Sometimes expectations can rise and you can move up prospect rankings by doing, well, nothing. And that’s what happened to Trevor May this off-season.

A 4th-round pick in 2008 from Kelso, Washington, May joined the BlueClaws in June, and lasted a total of 6.2 innings in his first two starts. But from there he was lights out, going 4-1, 2.25 over the second half. He gave up three runs in his last 36 innings, including 11 shutout in the playoffs.

Then, with the trade of Kyle Drabek (in the Halladay deal), the expectation level and status of May have now gone up. He is now the premier starting pitching prospect in the organization.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com caught up with May (read here) last week:

“There are a certain level of expectations,” May said recently. “You get bumped up [after Drabek left the organization]. Even though I haven’t pitched in the offseason, more is expected of me. It’s kind of exciting to me, because as a person I personally like to set high goals and expectations for myself. Having other people joining in on those expectations gives you more determination to get it done. I knew Kyle. He was a great guy, but it’s exciting to be held in high regards in the organization. I hope to fulfill those expectations.”

You can read our Q&A with May here (part one and part two). May heads down February 30th, and has been running a lot this offseason in preparation for the Florida heat he’ll experience this summer.

I’ll be there February 30th to get acclimated to the heat. People think, “Oh well it’s hot,” but you have to be in great shape to go eight innings in Florida. In June it’s literally 95 in degrees and humidity…I know from being there in the GCL and instructs. I ran in the offseason to get into better shape than I was going into last year.

We had this on Twitter yesterday and in our newsletter on Wednesday but neglected to put it up here.

BlueClaws players and coaches will receive their championship rings from last year’s SAL victory on March 19th before the Phillies spring training game against Baltimore.

Like in 2007 (honoring the 2006 champs),  there will be a ceremony at about 6:30 before the 7:05 game. This is on a Friday night.

The ring you see here is a 2006 ring. I have not seen the 2009 ring yet, but we’ll be sure to get it up here soon.

Trevor May, a 4th round pick of the Phillies in 2008, joined the BlueClaws in June of 2009 and went 4-1, 2.56 over 15 starts and gave up just two earned runs in two playoff starts. He was recently ranked 5th in the system by Baseball America, we had a chance to sit down with May recently as he prepares for his third season in the system, likely with Hi-A Clearwater in just a few months. You can read Part One here.

• What was it like to pitch in a playoff game: It’s always helpful if you can get that experience in that big game where people are counting on you. I was there four days later and we clinched but I didn’t feel like I did anything. I had one start. There was a little good-natured ribbing, having been there for only four days. Eventually winning, it felt good.

• You only gave up three runs in your last 36 innings. Safe to say you had it all working by the end of the season: I don’t know. Even in High School I stopped worrying about confidence. The way we played, we were confident and we knew we were going to win. I kind of had that. We were on a really good team. The bats and defense were good, and if I threw well we had a good chance to win the game. If I had my stuff I knew the other team knew that and I started to work on everything and I didn’t think things would go wrong.

• Going into the season you had a couple power arms in the organization in Drabek and Knapp…now their gone. Does that boost your confidence knowing that you are one of the big time guys now: I had this asked by my family and friends, but it’s two things: one, I don’t want to see them go. I was real good friends with Knapp and I knew Drabek well. There’s no set depth chart. But at the same time it’s good that the Phillies hold me in high enough regard to keep me and it does give you confidence that you’re here when those things go down. It’s nice that some of the other right-handed pitching prospects that I was going to be competing with for big league spots got traded, so yes it does give you a lot of confidence.

• Looking forward to getting the Championship Ring: Oh yeah…that’s the best thing about Spring Training!

• Minor league pitchers report March 6th, when will you be in Clearwater: I’ll be there February 30th to get acclimated to the heat. People think, “Oh well it’s hot,” but you have to be in great shape to go eight innings in Florida. In June it’s literally 95 in degrees and humidity…I know from being there in the GCL and instructs. I ran in the offseason to get into better shape than I was going into last year.

Trevor May, a 4th round pick of the Phillies in 2008, joined the BlueClaws in June of 2009 and went 4-1, 2.56 over 15 starts and gave up just two earned runs in two playoff starts. He was recently ranked 5th in the system by Baseball America, we had a chance to sit down with May recently as he prepares for his third season in the system, likely with Hi-A Clearwater in just a few months.

