On Matt Rizzotti

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Matt Rizzotti has been a popular topic of conversation on this site this season. First it was Cody Overbeck who was being “disrespected” by me, and then it was Rizzotti. Well, while I wasn’t the biggest believer in Overbeck, I’m starting to believe in Rizzoitti’s bat a bit. I believe there are still a number of issues he needs to work on, and a number of hurdles he has to overcome, but I’m interested, and when I get interested, I go and look a bit closer. Check below for my thoughts on Matt Rizzotti going forward.

There are a number of things that I always consider when looking at a player. I went over a number of these in my Top 30 writeup this past winter, and I’ll summarize in short. The biggest issue is a player’s age. Age is important because it helps you understand where a player is now, and more importantly, where he is likely to be on the developmental curve. Projection and performance go hand in hand, and I don’t think you can truly look at one without the other. The second thing to consider is where the guy plays, and what type of role you envision him filling down the road. The requirements for prospects are different at different positions, and the expectations for players varies from big league team to big league team. All of these issues (and more) have to be considered when assessing a prospect. So let’s look at Rizzotti’s body of work, and then break down his 5 tools.

Background

Rizzotti was taken in the 46th round of the 2004 MLB draft by the Minnesota twins, but as an unrefined prep prospect, he chose to instead attend college. The Phillies drafted him three years later in the 6th round out of Manhattan College, not a traditional baseball powerhouse. Rizzotti signed for a small bonus and reported to Williamsport, where he put up a decent line considering the very pitcher friendly nature of the NYPL, hitting .260/.355/.386 in 252 PA. Rizzotti spent almost all of the 2008 season at Low A Lakewood, where he hit .268/.380/.430 in 437 PA. Those numbers are decent, but for a 22 year old in Low A, you expect off the charts numbers. In 2009, he moved one level up, hitting .263/.351/.454 in 404 PA. That line may not look special, but the Florida State League is a very difficult hitting environment, and it notably saps the power out of even the most advanced bats. Back in March, I made a brief comment about Rizzotti when discussing my SONAR scores, where Rizzotti ranked 22nd among all minor league 1B in terms of SONAR score, and also added a separate comment on him in the comments section of another post. My comments were

* Matt Rizzotti actually cracks the top 25. I debated his merits the other day in my updated manifesto, and really, he did have a nice season in the FSL. Nothing about him screams star, but he could yet turn into a useful hitter for some team, even if it isn’t the Phillies, and part of me wonders if maybe I should have found a spot for him at the back of my Top 30.

Rizzotti put up a .263/.351/.454 line in the FSL. The average batting line in the FSL was .252/.322/.363. That’s all players, including the legit prospects and the career minor leaguers who have no business being in the FSL. His 11.9% BB rate was impressive, and his ISO was close to .200. When thinking about how he ranks among all 1B prospects, its obviously not near the top. He doesn’t have amazing power, doesn’t hit for a really high average, and won’t draw an obscene amount of walks. So basically he won’t ever be a star. But at the same time, he does have one above average core skill (the walks) and his other secondary skill (power) isn’t terrible. His score of 18.90 puts him in the “average” tier, and really, he’s an average hitter. Because of the demands of 1B offensively, hes likely not going to make it here. Nothing about his score or his numbers indicate star, but they also indicate he’s a decent hitter.

So SONAR kind of saw something in him. I didn’t include him on my Top 30 this season, but he’d have been in the 31-40 range.

The Phillies had him start back at Clearwater in 2010, a puzzling decision, as he turned 24 in December. He responded by going .358/.426/.477 in 122 PA, and was promoted to Reading in May, and so far he’s gone .374/.431/.691 in 139 AB before Sunday’s game. He’s drawn 13 walks in 153 PA, which is an 8.5% clip, slightly below what he’s done throughout his brief pro career. He has 28 strikeouts in 153 PA, an 18.3% rate, which is the lowest rate of his pro career, and an obvious reason for his increased success. The more contact he makes, the better chance to do something positive with the bat. The biggest spike has been his raw power.

