BlueClaws pitcher Josh Zeid is blogging from the Arizona Fall League. Lakewood’s right-hander, who will start on Thursday, posted his latest entry here.

With my dad as co-pilot, I made stops in Niceville, Florida for a night, had lunch in New Orleans at the ACME Oyster House, and then stopped for a night in Houston. I then drove him to San Antonio, where we had awesome Mexican food at the Riverwalk, and then dropped him off at the airport in town. From there, I drove to the middle of nowhere near Van Horn, Texas, and spent the night, leaving myself only 8 ½ hours for my final day of travel. No speeding tickets, no accidents, no close encounters, thankfully – but I did go through lots and lots of gas. But it is invaluable to have a car here in Arizona, so I made the trek.

Read the full post here. More on the Arizona Fall League later.

2010 BlueClaws pitcher Josh Zeid is blogging for MLB.com down at the Arizona Fall League, and he’s posted his first entry (quite good, we would expect nothing less). Loved this part.

That’s what I’m looking forward to in Arizona: Meeting a bunch of new guys, great athletes, and potential Major League All-Stars. And mainly have fun like it was 1997.

Like I was back in New Haven, CT, playing for the Andy Papero Little League on a Tuesday night. Where the only bit of constructive criticism during my coach’s mound visit was: “Hurry up now, my macaroni’s getting cold!” He would then smile, and jog off the field.

Follow along with Josh’s blog here.

Here is the list of Phillies headed to the Arizona Fall League to play for the Mesa Solar Sox. Play opens on the 12th. (BlueClaws manager Mark Parent will be the hitting coach for Mesa)

We’ll have daily updates as the league gets going.

The rosters for the prestigious Arizona Fall League were announced today and feature several BlueClaws (including two current ‘Claws). All will represent the Mesa Solar Sox.

• Manager Mark Parent: Parent, the BlueClaws first year manager, will serve as the hitting coach for Mesa. Parent spent 13 years in the Major Leagues before retiring after two seasons with the Phillies (1997-1998). He managed Seattle’s California League affiliate in 2000 and led Chico in the independent Chico Outlaws in the Golden League from 2005-2007.
• RHP Josh Zeid: A current BlueClaw, Zeid is 7-4, 2.99 in a season split between the starting rotation and bullpen. He is the only current BlueClaws player headed to Arizona. Last year, 2009 BlueClaws SS Troy Hanzawa and OF Steve Susdorf played in the AFL. He was a 10th round pick in 2009 (Tulane).
• RHP Tyson Brummett: He made six starts (3-0, 1.99) with the BlueClaws in 2008 and is currently 1-2, 5.01 with Double-A Reading. He was a 7th round pick in 2007 (UCLA).
• RHP Justin De Fratus: He spent the 2009 season with Lakewood, going 5-6, 3.19. He opened the season with Clearwater and as their closer went 2-0, 1.79 with 15 saves. He is now 1-0, 2.28 in 19 games with Reading. De Fratus was an 11th round pick in 2007 (Ventura College).
• RHP Chris Kissock: He spent 2008 with Lakewood, going 4-6, 4.37 and this year went 6-3, 2.17 and is now 1-0, 3.27 in nine games with Reading. He was a 9th round pick in 2007 (Lewis/Clark State).
• RHP BJ Rosenberg: Rosenberg had 19 saves and a 0.87 ERA with Lakewood last year, including a 28.2 inning scoreless streak. This year he has bounced between the GCL Phillies, Clearwater and Reading and has a 5.24 ERA between the three stops. He was a 13th round pick in 2008 (Louisville).
• C Tim Kennelly: Kennelly spent part of 2006 and 2007 with Lakewood but played prominently with the BlueClaws in 2008 (.275-1-27)…This year, he is batting .277-4-57 with Clearwater. He was signed as an amateur free agent from Australia in 2003.
• 1B Matt Rizzotti: A 2008 BlueClaw when he hit .268-10-49, Rizzotti has skyrocketed up the system this year, hitting .344-19-76 between Clearwater, Reading and Lehigh Valley. He was a 6th round pick in 2008 out of Manhattan College.

