Jesse Biddle

The best prospect in the Phillies' organization is a Philadelphia native, according to the top 10 rankings released Monday by Baseball America. Lefthander Jesse Biddle, the 27th overall player taken in the 2010 draft, moved to the top of the rankings for the first time in his three-year professional career. "My agent texted me and I kind of checked it out," Biddle said. "It's a cool honor and it means a lot . . . but I think everybody would agree that there are a lot of players who aren't on that list who are very, very talented and will still make an impact at all levels of the game.

For the second straight season, lefthander Jesse Biddle is finishing fast after starting slow. Biddle, the Phillies' first-round draft choice (27th overall) in the 2010 draft out of Germantown Friends, was 0-2 with a 5.71 ERA in four April starts for high-single-A Clearwater, Fla. He bounced back to go 2-0 with a 1.36 ERA in six May starts and was on his way. With Thursday's 3-0 win over the Daytona Cubs, Biddle ran his scoreless inning streak to 16. In his previous start, he threw seven no-hit innings in an 11-0 win over Brevard County.

The Phillies have exercised caution all season with top prospect Jesse Biddle, opting to leave the 20-year-old at single-A Clearwater for a full season, even as his successes mount. The reward was seven no-hit innings Friday against Brevard County with 12 strikeouts and two walks in an 11-0 win. Biddle, the former Germantown Friends star and 2010 first-round pick, was pulled after seven despite the no-hitter still being intact. He threw 98 pitches. The Phillies are more interested in keeping him healthy than posting a no-hitter in the Florida State League.

By Daniel Carp Daily News Staff Writer Two summer ago, Jesse Biddle became somewhat of a poster child for the American dream. Now, what was once a great story off the field is becoming an even better story on it. When the 18-year-old from Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia was selected by his hometown Phillies in the first round of the 2010 MLB draft, anyone who had ever put on a baseball glove was envious. Not only was the lefthanded pitcher a first-round draft selection straight out of high school, but the team he had grown up idolizing was the one that pulled the trigger.

CLEARWATER'S Jesse Biddle had three strikeouts sandwiched around two infield hits in his one inning for the North in the Florida State League All-Star Game. The North, featuring six members of the Class A Threshers, lost, 6-3, Saturday in Port Charlotte, Fla. On his first pitch, Biddle, the Phillies' first-round pick in 2010, deflected a ball back up the middle by Marcell Ozuna that rolled to second baseman Ryan Schimpf. He struck out the next two batters swinging and then Blake Forsythe singled on an 0-2 pitch to short.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Joe Jordan, in preparation for his new job as the Phillies' personnel director, spent countless hours watching video of minor-leaguers this offseason. He also had numerous conversations with his fellow members of the player development department in an effort to get to know as much as he could about the farm system. Tyler Knigge's name was not one that came up often. "Coming into the year . . . we talked about him a little bit, but not a great deal," Jordan said last week at Bright House Field.

The Phillies selected Shane Watson, a righthander from Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Calif., with their initial pick of Monday's first-year player draft. The 6-foot-4 Watson was selected in the compensation round, the 40th overall pick. He was 4-3 with an ERA of 1.19 as a senior this year. The Phillies received two first-day picks in the compensation round, No. 40 and No. 54. The 40th pick was for losing Ryan Madson, who signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds.

It appears as if the Phillies' patience with Tyson Gillies may finally be paying off. The most important statistic this season for the centerfielder acquired in the 2009 trade that sent Cliff Lee to Seattle is games played, and that number stood at 23 going into the weekend. Gillies, because of a variety of injuries, played in only 31 games over the last two seasons, including three last year, when he was sidelined by hamstring and foot injuries. "If I would have set a goal for him in the spring, it would have been for him to hit .270 or .275 in April and that he would play the entire month," said Joe Jordan, the Phillies' first-year director of player development.

David Buchanan made only six starts at single-A Clearwater last season after being promoted from Lakewood on Aug. 1. His performance with the Threshers and during spring training last month convinced the Phillies' player development department that the 22-year-old righthander was ready to pitch at double-A Reading. "We wanted to push him and we felt he had the pitches to be able to handle that level," said Benny Looper, the Phillies' assistant general manager in charge of player personnel.

READING - Jiwan James had a short-lived career as a pitcher and is attempting to make it as an outfielder as he begins the season at Class AA Reading. Previously a centerfielder, James will also play the corner outfield spots at Reading after batting .268 with four home runs and 38 RBIs for Clearwater last season. Ranked No. 22 among the Phillies' top 25 prospects by The Inquirer/Daily News, James turns 23 on April 11. James doesn't anticipate too much of a problem developing into a corner outfielder.