2007: .126 ISO
2008: .164 ISO
2009: .191 ISO
2010: .119 (ISO at Clearwater)
2010: .317 (ISO at Reading)

That’s not a big jump. Its a massive jump. Rizzotti’s .404 BABIP at Reading is obviously helping his batting average, but his line drive rate of 18.3% isn’t absurdly high, just 2% higher than his 16.6% LD rate in 2009. Where Rizzotti has bounced back is against lefties, as he has a line of .349/.431/.429 in 63 AB. The biggest red flag in Rizzotti’s 2010 explosion is his home/road splits. Reading is always one of the best hitting environments in the Eastern League, and Rizzotti has taken full advantage. In 76 home AB’s, Rizzotti has posted a line of .421/.488/.868, compared to a line of .295/.338/.443 in 61 road AB. A noisy small sample? Possibly.

Now that you know what his numbers look like, lets figure out where he fits going forward.

Hit For Average

Rizzotti is hitting .367 between both levels this year in 275 PA. He sports a robust .418 BABIP, which is going to normalize at some point. He’s shown a better ability to make contact this season, but an 18% K rate in AA (which is a career best mark) probably translates into a 21-22% K rate in the majors, and its tough to hit .300 when you’re striking out in almost 1/4 of your PA’s. He lacks even average major league speed, which means he isn’t going to be a factor legging out infield hits. On the 20-80 scale, with 50 being MLB average, Rizzotti’s hit for average tool is probably a 45.

Hit for Power and Plate Discipline

Rizzotti’s power numbers have slowly risen over his 3 years in the system, and after showing little power in his 1 month in the FSL, his power numbers have exploded in AA Reading. But as I pointed out above, his home park in AA appears to be helping his power numbers. High Desert Reading isn’t, but its still somewhat troublesome. At 6’5/235, Rizzotti has a big frame which should indicate power, and maybe he’s tapping into that now. His ISO’s have been average, but not really for a 1B, where the power expectation is much higher. Placing a grade on his power is difficult, because 2010 looks like a big outlier. At this point, I’m inclined to say his power is probably a 50. On the discipline side, he’s always shown the ability to draw walks, even though he’s done a bit less of that this season and done more swinging. His ability to draw walks and work counts is probably his strongest skill, and might be a 55 on the 20-80 scale.

Running

Rizzotti is your typical plodding first baseman. He’s stolen 2 bases in 341 minor league games, and has been caught stealing 3 times, and outside of that, he has a total of 6 triples in 1,386 PA’s, and 4 of those came in 2007 and 2008. He’s the type of runner you’d expect from a big first baseman. His grade here is probably a 30 or 35.

Fielding and Throwing Arm

This is the biggest issue for me. Prior to 2010 Rizzotti had played only 1B, but in 2010, he’s played a fair bit of his games at DH, including 15 of his 37 games at AA. Reviews of his defense from first person reports have been less than stellar, and the fact that he is DH’ing at this point might indicate how the Phillies feel about his defensive abilities. Because of his size and lack of speed, he’s probably not an option for left field, then again, if Pat Burrell can play LF, I suppose maybe Rizzotti can. But if he can’t handle defensive duties at 1B, then you have to wonder how he can handle the outfield. Having not watched him play extensively, just going off of reports, his defense has to rate as a 40, give or take. His arm, from reports, is decent, but not a huge asset, and would probably be a 40 or 45. His arm isn’t an issue at 1B anyway.