Here is the full release from MLB on the league, which enters its 19th season and features seven players from all 30 organizations split among six teams.

Here is an incredibly detailed Phillies top 30 prospect ranking by the folks at Phuture Phillies.

Phillies top prospect Domonic Brown, a BlueClaw in 2008, was named to the All-Prospect team at the prestigious Arizona Fall League, which wrapped up a few weeks ago.

Brown, who turned 22 in September, hit .229 with 2 HRs and 18 RBIs playing for Scottsdale (he was 0 for his last 20), but prospect status, rather than specific AFL performance, is what gets you onto this team, and Brown is one of the 30 or so best prospects in the game.

Last week we talked to Dave Murphyof the Daily News. He said the following on Brown:

People in the organization we talk to like Domonic Brown. They view him as a future star, a Carl Crawford type impact guy. Michael Taylor, I never get the sense they view him as a 30-100 guy, and there’s not an overwhelming anticipation of him getting to the big leagues. Whereas Brown is “can’t miss,” for lack of a better term, Taylor is more in the Ryan Howard mold, where he was putting up great numbers but they’re still unsure. Howard left little doubt once he arrived but I don’t get the sense that they’re willing to let Werth go because they have Taylor waiting.

Others of note on the team…

• Jose Tabata (Pirates)…former Yankees farmhand was a part of the 2008 Xavier Nady trade
• Buster Posey (Giants)…Top catching prospect in baseball
• Stephen Strasburg (Nationals)…uber-prospect was first player drafted last year
• Drew Storen (Nationals)…10th player drafted last year gave up a home run to Travis d’Arnaud at Hagerstown on the first pitch he threw as a professional

That’s it, another season in the books down in the Arizona Fall League, and a relatively productive one for the former BlueClaws that took part. Here’s how they did (parentheses refers to year with Lakewood)…First the hitters…

• OF Domonic Brown (2008): .229, 2 HRs, 18 RBIs, 9 doubles…finished 0-20, dropping his final average from .276…headed to Lehigh Valley to open 2010, perhaps his final season in the minors
• C Tuffy Gosewisch (2007): .318 (14-44), 0 HRs, 5 RBIs…Ready to catch every day with Lehigh Valley next year
• SS Troy Hanzawa (2009): 2-25, 0 HRs, 3 RBIs…tough when you’re only active one day a week as Troy was.
• OF Steve Susdorf (2009): 11-55, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs…lefty will be in either Reading or Lehigh Valley when baseball opens next year

And the pitchers…

• Michael Cisco (2008): 1-2, 3.38, 18.2 IP, 14 H, 8 BB, 13 K…A nice fall for the  2008 draftee…allowed four of his seven earned runs in second outing, and gave up just three earned runs over his last 14.2 innings pitched
• Edgar Garcia (2007): 2-2, 5.29, 17 IP, 23 H, 4 BB, 10 K…Continues to throw strikes and wasn’t a bad ending to a strange year for Garcia that started with visa problems in the Dominican Republic
• Scott Mathieston (2004): 0-0, 2.84, 12.2 IP, 10 H, 8 BB, 15 K…Began with 7.2 scoreless innings…off of second Tommy John Surgery…is on the 40-man roster and he’ll have an outside shot to make big league club out of camp
• Michael Schwimer (skipped Lakewood): 0-0, 4.26, 12.2 IP, 12 H, 8 BB, 8 K…Like Mathieson, too many walks, but like Susdorf and Cisco, just his second year in pro baseball, which ended with Double-A Reading. Part of a promising bullpen prospect group for the Phillies

Big day for three Phillies prospects, and two former BlueClaws as Quintin Berry (2007), Jesus Sanchez (08-09) and Yohan Flande were added to the Phillies 40-man roster. The move protects all three from being chosen in next month’s Rule Five Draft, held at the Winter Meetings, plus these guys will almost certainly get to go to big league spring training for at least a little bit.