• What was the first two months of 2009 like for you, down in Florida with the back injury? It’s tough to be down there. It’s real hot during the summer and spring. A lot of the guys you played with got the call up and started the season early and they don’t have to get up at 8 in the morning. You feel like you weren’t good enough, but finally getting the call up was exciting and relief.
• Was it tough transitioning right into a pennant race? It was tough. A first-place team, they want me to be a starter so there’s no easing into it with an inning here or an inning there. They told me to be ready but I didn’t know that much about Lakewood. I knew some of the guys but I hadn’t met a lot of the guys before. So it’s the first time meeting and playing with a bunch of guys. It’s a nervewracking start, stadium, actual fans, but you get used to it.
• What would you say is most important to your success? With Bob (Milacki), and it started right at the end of the spring, we were working with Tom Filer (from Williamsport) and Carlos Arroyo (who works with rehabbing players), plus Gorm (Heimueller, minor league pitching coordinator). We worked on arm slot. I dropped my elbow a lot and would throw high, and that’s where a lot of the walks would come from. I tweaked a few things with separation in my leg kick. I always had a curveball and Bob worked with me on that. But by the end, I was throwing my change-up a little more than the curveball. Sometimes I’m effectively wild, and the changeup set that up.

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If you missed part one of our ClawCast with Phillies farm director Steve Noworyta, click here. Part two, you can click here. This time, we take a further look at the scouting process, a look at some former BlueClaws from 2009 and some future BlueClaws in 2010. Some snippets:

• Scouting the sport to prepare for trades…You have your amateur scouts doing high school and college and the pro scouts who are out there specifically for the pro teams and your big league club so when you’re ready to make trades you have reports on these guys.
• Do you look at amateur scouting reports before a pro trade? Some guys, like (Tyson) Gilles from Seattle, we liked him as an amateur. Marti Wolever really liked him and wished we could have drafted him. But the last year is the most important. Players change over the years.
• On Jacob Diekman…As big as he is, coming from the side, he’s done a tremendous job.
• On Austin Hyatt…Just continue to put up the numbers that he’s had everywhere he’s gone.
• On Neil Sellers (who played for Reading)…He’s constantly putting up the numbers. One of the reasons we got him in the Rule 5 two years ago was he keeps producing. He might be that bat of the bench that you look for. He makes contact, played well in Mexico. He has to keep proving himself, but knowing him, that won’t be a problem.
• On Sebastian Valle…I think he’s probably better off going to Lakewood to make sure what we saw at the end of the year we see midway through the year. He had a good winter in Mexico, especially with some good power numbers…We say Lakewood now but sometimes those type of players change your mind in spring training.
• 2010 BlueClaws…Chris Truby did a nice job with the young kids becasue we took a lot of them to Lakewood. They still finished strong. They have some good young talent that Marti (Wolever) has done a nice job bringing together. It’s going to be a competitive club. We have a lot of pitching and good pitching always beats good hitting.

Some comments from Steve Noworyta in part one of our ClawCast with the Phillies farm director. You can listen in full by clicking here:

• On the 2009 BlueClaws: We knew we had a young and talented club, but you’re not sure how they would develop. It was a special club from the start and Dusty was very impressed with them. 
• On Anthony Gose: Anybody at 18 to act like he did is very special. To be as mature as he was at that age, you think of a young kid out of high school just going into college, but he handled 140 games…It’s nice to hear he wants to be selective at the plate. That’s another sign of maturity and getting him on base, stealing the bases that he can, it’s just adds another weapon to his arsenal.
• On Trevor May: Seeing him out of spring training, and seeing his last start in extended, I called Chuck LaMar and told him I thought he was ready for Lakewood. All that needs to come with him is maturity and size. He’s got size now but imagine him adding some strength?
• On Harold Garcia: Any time with a Latin player it takes a little more time to develop…He was somebody that we were worried about during the winter meetings that someone would have selected him at the big league level.
• Moving BJ Rosenberg from Lo-A to Double-A: Well, he had the pitchability. When you have the command of the pitches down in the zone, hitting each side of the plate, when you see that in a player you have to start moving them, especially as an older player. We all were confident he could pitch at that level and he did. Now he becomes something for Ruben Amaro to consider down the road at the big league level.
• On Dusty Wathan: We saw Dusty, when we had him in our system, you always said that he would make a good manager. He’s done that to this point, the way he handled the club, discipline, organization, the players are not afraid to approach him. He’s got all the attributes to be a manager at the big league level.
• New BlueClaws manager Mark Parent: We had him with the Phillies (97-98) and Benny Looper knew him from the past and had really high recommendations. We felt he’d be a good fit and we’re happy to have someone with his experience.
• Developing players to the point where you can trade for big league talent rather than sign it in free agency: We’re lucky to have the type of players that we’ve had. We want to build from within, but we tell our guys that you’re not just playing for the Phillies but for the 29 other clubs that have a chance to see you play.

There’s more in there than these above quotes, and we’ll have part two coming up soon.

Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft from Bellflower, California, Anthony Gose burst onto the scene in 2009, stealing 76 bases and playing exceptional defense in centerfield, helping to lead the BlueClaws to the 2009 South Atlantic League championship.