So let’s recap

Hit For Average: 45
Hit For Power: 50
Plate Discipline: 55
Running: 30/35
Fielding: 30/35
Throwing Arm: 40/45

If you give him 35’s for running and fielding, and 45 arm, and you average all of his tools, you get 44. When considering the 20-80 scale and how a 44 projects, you’re looking at a fringe average major leaguer. In 2009, the average AL first basemen put up a line of .271/.351/.481, and the average NL first baseman put up a line of .282/.373/.485. If you split the difference, you’re looking at the expectation of a .276/.362/.483

So if we expect Rizzotti to be slightly below that, you’re looking at a .265/.350/.470 line, or an .820 OPS. Nothing about that screams star, or even above average (obviously), but a .350/.470 slash for a bench bat is solid. The question is, can he maintain that type of success pinch hitting for an entire season? Rizzotti profiles the typical “old player skills”, in that his game is built around drawing walks and hitting home runs, not the athletic attributes like stealing bases and playing elite defense at a tough position. There is value in the old player skills, and if the power really does emerge, then he can certainly carve out a career as a bench bat. He’s obviously never going to play 1B long term in this organization, so his ceiling is that of a backup 1B, but if he can maintain his solid AA campaign, and then tear up 3A next season, he might get a shot to fill a bench spot for $400K, or he might end up a throw-in piece in a deal.

In short, I appreciate the season he’s had this season, but I’m still not entirely sold, and even if he continues along the path he is on, its hard to see him as anything more than a good backup/bench guy. For me, those aren’t the types of guys I’m going to be ranking in the first half of my top 30 prospects lists.

What do you think?

71 thoughts on “On Matt Rizzotti”

  1. To me if he can’t play left field then he has no future with us. Remember coming off the bench to pinch hit is really a hard job, maybe he can handle it, but dont really know. maybe gets us a fringe prospect back in trade, if he keeps it up.

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  2. 3/4 on Sunday, up to .385

    Can someone explain where his avg. “should” be based on his BABIP. Once again, sorry if this is a dumb question.

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  3. Whoops. Three (3) more hits today.

    PERHAPS he has just discovere4d his mojo, Re: baseball hitting/slugging.

    Certainly worth watching. DHs can make a good living in the AL …if they have a power bat. Should he continue his superior hitting at Reading, he could join Dom Brown at LV…maybe in July’s final weeks. Do well at LV and he’ll definitely be deserving of a shot sometime THIS season in Philly in September, if only for display.

    A good thing is that he has measuably improved vs. lefties.

    So…another guy to follow in the system.

    (Cosart got slammed…lasting only 2/3 of an inning. Hope no injury)

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  4. It’s really hard to tell what to make of him. It’s clear to me that the Phillies didn’t see him as even a chance prospect coming into this season. As you say, it really says a ton that after finishing a season of A+ ball in which he was old for that level in 2009, that the Phillies send him back to repeat that level in 2010. Even stranger that they have him play DH in A+ league this season. Strangest yet that there are zero 1B prospects ahead of him at AA or AAA. So he gets promoted to AA and simply clobbers the ball. When I’ve seen him play at Reading, he looks great at the plate and his hits aren’t flukey. The ABs in AA are starting to become not that small a sample size. So, either he’s on quite an extended hot streak or the bat is legit. The home-away splits in AA are unusual. Reading is a hitters’ park, but certainly not to that extent. At Reading, he still DHs a fair amount, despite no prospect ahead of him. Definitely a severe lack of respect from Phillies organization prior to the last several weeks.

    This has happened before. The Phillies minor league development guys and front office don’t seem to always do a very good job of identifying the real prospects in the system. Howard was forever being dissed, Bourn was criticized for being to willing to take a walk, and Ruiz was the backup catcher through a slow meander through the lower reaches of the Phillies farm, prior to his breakout season at Reading — a year in which he also opened the season as the backup catcher.

    So — one of our scouts saw enough in Rizzotti to recommend taking him in the 6th round of the draft. Likely the knowledge that Rizzotti would be an easy slot signing made the brass jump on that recommendation, but he doesn’t get picked 6th, unless the scouting department has seen something they think might become special.

    Then he gets into the system and is fairly systematically held back and not developed defensively. Looks like the scout was likely correct and the Phillies development staff owes Rizzotti a big apology.