For Berry, it’s a nice birthday present (he turns 25 on Saturday). He spent the year with Reading, hitting .266 and stealing 48 bases, second in the Eastern League. He hit .312 with Lakewood in 2007 and led the SAL and FSL in steals the last two seasons.

Sanchez’s magical journey continues with his transaction. Remember, this time last year he had just finished up Instructional League, where he was converting from catcher to pitcher. As a pitcher this year with Lakewood, all he did was go 10-6, 3.44, or 9-2, 2.57 from June 1st on. Here is a July 24th ClawCast with Sanchez.

Finally, Flande is another great story. He was in the Gulf Coast League last year, but skipped Williamsport and Lakewood, made the Futures Game, and ended up with Reading. All told, the lefty went 10-5, 3.40 between Clearwater and Reading in 2009.

We took a shot (badly) here yesterday.

They’re winding it down now in the Arizona Fall League, with just a couple of games left. Scottsdale, with the Phillies prospects, is 13-16 and has just two more games to go. Phoenix, at 18-12, has clinched the division and will play in the championship game against Peoria. Onto the recap…

November 11th…Mike Cisco started and gave up five runs (two earned) over three innings in a 12-3 loss to Phoenix. Scott Mathieson, who did not allow a run in his first 10 innings, has allowed four in his last three after allowing another here…Domonic Brown went 2-4 with 2 RBIs and a triple.

(more…)

Antoher round of updates on the Phillies prospects and former BlueClaws playing in the Arizona Fall League. First, a few quick notes…

• All the Phillies prospects are on Scottsdale, who is 10-13 after a 3-3 week. Before that, they had gone 1-8-1 over their previous ten games.
• Domonic Brown continues to lead the league in doubles with eight (three way tie).

November 4th: Tuffy Gosewisch went 2-4 to raise his average to .345…Scott Mathieson gave up three runs in the 8th inning of a 10-5 loss, the first three runs that he’s allowed this fall…Brown went 0-4.

November 5th: Scottsdale scored 4 in the 8th to come back and beat Surprise, snapping a three game losing streak…Brown went 1-3 with an RBI single…Steve Susdorf was 0-4…Edgar Garcia allowed one run in one inning of relief…The winning runs came in on a Jose Tabata (former Yankees prospect) two run double…Travis d’Arnaud’s brother Chase scored the winning run.

Below the fold the rest of the recaps plus a few notes on some of the other prospects in Arizona:

(more…)

Domonic Brown was the only Phillies prospect in the annual Rising Stars Game, for top Arizona Fall League prospects.

The 2008 BlueClaws OF started in RF for the Eastern Division Club and went 1-4 with a double and run scored, as part of a seven run first inning for the East.

Their only problem? They didn’t score the rest of the day. Matt McBride (Indians) hit a two-run homer in the 8th inning and the West won 8-7.

McBride’s home run came off Nationals prospect Drew Storen, who as we’ve told you before, was greeted this year in Hagerstown by Travis d’Arnaud, who hit a home run on Storen’s first pro pitch. He was the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft out of Stanford.

More here

It’s that time of year, prospect season. Baseball America releases their top ten Phillies prospects on Monday and we’ll have everything covered right here on BlueClaws Blog. Later this weekend, we will give you our picks, but first, let’s look back at a survey the Reading Eagle did at the end of the minor league season.

They asked members of the media and team broadcasters who cover the organization’s minor league clubs to rank, 1-20, members of the Phillies pharm system.

