 16th annual MLB All-Star Futures Game. In Team USA's 3-2 victory over Team World on Sunday, shortstop J.P. Crawford went 1-for-2 with a single and a stolen base for the winners. Third baseman Maikel Franco went 0-for-2, including a fly out with a runner on base for the final out of the game for the losing squad. The contest was nationally televised. Crawford has tallied a .235 average with four homers and eight RBI in 21 games since he was promoted to Class A Advanced Clearwater. The lefty batting 19-year-old was an All-Star this season with Class A Lakewood, sporting a .295/.398/.405 slash line in 60 games in the South Atlantic League. Scouts are very high on Crawford's skills and it's likely he'll begin popping up near the top of national prospect rankings before long. Franco, began the season with some struggles, but has heated up as of late. After pledging to fa...

On the 65th edition of the show, Tug and Jay are joined by Impact Wrestling superstar Gunner to chat about his career and the upcoming BaseBrawl event at Lakewood's FirstEnergy Park later this month. The guys also talk about the progress of prospects such as Joey Gallo , J.P. Crawford , Tyler Knigge , Roman Quinn , Aaron Altherr and others. The Phillies' 2014 draft approach is also 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 .

On episode 58 of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast, Jay chats with Phillies minor leaguer Jim Murphy about his progress, his status in the system and more. Tug and Jay also chat about Passover, the return of Cole Hamels as well as loads of minor leaguers including Jay Johnson , Kenny Giles , Willie Carmona , Roman Quinn , Mitch Walding and Joey Gallo . 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 .  

The 2014 season kicks off on Monday, as the Phillies open on a road trip, visiting the American League's Texas Rangers.  The newly renamed Globe Life Park will play host to both clubs' initial series of the season. While the core of the Phillies lineup has looked the same for several years, the Rangers have new additions leading the charge into the 2014 season, namely Prince Fielder and Shin-Soo Choo .  Their first real test in their new uniforms will come against a familiar figure. Phils ace Cliff Lee will be making his first return to the Texas mound since he pitched for the Rangers in the 2010 World Series.  Rangers hurler Tanner Scheppers will be making his debut as a starter after shining out of the bullpen last season. Weather forecasts call for 80 degrees and partly cloudy on Monday in Arlington.  The teams will play two more games against one another there on Wednesday and Thursday. Read ahead for details on the pitching match up plus plen...

On Saturday, Rangers veteran Michael Young waived his no-trade clause, approving a deal to the Phillies, who sent two righty hurlers to Texas.  The 36-year-old Young has manned third base, first base and second base a considerable amount during his 12-year big league career, all with the Rangers. Slated to be the Phillies' everyday third baseman, the seven-time All-Star and career .301/.347/.444 hitter commanded a quality return, as the Rangers acquired reliever Josh Lindblom and prospect Lisalverto Bonilla . Phillies fans got a sizable sampling of Lindblom last season, after he was acquired from the Dodgers in the Shane Victorino trade.  The 25-year-old posted a 1-3 record with 1 save, a 1.53 WHIP and a 4.63 ERA in 26 games for the Phils.  Often critiqued for being a fly ball pitcher, Lindblom was not seen as being an ideal type to dominate at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park. With Justin De Fratus , Phillippe Aumont , Mike Stutes and several other names...

The two teams that Cliff Lee has pitched for in the last two World Series will meet this weekend, as the Texas Rangers (23-21) travel to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies (26-17). The 3-game set will mark the second straight series in which the National League East Division leading Phillies will host a first place team. Lee, who was traded from Seattle to Texas last July, will start on Saturday and be faced by his former teammate Colby Lewis in a game set to be televised by the FOX network. Read on for more details on the pitching match ups and plenty more statistics for this series. Friday, 7:05PM. CJ Wilson (4-2, 3.37 ERA) vs Roy Halladay (5-3, 2.21 ERA). In 3 road starts this season, Wilson has a 1-1 record with a 2.78 ERA. In his last 5 starts, Wilson is 2-2 with a 3.60 ERA. Raul Ibanez is 2-for-19 (.105 avg) in his career against Wilson. Halladay is 3-1 with a 2.52 ERA in 5 home starts this season. In his last 5 starts, Halladay is 3-2 with a 1.77 ERA. In 20 career games again...