    To mikemike — yes, coming off the bench to PH is a tough job, but someone still does it. Rizzotti has DHed enough that he’s got to be quite familiar from coming off the bench just to hit. I don’t think a 36 year old veteran really has a great advantage in coming off the bench successfully to PH. It would be nice if Rizzotti could learn to play LF, that would certainly increase his chances of making it to the majors, but that isn’t a bar to his being a bench guy.

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  5. I’m cautious. Last year I saw Nolan Reimold absolutely destroy the International League to the tune of a 1.228 OPS. Similar sample size, and at 25 he was as age appropriate for AAA as Rizzotti is for AA. This year he’s below the Mendoza line across two levels.

    Certainly I can see optimism though. He’s never hit like this, but Rizzotti has hit at every level in the past.

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  6. I think Rizzotti will keep this going. I’ve seen him play numerous times, and strikeouts aside(not many) even when he makes out he’s roping the ball. Don’t know if he will keep up this torrid pace, but I believe a consistent .300 plus average is well within Rizzottis ability year in and out. The kid hits the ball insanely well to all fields. Just wish they would have let him play the field on a more consistent basis from the beginning. Not 4 years into his career at the age of 24. The Phils messed up on that one.

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  7. You guys need to slow down on ” the rizz” he’s having a great year. Maybe everything is coming together for him and he will have a MLB career. He’s been blazing hot for 2-3 months. He may get to AAA and come down to earth. There have been a bunch of guys tear up minor league ball for a couple months and you never hear from them in the bigs. If He is for real they will find a spot for him, and I hope he makes it to Philly. Dh’ing is the closest to pinch hitting so I’m glad the phils are using him that way.

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  8. Looks like Matt has turned the corner. A couple of games in a row where he has played all nine at first. Though against a NL farm team where no DL is used. Interesting to see if starts at first tomorrow against the Toronto farm team in New Hampshire. Today it was Overbeck who was pulled for a defensive replacement close and late. No real difficult chances at first again today but he did make a nice 3-6 throw which would have resulted in a DP if Naylor had found the bag at first on the return throw.

    Rizzo has been like a machine at the plate in the three game Harrisburg series going 8 for 12 with two hits to right including his only extra base hit, two to center and four to left. All hit hard. Only major league lefty John Lannan was able to strike him out (twice) though Matt got him for a single to center in the Friday night game.

    He should get selected for the EL All Star game. He deserves it. Never have I seen someone before hit .595 over a 10 game span on his daily minor league stat report as Matt is doing right now on his.

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  10. Agree with RPhils2010 Phils should have had Rizzotti at 1B a lot more, and a lot sooner. And on his speed head down to a game and watch him. Much quicker then everyone gives him credit for…

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  11. I just hope his breakout is ‘real’. His was a reasonably high draft pick, has hit okay previously but 1B is a power hitter position so Phils just kept him around.
    He’s on fire now so they have promoted him, he is still on fire so now they need to prove he can field. Yeah, the organization is a little late to the party but now Rizzotti has earned his chance to continue being promoted.

    I did not know he had good plate discipline. That bodes well for his bench bat ability. He will be tough to keep on an NL team because he will not be able to double switch (teams rarely replace their 1B). However, having a threat pinch hitter might be worth the loss of flexibility.
    Unfortunately, I think he is likely trade bait but do the Phils look to capitalize on his current upswing. If his awesome numbers are sustained next season, he could be a Top10 (for Phillies) prospect with much higher value.

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  12. i hate that i feel this way, but in this steroid era, i tend to look at these breakouts with a huge jump in power and my first reaction is to hope that this is based on real hard work. i don’t want to imply something because that would be unfair. it is very possible that the light bulb just went on for this kid. and that he got much stronger as noted in the inquirer piece due to a lot of weight lifting. in the mean time, i am going to keep rooting for him. i doubt he ever puts on a phillies uniform due to his defense, but if he keeps up his hot bat, he could bring us a bull pen arm at the deadline from an AL club. Paging Oakland.

