Tagged: Justin De Fratus

Spring Game # 2

On Monday, the Phillies Double-A squad beat the Blue Jays Double-A Squad 12-3. On Tuesday, it was a camp day, with no games being played.

Today, (Wednesday), the Phillies minor leaguers returned to the field and faced the Pirates minor leaguers. The Phillies Double-A team dropped their first game of the spring — falling 6-2. J.C Ramirez allowed six runs over three innings.

There were some highlights, however. Check these out: 


spring_169x169.pngDouble-A Highlights:

Cody Overbeck –
Overbeck launched two home runs and finished the contest 2-4 with those two homers. They were the only two runs of the game for the Double-A team. Overbeck, a native of Tennessee, finished the 2010 season strong — posting a .316 mark with eight home runs and 22 RBIs for the R-Phils in August (27 games). 2011 should be another good year for the third baseman.

Michael Dabbs –
Dabbs went 2-2 with a double for the Double-A team on Wednesday. A native of Stillwater, OK, Dabbs posted a .297 batting average over 37 games with Lakewood (A) last season. The 23-year-old is now hitting .429 (3-7) on the season.

Justin De Fratus –
De Fratus made his first appearance for the Double-A team on Wednesday. The 23-year-old posted a 1-0 mark with a 2.19 ERA last season for Reading. On Wednesday, he tossed two scoreless innings and fanned three batters.  

Other Highlights:

Tim Kennelly –
Kennelly, who spent the 2009 season in Baseballtown, went 2-3 with one home run and two RBIs for the Triple-A team today in a 7-54 win over Triple-A Pittsburgh. A native of Australia, Kennelly, 24, hit .274 with five home runs and 59 RBIs last season for Clearwater (A+).

Matt Rizzotti –
Rizzotti ripped two hits and added two RBIs for the Triple-A Phils team on Wednesday. The New York native hit 16 home runs for the R-Phils last season. “Rizz” is a member of the Phillies 40-man roster.

Roster Cuts and a Thank-You

As I began to sit downbaseball_thankyou_navy.jpg and write a new entry today, I found out some interesting news.

I just noticed that this blog was named as one of the Top 50 MLB Pro blogs. And, my photo is one of the ones featured on the www.mlblogs.com home page. I am ecstatic! It’s really nice to know that there are people out there who enjoy the things I write here. Thanks to all the readers, I appreciate everything!

Before I start to take a look at the first round of Phillies cuts, I wanted to share with you one more interesting tidbit.

Yesterday, before leaving the office for the weekend, I had a chance to take a look at the $10 million renovations to FirstEnergy Stadium with my fellow employees. Each day, I am more impressed. And, when fans get into the ballpark on Thursday, April 14, they are going to be impressed as well. Things are really moving along nicely. I can’t wait for Opening Night!

Among the 16 cuts on Friday were non roster invitees Brian Bass, Eddie Bonine, Andrew Carpenter, Matt Feierabend, Michael Schwimer, Joel Naughton, Matt Miller, Tagg Bozied, and Robb Quinlan. Quinlan asked for his release and it was granted.

Seven 40-man roster players were also sent to Minor League camp on Friday. Those players were Justin De Fratus, Drew Naylor, J.C. Ramirez, Matt Rizzotti, Carlos Rivero, Harold Garcia, and Cesar Hernandez.

J.C. Ramirez – Ramirez, a native of Managua, ramirez_j.c._7-10-10_full_2.jpgNicaragua, posted a 3-4 mark with a 5.45 ERA for the R-Phils in 2010. Acquired in the Cliff Lee trade, along with Phillippe Aumont and Tyson Gillies, Ramirez will look to get back on track in 2011. He won his Reading debut and posted a 1-1 mark with a 3.81 ERA at home for the R-Phils. There’s a good possibility we will see J.C. in Reading this season.