We had a chance to talk with Gose last week, and below is part two (click here for part one) of our exclusive Q&A:

• 76 stolen bases this year. The secret ingredient? I honestly don’t even know. We worked at it. Maury Wills worked me out in the offseason. Some is natural instinct, trial and error. That’s what spring training and instructional league is for. Who can you run on. Who can’t you run on? Bobby Meachem worked with me on that too throughout the year and in the spring. You just try to pick up little things here and there.
• Working with Maury Wills…It was great. He didn’t just teach you the physical part, but also the mental part. It’s truly an honor. You could say he’s a legend in baseball for what he did and when he played. He knows what it’s like to be in the minors. He talked to us about that, and staying positive. He worked with me a great deal on the physical, but also on the mental part of the game

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Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2008 draft from Bellflower, California, Anthony Gose burst onto the scene in 2009, stealing 76 bases and playing exceptional defense in centerfield, helping to lead the BlueClaws to the 2009 South Atlantic League championship.

We had a chance to talk with Gose last week, and below is part one of our exclusive Q&A:

• How have you been spending your offseason? I went to Alabama for a few weeks (to see family). Right after instructs, I took a month off. I was pretty tired of baseball at that point. Didn’t want to see a baseball, pick one up, see a bat, anything. I Just relaxed and enjoyed myself.
• Thoughts on the Halladay deal? I thought it was crazy. Just because I know [Travis] d’Arnaud, but it was a great deal for the Phillies, getting the best pitcher in baseball. It really worked out. I’ve known d’Arnaud since we were 12 or 13. We played against each other. My high school played against his. He lives about a mile away from me.
• What do you look back on, besides the championship, as the highlight of your season? Either the [76] stolen bases or the home run in the playoffs [bottom 1 of game 1 of the finals]. That was the furthest I’ve ever hit a ball [into the WRAT Trap in CF].
• Dusty Wathan said that if he saw you after a game he wouldn’t know if you went 0-4 or 4-4. How important is the even-keeled approach? I think it had a lot to do with my year. I try not to let anything get to me. I had 500 at bats, so four or five on one night, that’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. And we were winning. Everyone loves to win. Plus, some of those 0-4 days had 4 Ks and others had four hard hit balls. It’s different.
• When you went into the draft, you went in as a hitter only, even though you could have gone high as a pitcher. Looking back, did you know it was going to work out like it has? I always had confidence in hitting and myself. Everyone tells me I’m full of confidence, so I didn’t think of it as working out this way or that. I just wanted to hit and I knew I was going to make myself successful.

Part two tomorrow.

UPDATE: Might have been off on this one

Sort of off-topic here for a minute…much of the talk in the sports world the last few weeks has surrounded the Indianapolis Colts and their decision to tank the end of the season, resting players to get ready for the post-season, which for them begins tomorrow night against Baltimore.

They took a lot of heat from their fans for pulling the starters in the Jets game (Week 16) and then again for playing some in a blizzard to pad their stats in Week 17.

Which brings us back to the BlueClaws getting ready for the playoffs.

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It’s been quite the whirlwind year for BJ Rosenberg. He was a South Atlantic League All-Star. He became one of the few players to double jump from Lo-A to Double-A. He played for Team USA in baseball’s World Cup in September (they defeated Cuba for the gold medal). And, less than two years after being drafted, he earned an invite to big league spring training.

Rosenberg began 2009 with the BlueClaws, going 7-2, 0.89, and did not allow a run in his last 28.1 innings with Lakewood. He was promoted to Reading in August.

We had a chance earlier this week to talk to BJ. Part one of the interview can be found here. And below is part two.

• Did you and Ernie Young do any trash-talking at the World Cup (Young managed Lakewood’s first playoff opponent, Kannapolis, and was a coach on the World Cup team. Their playoff series was going on at the same time as the World Cup training)?: We were going back and forth a little bit. I met him for the first time at the All-Star Game in West Virginia. He’s a great guy. We never made a bet, but we should have. I was pretty confident in our guys.
• Were you able to follow the games? Yes. It was pretty nervewracking. I listened to a few games on the radio. In Europe, it was very early morning when the games were going on. I couldn’t sleep not knowing what was going on. It was really cool, wish I could have been a part of it.
• Most valuable part of your time here (this question was sent over by Twitter follower): I think the last push right before the first half title. That was my first time really being in a playoff hunt. The games were down to the wire, we had to win. We’re watching the other scores, figuring out what we had to do knowing what they were doing. It was fun and a valuable experience.
• Was it hard for you knowing that you could have been promoted before you were? It would have been harder if I didn’t like everyone on the team, but I did. If it wasn’t as fun, then it might have been harder. I thought around the All-Star Break, when [Tyler] Cloyd went up, that it might happen. But when it didn’t happen then, I told myself ‘That’s OK.’ We’ll go win a championship. I definitely wasn’t upset because I wasn’t expecting [a promotion].
• If you go back to Reading, you could be re-united with pitching coach Bob Milacki…Yep. I was really excited when I heard that. He helped me a whole lot when I was there, especially with my slider.