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  14. PPFAN
    Extremely poor post!!! Rizzotti seems to be a hardworking, clean kid. In my opinion, it’s totally in poor taste to even associate steroid use with a kid who’s doing well cause he’s busting his butt working out and practicing like a demon. The kid has obviously overcome a lot to get where he is today and doesn’t need steroid use associated with his name.

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  15. In this day and age, I don’t think it’s EVER “in poor taste” or “uncalled for” to suggest someone might be juicing. Frankly, the thought crossed my mind as well.

    That being said, there is no evidence and we can really only hope he is clean.

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  16. I’m glad PPFan said it first, but it absolutely crossed my mind too. I usually assume that the new standards of testing has everyone cowed into behaving appropriately, but you do see a new suspension in the minors every few weeks. I think that after being fooled for so many years in the 90s and early 00s, it’s hard not to be skeptical.

    All that said, it’s more than likely that he’s for real (it’s not like he’s never hit for power before), and I hope he keeps it up.

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  17. Would the Phillies be more inclined to promote him to AAA sooner rather than later based on his advanced age?

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  18. ive sene plenty of hard working guys be on juice…not mutually exclusive….that said,why do the stat heads discard his ACTUAL performance….he is coming up on 300PA’s this year and is at 373/434/599….yes he may level off, but did DBrown ever hit that well in 300 PA’s? Yet he is 1 yr younger and because he has “tools” we annoint DOM (who I do love) and we question Rizz because of defense and being slow of foot.

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  19. And he can’t throw, plays a premium offensive position, and is slow. Dom is fast, can throw, plays a higher position of the D spectrum, and can play D or will soon. Why don’t you compare their numbers last year in the FSL?

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  20. Pat, the game is hitting….do I ish he was fast & coulod play LF? Sure….bt if he is hitting he can provide value….with the MLB team o in a trade…

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  22. Pay no attention to that noise, Pat R.
    I like Matt’s FB status tonight: “I’m not lost, just Undiscovered.”

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  23. STEROIDS !! Are you serious?? The people bringing that up could not possibly be any more rude. First the nay-sayers on here say his hitting was a fluke when he came up to Reading, and they say it won’t last. Then when it does and even gets better, people have the nerve to bring that up. I’ve seen the guy out there in warm ups, no one works harder, I’ve read about his dedication in strength training during the off season. It is well known that power usually is the last thing that develops and so that may by the case for Matt. This guy gets absolutely no respect from some on here. I would say what does he have to do, as was said before, but then he went out and did it and now people start this garbage.

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  24. you guys are forgetting david bell used steroids, which shows it doesnt do much unless you actually want to improve with it, which goes along with Rizotti’s makeup

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  25. Tyler
    It did get Bell a contract with the Phils who didn’t or wouldn’t look into it. That age is over especially in the minors.
    1. drugs CAN’T help you hit the ball
    2. at this point the whole subject is just a political issue since the government has done precious little to prevent the real drug problem.
    3.Selig

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  26. They cracked down on chewing tobacco in the minors. I’m sure steroids is not an issue. Sometime players like Rizzoti are late bloomers.

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  27. I find these remarks incredible and the fact that they are so easily accepted by the people who read this site even more incredible.

    “if he can maintain his solid AA campaign, and then tear up 3A next season, he might get a shot to fill a bench spot for $400K, or he might end up a throw-in piece in a deal.”

    “even if he continues along the path he is on, its hard to see him as anything more than a good backup/bench guy. For me, those aren’t the types of guys I’m going to be ranking in the first half of my top 30 prospects lists.”

    In other words, even if he continues to hit .385 and then moves on to 3A and again hits .385, all it would get him is a shot at a bench spot. What if he then hits .385 in the ML – does that solidify his spot on the bench?

    This reminds me of the time when Fred Astaire had his first screen test and the professional who evaluated him concluded that “he can dance a little”.