Here’s how the rankings came out (our comments)

• 1. Kyle Drabek, P, off TJ surgery, jumped from Clearwater to Reading easily
• 2. Michael Taylor, OF, has hit at four different levels since Lakewood early 08
• 3. Domonic Brown, OF, just turned 22, playing well in AFL
• 4. Anthony Gose, OF, speedster led MiLB in stolen bases w/ 76
• 5. Travis d’Arnaud, C, had great 2nd half after struggling in first half, top catcher in system after trade of Lou Marson
• 6. Mike Stutes, P, he and Worley first in 10 years to open first full season in Reading
• 7. Freddy Galvis, SS, slick fielder got taste of Double-A at end of season
• 8. Antonio Bastardo, P, became 30th former BlueClaw to reach bigs this year, active for all three rounds of playoffs
• 9. BJ Rosenberg, P, unknown at beginning of the year, he double-jumped to Reading
• 10. Joe Savery, P, former 1st round pick won 15 games between Reading and Lehigh Valley
• (continued below)

(more…)

The Arizona Fall League takes a day off and has their Rising Stars Game on Saturday. 2008 BlueClaws OF and top Phillies prospect Domonic Brown will take part in the game, the only Phillies player selected to participate.

Brown, 22, is hitting .282 with two homers and 13 RBIs…He currently leads the league with eight doubles.

Full rosters here…Other players of note in the Rising Stars Game…

• Nationals top pick in 2009 Stephen Strasburg
• #10 overall pick Drew Storen, also of the Nationals…Storen made his pro debut with Hagerstown this year against Lakewood, the day the BlueClaws clinched the first half title. Storen’s first pitch was launched for a home run over a 30-foot CF wall by Travis d’Arnaud at Municipal Stadium.
• Travis d’Arnaud’s older brother Chase
• Jose Tabata, who was a former Yankees prospect traded to the Pirates last year in the Xavier Nady deal
• Giants top prospect Buster Posey, a catcher

You can watch the game on Saturday, 8:15 pm EST on MLB Network. Further, for you Twitter users, follow the Arizona Fall League.

Here’s another round of updates, catching you up from last week…Eight Phillies (and seven former BlueClaws) are playing for Scottsdale in the prestigious Arizona Fall League.

Quick notes…

• Domonic Brown leads the league in doubles with eight
• Scott Mathieson has not allowed a run in 7.2 innings pitched with 10 strikeouts
• Think this isn’t a hitter’s league? Phoenix leads the league in ERA at 4.42! The league ERA (all teams combined) is 5.58.

October 24th…Steve Susdorf went 1-4, Domonic Brown 0-2, and Troy Hanzawa 0-4. Hanzawa can only be active by rule one day per week since he is on the taxi squad. Note that Scott Mathieson, coming off a second Tommy John Surgery, threw a shutout inning and hasn’t yet allowed a run this fall.

(more…)

Had a chance to chat with 2009 BlueClaws shortstop Troy Hanzawa earlier today. He’s currently out in the Arizona Fall League with Scottsdale and a number of other Phillies prospects. Hanzawa hit .267 with 2 home runs and 47 RBIs for the BlueClaws this year while playing an excellent shortstop. He played in all but 12 games as Lakewood won the 2009 SAL Championship.

Some thoughts from Hanzawa, 24, who is on the team’s taxi squad, which means he can only be active one day per week…

• When asked if he looks back now at the 2009 season…“Definately. It’s great, there were 16 teams in the league and we came out on top. I’m thinking about what the ring looks like too.” (He won’t find that out for a few months).
• When did you think the team was good enough to win the whole thing…“We felt early on we were good enough, once we played a little bit we felt we had as good a shot as anyone. About 3/4 of the way through we stumbled a bit, but we got some guys to come in and help. It was all good.”
• What he’s taking from his time in Arizona…“The biggest thing is just watching the caliber of players out here. You try to learn a little from everyone. I haven’t gotten that many at bats or innings so you really try to make the ones you do get count.”
• With most of the other players from AA or AAA, he talks about the difference in experience…“It’s significant, but really on any given day if a hitter is feeling good he can hit. So I’m just trying to pull from them, and learn what they’re doing and different approaches to the game.”
• Now basically in his seventh straight month of baseball, how does he feel physiaclly…“Right now I’m allright. I take BP every day, take grounders every day. I think my body has recovered from the season. Afterwards, I’ll probably just go straight into workouts and get ready for 2010.”