This afternoon Jayson Stark stated on ESPN.com that the Philadelphia Phillies were the rumored "mystery team" in the mix, along with the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees, for the services of a free agent known as Cliff Lee. Later in the evening, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal cofirmed via Twitter that the Phillies are involved in the pursuit of Lee. Other info via the likes of Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (yes, the real one ) and others state that the Yankees still have the edge on the monetary value of the contracts offered. However, if location means enough, as Lee stated in the past that he loved his time in Philadelphia, the Phils are certainly a contender to be high on Lee's list of desired destinations. Other reports state that the Phillies have touched base with multiple teams in an effort to trade Joe Blanton, which would help to free up money in the team's ever-rising payroll. Blanton is owed $8.5 million ($17 million total) in each of the 2 yea...

In a report from USA Today , the wife of Texas Rangers ace pitcher Cliff Lee, Kristen, described many issues the Rangers' families had to deal with at Yankee Stadium during the American League Championship Series. Mrs. Lee stated that wives of Rangers players were taunted with vulgar language and had beer thrown their way while being spit at from above. "The fans did not do good things in my heart," Kristen Lee told USA Today. "When people are staring at you, and saying horrible things, it's hard not to take it personal." With free agency in Lee's near future and the Yankees widely considered a front runner to acquire any greatly desired elite MLB player on the market, the treatment of Lee's wife by some hardcore New Yorkers doesn't bode well for their team's chances. Cliff Lee told the NY Daily News , "There were some people that were spitting off the balcony on to the family section and stuff like that, which is kind of weak. What can ...

Late in Tuesday night's ALCS game 4, Nelson Cruz hit a 2-run upperdeck blast that put the Rangers up by a score of 10-3. New York fans began to evacuate Yankee Stadium early for the second consecutive day and partial owner of the Rangers Nolan Ryan was loving every second of it. Check out the media player below to see footage. The Rangers now lead the Yankees 3-1 in the best-of-seven series. ___________________________________________________________________ For updates, facts & stats, follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE .

With the Texas Rangers' first ever postseason series victory on Tuesday night, both League Championship Series schedules are set. The Rangers, led by Cliff Lee's 11 strike out complete game effort and Ian Kinsler's 3rd homerun of the series, beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-1 in the series' 5th game. Texas moves on to play the New York Yankees in the best-of-seven American League Championship series that begins on Friday. Cliff Lee, of course, was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies team that reached the World Series against the Yankees last year. Lee won both of his starts against New York in that series. With his outstanding effort in the ALDS, Lee has improved to 6-0 with a 1.44 ERA and a .185 batting average against in 7 career postseason starts. The Senior Circuit will feature the San Francisco Giants and the Phillies battling it out for the pennant. The big talk surrounding the National League Championship Series is the match up of exceptional pitching staffs. The Phil...

Cliff Lee receives a congratulatory hug from teammate Felix Hernandez after his outing on Friday On the same night a newly activated Ian Kinsler made his season debut for the Texas Rangers, Seattle's new co-ace, Cliff Lee, made his season debut as well. Lee shined and shut down the Rangers offense, in his first American League action since he was dealt from Cleveland to the Phillies last July. In 7 innings, Lee struck out 8 batters and allowed just 3 hits and no walks. Lee's fastball steadily hit 93mph and he easily showed the 34,055 Mariners fans in attendance that the abdominal strain that kept him out of action since spring training was no longer an issue. Surprisingly, Lee was not the pitching star of the night, as Rangers starter Colby Lewis continued his solid season with 9 shut out innings, striking out 10 Mariners in the process. During one stretch, Lewis retired 21 consecutive batters. Both pitchers were plagued by the same issue- neither offense could muster a run an...

The Chicago White Sox's Mark Buehrle threw the second no hitter of his Major League career, a perfect game, against the Tampa Bay Rays today. Buehrle is now 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA on the season. Tampa sent 27 batters to the plate and did not get a single base runner all day long. This was the 18th perfect game ever thrown in the majors. Fox Sports has more on the story of the day in baseball here . ------------------------------ PAUSE? Since it has become American League day here on PhoulBallz, let's take a glance at all the man-love that went on in the Rangers game last night. Not that there's anything wrong with that.