    At least I’m glad to see that Rizz has now moved into the top 30 of Phillie prospects although he’s still not good enough for the top 15. If the Phillies really had 15 propects that at this point in time are better prospects than Rizz, the Philles have, without a doubt, the best minor league system in baseball. Believe that and I have a bridge I can sell you.

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  28. The drug testing in the minors is a lot more stringent than in the majors for performance enhancers and recreational drugs, and carries a 50 game suspension for 1st offense. I’m sure Rizzoti’s been tested a few times, and as a 46th round pick doesn’t really have the liquid assets necessary to purchase the designer stuff to get around the enforcement.

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  29. first, i am really glad to see that Matt’s brother (if it is his brother) write that note.

    second, i never accused him of anything. all i said was that i hate that i have this skepticism of a breakout player, but it is a reality of our time. i mean we are not children. it is a real concern in this day and age. frankly, the comments by Roadcap in the Inquire are what raised my concern. and to pretend that it didn’t cross your minds is ridiculous. how could it not? it is a sad reality of our time. ignoring the possibility when you see a power breakout come out of nowhere is foolhardy at best. I am glad to hear it is hard work that got him there. as i said above, i hope it is truly hard work and i am rooting for him and want nothing but the best. but maybe i have become jaded by seeing all of the juicing going on in the game. my natural inclination when i see a power breakout and i hear about people’s body’s changing dramatically from age 22 to age 24 is to initially be cautiously optimistic.

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  30. I watched the guy at Clearwater while he was here. Nothing special at all. He is a power hitting minor league player. Poor defensively, and yes the game is hitting – so with that said he might make a DH prospect at best. Trade bait?

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  31. Can someone answer my initial BABIP question – his average is high becasue he is getting “lucy” to some extent with where his balls land, but how “lucky” is he getting?

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  32. He’s NOT going to continue to hit anywhere near .385, given (a) his history, (b) his skill set, and (c) his unsustainable BABIP. But there is no doubt that his performance this year has elevated him the point where he has a shot at a real major league career. As PP (and others on this site) often remind us, most minor leaguers won’t even get to the majors, let alone have a real career there.

    I do tend to be a little more optimistic than PP, but even assuming that his improvement is “real,” I see his ceiling as a regular at 1B or DH for a non-contender. He won’t be a star.

    The over enthusiasm here regarding Rizzotti is, IMO, a product of 3 unfortunate analytical errors which are often in evidence among commenters of this site: not understanding the perils of small sample size, not understanding the defensive spectrum (for a corrective, read again, carefully, PP’s citation of the average offensive performance of major league first basemen), and failing to adjust performance to reflect the difference between the minors and the majors.

    I wish Rizzotti all the best, hope he has a real major league career, and have enjoyed watching (via box scores) his performance this year. But from the perspective of a Phillies’ fan, the hope is that he will continue hitting at this level or close to it so that he can be a significant piece in a trade.

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  33. Thinking and blogging are two separate thing. You who are always correcting people should just say you are sorry and leave it at that.

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  34. nowheels, I have no idea what your comment even means. For a while you were being almost coherent, but sadly have returned to normal. Did you have a literate friend write comments for you while you were on vacation?

    But one more thought about substance. In fairness to the Rizz boosters, if he can indeed produce offensively at an “average” level for a major league firstbaseman, he will be a regular for someone. Average offensive production has real value. Heck, even though I put his ceiling as a regular for a non-contender, even contenders generally can’t put 8 above average position players on the field at one time.

    In other words, saying that the could develop into a major leaguer who matches the average offensive performance of major league first basemen is a compliment.

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  35. @Jared

    I don’t know the minor league numbers but the major league leaders in BABIP over the last three seasons are Ichiro at .365 (including *130* infield singles) and David Wright at .362. I’d guess offhand the minor league numbers could be somewhat higher because the fielding across the board isn’t as good, but anything over .400 is still very, very high.