Drew Naylor – Naylor posted a 12-10 mark naylor_drew_8-8-10_full.jpgwith a 4.63 ERA for the R-Phils in 2010. The Aussie native finished second in the Eastern League with three complete games, and was solid at home — posting 8 of his 12 wins at America’s Classic Ballpark. Naylor appeared in one game this spring for the Phils, and allowed just one hit and one walk over 1.1 innings pitched. He also fanned three batters.

Two more days until Phillies Minor Leaguers begin play. Check back here each day, as well as www.readingphillies.com for all the latest spring news. There will be news and notes, as well as podcasts and more!  

Non-Roster & 40-Man…

Friday was a busy day around the rizzotti-and-bozied.jpgPhillies organization. While we haven’t even made it to Thanksgiving yet, it seems the Phils are making headlines everyday with some sort of news. Let’s take a look back at just what is going on around the organization.

First, the Phillies announced on Friday that they invited 12 players to spring training. Tagg Bozied, who spent the 2010 season in Baseballtown, and finished with a league-best .315 batting average, was among the 12 invitees. Bozied was a staple in the R-Phils lineup, and hit 27 home runs and drove-in 92 RBIs. Among the notable names receiving an invite include, Josh Barfield, Brandon Moss, Eddie Bonine, and Dan Meyer.

Second, the Phillies added five players to their 40-man roster, which put the roster at the limit. Four of the five players spent 2010 in Baseballtown. Here’s a look at the four who played for the R-Phils in 2010, along with my end of the season notes on each…

Justin De Fratus — Promoted to Reading
from Clearwater
(A+) on 7/7… Appeared in 20 games… Saved six games in seven chances… Posted a
1-0 mark, 2.05 ERA with five saves on the road (18 games)… Lefties hit just
.140 against him, while righties hit .250… With RISP, batters hit just .125 (16
AB)… With RISP w/2 outs, batters hit .000 (0-9, 1 BB)… Posted a 1-0 mark with
one save and a 1.64 ERA in July (8 games)… Posted a 1-0 mark with six saves and
a 1.59 ERA after the All-Star break (18 games)…

Freddy Galvis — Led the Eastern League with a .982 fielding %…
Had the most putouts (220), most assists (393), and total chances (624) for all
E.L. shortstops… Hit .280 with two home runs and 42 RBIs with RISP… Hit .295
with RISP/ 2outs (61 at-bats)… Had at least three hits in eight games,
including a season high four-hit game on 4/27 vs. Harrisburg… Had 24 multi-hit games…

Harold Garcia — Promoted to Reading
Garcia_Harold_7-23-10_full.jpgon 7/7 from Clearwater
(A+)… Had four RBIs on 7/28 @ RIC… Had
20 multi-hit games…  Had a 13-game hit
streak from 7/28-8/10… Had 11 at-bats as a third baseman and hit .364 (4-11)…
Hit .312 batting second, while just .233 batting first… Hit .368 with one home
run and 28 RBIs with RISP (57 ABs)… Four of his five home runs were solo home
runs… Had a four-hit game on 7/28… Scored at least two runs in a game five
times… Stole two bases in a game twice… Had an RBI in five-straight games
(8/28-31)… Hit .313 with two home runs and 17 RBIs over 23 games in July…

Matt Rizzotti — Named to the Eastern League Season Ending All-Star team… Won an Eastern
League Player of the Month award for the month of June… Eastern League Player
of the Week for the week-ending June 27… Was an Eastern League All-Star, and participated
in the E.L. Home Run Derby…
Named as a Philadelphia
Phillies Minor League Player of the Month for May… Hit .377 in May (17 games)
with four home runs and 14 RBIs… Hit two home runs and drove-in five RBIs on
5/26… Hit .369 in June with seven home runs and 24
RBIs (27 games)… Had a season-high two home runs and five RBIs on 5/26… Had a
five-hit game on 7/26 @ RIC… Had 28-multi-hit games… Had at least two RBIs in a
game 14 times… Hit .364 with 11 home runs and 57 RBIs with runners on base… Hit
.368 with six home runs and 46 RBIs with RISP…