Jake Blalock returns to the Threshers

Jake Blalock has signed with the Phillies as a minor league free agent and is re-joining the Clearwater Threshers roster.

He spent the 2005 season with the Threshers, batting .279 with 11 home runs and 65 RBIs. He was the focus of one of the two cover shots on the Threshers game program in 2006.

Jake was originally a fifth round pick of the Phillies in 2002. He was working his way up the organizational ladder from the GCL Phillies, to Batavia, and finally Lakewood before arriving in Clearwater in 2005. He saw some action for the major league club in Spring Training and was traded just prior to the beginning of the 2006 season. He was part of the deal with the Texas Rangers that brought David Dellucci to the Phillies. He was assigned to Frisco (Double-A) and stayed there for the whole 2006 season.

This season, Jake has split the season between Bakersfield (Single-A), Frisco (Double-A), and Wichita (Double-A).

His brother is major-leaguer Hank Blalock.

Roster update

There were a few moves made yesterday, June 21, that we started to discuss in one of the comment threads. Here is a little more information.

Ben Pfinsgraff was promoted from Lakewood (more info below)

Welinson Baez was sent to Lakewood.

Kevin Howard was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Still haven't seen any details of the trade. The Dodgers assigned him to the Jacksonville Suns (Double-A).

Jesus Sanchez was added from the GCL Phillies. I haven't seen any transactions for today, but I expect he will be headed back to the Complex very soon.

Some background on Ben Pfinsgraff:

Ben Pfinsgraff - Pfinsgraff is a 6'0" 180lb pitcher from Annapolis, Maryland. He played his college ball at Allegheny College before transferring to the University of Maryland-College Park. He was selected by the Phillies in the 22nd round of the 2006 draft. After signing with the Phillies, he was assigned to Batavia. Near the end of the year he was promoted to Lakewood. He primarily has come out of the bullpen for the BlueClaws this year, and had a 2-1 record with a 2.43 ERA in 33.1 innings before his promotion. He has struck out 38 and only walked six in 2007 which is good for a strikeout to walk ratio of 6.3 to 1.

A look at a current Thresher: Michael Zagurski

Michael Zagurski has been coming out of the bullpen for the Threshers since the start of the season. He's picked up fives saves in his first 11 appearances. Zagurski has only struggled once this season, giving up his only two runs of the year in a road game at Tampa in the middle of April. His current ERA is 1.17 over 15.1 innings pitched.

He is holding opponents to a .102 batting average. Of the 56 batters he has faced this year, 29 were struck out. Only five have gotten a hit against him.

Here is a closer look at a few of his outings:

4/11 Home vs. Tampa - Struck out five of seven batters faced.

4/13 Home vs. Lakeland - Struck out three of four batters faced.

4/17 Away vs. Tampa - Struck out both batters faced and picked up a save.

4/21 Home vs. Sarasota - Struck out only batter faced and picked up a save.

4/26 Road vs. Lakeland - Struck out five of eight batters faced.

4/30 Home vs. Ft. Myers - Struck out four of six batters faced.

5/9 Home vs. Vero Beach - Struck out all three batters he faced and picked up a save.

Zagurski, age 24, is a 6'0" 225lb left-hander out of Omaha, Nebraska. He was drafted out of the University of Kansas by the Phillies in the 12th round of the 2005 draft. He spent the rest of the 2005 season with Batavia. He struck out 75 out of the 231 batters he faced last season while with Lakewood.

Affiliate Shakeup - Say Goodbye to Batavia and

Hello to Williamsport.

The Phillies announced today a two-year working agreement with the Williamsport Crosscutters in the short-season Class A NY-Penn League. The Phillies had been affiliated with Batavia for nearly 20 years prior to this change.

Steve Noworyta, Director, Minor Leagues comments:

"Relocating our short-season team to Williamsport continues our plan of getting as many of our minor league teams as close as possible to Philadelphia. With AAA moving to the Lehigh Valley in 2008, the lone exception will be Clearwater. The great facilities in Clearwater will continue to be home for the Threshers and the Gulf Coast Rookie League team."

For those who may not be aware, the AAA Phillies affiliate for the 2007 season will be the Ottawa Lynx located in Ontario, Canada. Scranton is now an affiliate of the New York Yankees.

(Q) Who plays in the FIL?

(A) 36 players currently in the Phillies organization make up the 2006 Philies FIL Roster. Most of the players were members of the GCL Phillies during this past summer and there is also a mix of players from Batavia and Lakewood on the roster. Mike Costanzo (third baseman) and Greg Golson (outfielder) are the only two members of the team that played in Clearwater this past season.

FIL will be a good opportunity to check out some of the future stars of the Clearwater Threshers. Some of the more notable names on the roster, other than Costanzo and Golson, are Carlos Carrasco (pitcher), Kyle Drabek (pitcher), and Welinson Baez (third baseman).

FIL Home games are played at Bright House Networks Field and admission is free.

Mathieson back with the Phils

Former Threshers pitcher Scott Mathieson has been recalled from Scranton (AAA) by the Phillies.

Mathieson is just one of a flurry of transactions the Phillies have made since Hector Made joined the Threshers less than a week ago.

PJ Antoniato was sent to Batavia after Made arrived from Tampa.

Nate Johnson named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week

Threshers relief pitcher Nate Johnson has just been named Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Week for July 10-16. Johnson has not allowed an earned run in his last eight appearances (10.2 IP). On the week, Johnson played in three games. He was 2-0 and also picked up a save in four innings of work. Johnson struck out four, walked one, and did not give up a hit on the week.

He was drafted by the Phillies in the 20th round of the June 2004 draft. Johnson is a graduate of the University of Iowa. He played for Batavia and in the Florida Instructional League in 2004 and Lakewood in 2005. Johnson led the Blueclaws with 12 wins.

There should be a longer release up on the Official Site sometime soon.

Nate's wife Shannon works part-time in Diamond Outfitters (Team Store), come by the ballpark and congratulate her!