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  36. I thought nowheels was very clear. It’s OK to think someone is doing something, but the minute you write it down, even when saying you aren’t being accusatory, you ARE being irresponsible. You should apologize and move on. He was very clear.

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  37. To add … without any conclusive proof of PEDs, it’s just plain unfair to the player to mention. Just because others have done it, doesn’t make it fair game for every player.

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  38. Ah, he was referring to the dudes talking about PEDs? Well, my bad then. Never mind. (And for the record, if that was what he meant, I even … agree with him this time. Possibly a first.)

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  39. Along with others, Rizzotti is the type of player Amaro will trade to the Cubs for Ted Lilly. Then the Mets get Cliff Lee and they become better than the Phillies. Horray for Ruben!

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  40. Thanks for the discussion and analysis PP.

    I don’t know if he’ll be a good player in the ML, but I know he’s potentially a good trade chip. And that’s what’s important to me.

    Someone said it earlier, but my initial thought was Oakland would love this guy. So go get me another #2/3 starter.

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  42. I have mixed feelings about Amaro myself (e.g., the Ibanez contract). But it just amazes me that some of his biggest detractors can constantly harp about the Lee trade without giving Amaro any credit for the deal that brought him here in the first place.

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  43. My thoughts exactly NEPP … if Rizzotti were to get us Ted Lilly, he’d provide much more value than I would have thought of for someone who has really come out of nowhere.

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  44. I also want to say thanks to Pat for posting on this site about Matt. Believe me when I say we are all rooting for him.

    That said, I second again what PPFan said. Whenever you see a player have a breakout in the power department, it prompts questions about steroid usage. That’s what baseball has brought upon itself. Even this season a different minor leaguer gets suspended for steroid use every few weeks. More generally, anytime you see something out of the ordinary or unexpected, it makes you question why it is happening. In answering that question, one tends to look as to what has caused such an occurrence in the past.

    In one way, I think a player like Rizzotti is exactly what makes following minor leaguers fun. Studies tell us an awful lot about how to analyze player performances, e.g. don’t trust outperformance by a player old for his level; don’t trust outperformance over a small sample size; players older than 22 with a big year-over-year jump in power are cheating. However, there are always outliers. Rizzotti is not an observation in a study, he’s a unique person who might just be headed for stardom despite what previous studies tell us we should expect. This is why I’m consistently optimistic and hopeful about minor league prospects – finding that outlier is very exciting! Go Riz!

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  46. and what a week (from article:)

    “… The 6’5″ 265 pound slugger hit .696 with 16 hits, two doubles, one home run, three RBIs, and four runs scored… During the six-game span, Rizzotti posted a six-game hit streak, including all six games with multiple hits.

    The Manhattan College product had four games with at least three hits… Rizzotti is hitting .385 with 10 home runs and 34 RBIs. He is also currently in the midst of a 12-game hit-streak, and has five home runs and 17 RBIs over that span.”

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  47. One of the more interesting plays in yesterday’s game was watching big Matt come barreling full blast into second base to break up a potential DP. The Harrisburg shortstop hurried his release after the force out and threw the ball over the first baseman’s head.

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  48. Law on who the Phils may trade. Brown and Cosart are untouchable. Brown because he will start next year or in 2 years. Cosart because you don’t trade number ones.

    Singleton has too small of a book on him. May, Gose, Valle, and company aren’t headliners to get a Danny Haren.

    Law fails to even mention Babe Rizzotti.

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  50. Well Rulz we all know that Klaw hates the Phillies so thats probably why he’s ignoring “the babe” 🙂

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  52. Dan Haren? If we’re going to go after a guy that makes a huge chunk of coin, then I hope it’ll be Roy Oswalt.

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  53. The Phils can’t afford big money pitchers at this time. Amaro boxed himself in with the Howard extention. (He learned that paet well from his mentor Ed Wade).
    As for Lilly being a Type A free agent, I’d bet half the teams in baseball would like to sign him, but at the cost of draft picks and being 35 next year, I’d bet none would.