(University of Louisville photo)

It’s been quite the whirlwind year for BJ Rosenberg. He was a South Atlantic League All-Star. He became one of the few players to double jump from Lo-A to Double-A. He played for Team USA in baseball’s World Cup in September (they defeated Cuba for the gold medal). And, less than two years after being drafted, he earned an invite to big league spring training.

Rosenberg began 2009 with the BlueClaws, going 7-2, 0.89, and did not allow a run in his last 28.1 innings with Lakewood. He was promoted to Reading in August.

We had a chance to talk to BJ earlier this week. Here’s part one.

• How did you find out that you got invited to spring training? Chuck LaMar (Asst. GM) left me a message. I thought it was a possibility but I didn’t really know. I figured it would come in the mail or my agent would tell me. But the next thing I know, I see a missed call. Didn’t recognize the number but checked the message. I was thrown off a little bit but it was really cool.
• How much of a whirlwind year has it been for you? It’s been pretty crazy. Lakewood, Team USA. When Dusty called me into the office and told me I was going to Reading, that was a big time surprise. I got to play close to where my sister lives, and I lived with her, actually.
• Team USA? I didn’t know what to think about that. It was something you never think you’re going to get a chance to do. That was the highlight of my baseball career, having USA on my jersey.
• What goes through your mind when you see USA on the jersey? Well, when we first got them, we got all the stuff that first night. I got to the hotel room and set the jersey on the bed and it hit me. Holy Cow. It had the flag on the sleeve, it was surreal. Playing for your country is really special. We were in Germany, and there were some US troops stationed over there. It felt like home for both of us, and I know they got a kick out of seeing us there.
• How was the competition over there? The Latin American teams were really really good. Canada had a good team. Some of the other nations were OK, but everyone had a few good players. It was probably around Double-A or Triple-A. The Cuban team was a very good Triple-A team. They had a lot of guys that could play in the Major Leagues if they were able to.

Part two soon.

Yesterday was a great day for several former BlueClaws, as the Phillies announced that 13 players have earned non-roster invitations to spring training, which opens in a few weeks.  (with Lakewood)

• Domonic Brown (2008)…the organization’s top prospect, who spent last year in Clearwater and Reading. The Phillies would not, and did not, trade him in the Halladay deal.
• Freddy Galvis (2008)…fielding wizard hit .247 with Clearwater last year before finishing the season with Reading.
• Tuffy Gosewisch (2007)…catcher finished up his 3rd Arizona Fall League appearance this year, and while he wasn’t added to the 40-man roster, he will get to go to big league camp. Read our Q&A with Gosewisch here.
• BJ Rosenberg (2009, pictured)…best closer in the SAL this year and he accomplished the rare feat of skipping Clearwater, after an August promotion straight to Reading, where he finished the season. He had a 28.1 consecutive scoreless inning streak with the BlueClaws to end his tenure here.

Quintin Berry (2007) and Jesus Sanchez (2009) will also get to go to big league camp, as they were added to the 40-man roster in November, along with Yohan Flande.

Other non-roster invitees include former first-round pick Joe Savery, plus Phillipe Aumont and Tyson Gilles who came over from Seattle in the Cliff Lee trade (read our Q&A with Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times here).

We’re going to start having weekly trivia contests here on BlueClaws Blog and in the process give away some Opening Day tickets and other prizes…Without further adieu, and with the BCS Championship football game coming up on Thursday night…

Who is the only 2009 BlueClaw who played at one of the schools represented in Thursday’s BCS Championship Game between Alabama and Texas? Name the player and the school.

Answer in the comments section please. First correct answer will win four Opening Day tickets (April 16th). The answer is somewhere on BlueClaws.com.

UPDATE: A bunch of correct answers, but John was the first to answer Austin Hyatta, Alabama. He wins the tickets. We’ll have another one of these next week.

Happy Sunday…some links from around the BlueClaws and baseball world as you have you Sunday morning coffee and get ready for what’s a good day of football.

• The Mets made a big move, agreeing to terms with OF Jason Bay on a contract which should become official soon after he takes his physical. Here’s a good story on Bay from the Daily News.
• Nice signing by the Phillies of Danys Baez, who can serve as Brad Lidge insurance and as a good compliment to Ryan Madsen late in games.
• Two weeks old but a good story from Bill Madden in the Daily News about agents running the game.
• Baseball in a hockey stadium…a photo gallery from the NHL Winter Classic in Fenway.

On the minor league side…

• The final MiLBY Awards from MiLB.com have been handed out.
• Three players (Derek Norris, Rudy Owens, Mike Bianucci) faced the BlueClaws this year.