Phillies Top Pitching Prospects Showcased This Weekend

Homestand features starts by Lively, Nola, Biddle, and Eflin

May 29, 2015

Baseballtown is the place to be this weekend to see the best arms in the Phillies minor league system.

Right-handed pitcher Ben Lively gets the start on Friday night when the Fightins open up a four-game set against the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Lively, who earlier in the season was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week, carries a 4-1 record and 3.47 ERA through eight starts this season. Originally drafted by the Cincinnati Reds, Lively was acquired by the Phillies on December 31, 2014 in a trade for outfielder and Reading Phillies alum Marlon Byrd.

2014 first round pick Aaron Nola follows on Saturday night. The Louisiana native is 6-3 with a 1.87 ERA in nine starts for Reading this season. Among Eastern League leaders, Nola ranks first in wins, fifth in ERA, second in innings pitched (57.2), third in WHIP (0.88), and fifth in opponent batting average (.219). A product of LSU, Nola has also struck out 43 batters to just seven walks this season.

On Sunday, left-handed Jesse Biddle will start in the afternoon game. Biddle, who is in his third year with the Fightins, is 4-1 with a 4.46 ERA in eight starts in 2015. In his short career, the 23-year old has been selected to the MLB Futures Game and the Eastern League All-Star Team in 2013. Biddle was selected by the Phillies in the first round of the 2010 draft out of Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia.

The four-game homestand will wrap up on Monday afternoon when Zach Eflin takes the hill. Acquired by the Phillies in the Jimmy Rollins trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Eflin is 4-3 with a 3.48 ERA in nine starts so far this season. The 21-year old was bestowed Eastern League Pitcher of the Week honors on April 20th. He was originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in between the first and second rounds of the 2012 draft.

Tickets for the Fightins four-game series against the Flying Squirrels are available via Fightins.com, by phone at 610-370-BALL, or in-person at the Fightins Ticket Office located at FirstEnergy Stadium.