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  54. Haren is better, younger and cheaper than Oswalt. I would trade Cosart for him in a second. Throw in Rizzotti, Hewitt, Mayberry, and any other filler and I am still way on board.

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  56. Edgar Garcia? Do they need a ride to the airport? Is that a real rumor? Seriously, I love Happ, but AZ would have to be insane to do that deal

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  58. Haren is younger and cheaper than Oswalt but not better. Oswalt is plain nasty, that guy knows how to pitch.

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  59. I re-read the original posting and this line is really where the debate is for me:
    “even if he continues along the path he is on”

    If he finishes the AA season at .374/.431/.691 (as he was hitting when article was posted) then for me he moves into Top10 for Phillies prospects. I would compare him to Domingo Santana as a plate discipline and huge power guy (Rizzotti might be available in 2011 while Santana 2015?). Those numbers are just undeniable. And if AA is nearly as talent rich as AAA how much should I discount those numbers especially when Rizzotti has improved his ISO every season. I might expect that to continue into the majors.

    However, I tend to think “path he’s on” means he will finish AA around .300/.365/.600. Still good and showing progress but tougher for an older 1B prospect. In that case, I agree he projects more as an average major league 1B (which is an excellent hitter). If he could maintain those projected slash lines as a pinch hitter I am guessing he would be one the best in baseball. (I am not going to do the research with those smaller samples sizes.)

    His age does not bother me too much since it may take some time for a power hitter to adjust to a wooden bat. Per my earlier post I still wonder what his value would be in a trade and how do the Phillies project him. Phillies seemed to think Brown was much better than Taylor (my impression) even though Taylor seemed to have better stats at higher levels. Every game he continues to pound the ball leans me more toward a well deserved Top10 ranking.

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  60. If I know anything about Rizz, it’s that he would NEVER come close to any artificial performance enhancer. The kid is talented. Having known him for a few years, he’s one of the nicest, most talented players I’ve ever seen. So let’s all just back off this “steroid” talk for a bit and just let him keep producing with the stick.

    How about that kid Daniel Nava for the Red Sox? He all of a sudden “got it”. It’s possible…hard work sometimes really does pay off, beyond popular belief.

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  61. Jonesman that is only a rumor I heard, don’t know if it has any truth to it. they were two of the players mention, probaley just something someone made up.

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  62. Larry M The owner of this site has asked us to refrain from personal attacks. I am doing that with great restraint.

    Try it Larry!

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  64. I really hope rizz is for real and frankly I think he is doing it the right way but in this day and age in sports to turn a blind eye to the possible use of steroids is just plain dumb and I do not think its wrong for ped use to cross peoples minds. BTW you still gotta bust your ass in the gym to make the steroids actually benefit you, you can’t just use them and sit on the couch watching family guy and expect to get huge.

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  65. 2-2 tonight, 1 HR, 3 RBI. In progress.

    Oh, and they are roughing up Kyle Drabek – sort of happy about that.

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  66. Ross Gload in 115 or so PAs as a 24 year old in AAA:

    BA. 404 OBP .452 SL.942 OPS1.394

    Just some perspective

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  67. Rizzotti is a solid hitter and has been through his whole career. He will be a legitamit MLB player, but not with the Phillies. Pitching in short seas on A and even single A is garbage, once he got into AA and saw more consistant good pitching his average shot up.

    He is also 100% not on and PEDs.

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  68. To PPF Fan: I have known Matt Rizzotti his entire life. He’s the real deal, and to make such a suggestion about him is unfair, and an insult to his hard work, integrity as well as the values he was raised with. No sir, not Matt Rizzotti, No way, Not Today, Not Ever !

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  69. I know that reading a comment from some guy who rarely contributes is a bit lame. Especially on a post that hasn’t been commented on in the past three (or so) weeks.

    However, Philly.com had an excellent article on Rizzotti. I hope this was useful. Maybe this reply will serve as a way for people to find the Philly.com article in posterity.

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