Major League Baseball has suspended 22-year old lefty swinging outfielder Zach Collier for 50 games for testing positive for amphetamines. Collier played in 112 games in A-ball this year and he was 106 for 416 (.255 avg, .676 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 1 homer, 36 RBIs and 35 stolen bases. He has now played in 265 games in his first three years in the minors and he is 237 for 980 (.242 avg, .647 OPS) with 126 runs scored, 2 homers, 100 RBIs and 60 stolen bases. This is going to really hurt Collier’s chance of getting to the majors down the road with the Phillies.

The Phillies have released 32-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jack Cust and 32-year old righty reliever Aaron Heilman. Cust played in 6 games in AAA-ball for the Phillies and he was 5 for 20 (.250 avg, .848 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. His release surprised me a little bit as I think he could have helped the Phillies off the bench in September. Aaron Heilman pitched in 9 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Phillies and he was 0-0 with a 8.38 ERA and a 2.07 WHIP. Heilman was quickly signed to a minor league deal by the Pirates.

21-year old righty starting pitcher Trevor May came into this season as the Phillies’ #5 prospect according to Baseball America. May has pitched in 22 games (all starts) in A-ball so far this year and he is 9-6 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. May has whiffed 164 batters and he has only allowed 100 hits in his first 124 1/3 innings so far this year and those are amazing numbers. But, he has walked 54 batters this year too, so he needs to tighten up his control a bit. May has now pitched in 70 games (65 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 26-16 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. May has whiffed a stunning 466 batters in his first 355 2/3 innings in the minors, as he has been overmatching batters in the minors when he throws strikes as his stuff is that good. The Phillies are probably really glad that the Astros didn’t ask for May in the Hunter Pence deal.

The Phillies have dealt 26-year old righty swinging shortstop Brian Bocock to the Pirates, likely for cash considerations (probably around $20 bucks). Bocock played in 83 games in A+AAA-ball for the Phillies this year and he was 63 for 279 (.226 avg, .586 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 4 homers, 28 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Bocock played in 6 games last year for the Phillies and he was 0 for 5 (.000 avg) with 2 runs scored. This is absolutely no loss for the Phillies going forward.

The Phillies have released 34-year old righty reliever Jason Grilli to allow him to sign with another team (which was the Pirates). Grilli pitched in 28 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he was 4-1 with 3 saves, a 1.93 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He gave up 26 hits in 32 2/3 innings in the minors this year and he whiffed 42 batters, so he was throwing the ball really well, the Phillies just didn’t have a spot for him. Grilli has pitched in 238 games (16 starts) in his 8 years in the majors and he is 18-18 with 2 saves, a 4.74 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. He might be able to help the Pirates but I have my doubts.