Matt Rizzotti Promoted to Lehigh Valley

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Update: Rizzotti is in the Lehigh Valley lineup for this evenings game, playing first base and hitting cleanup.

Matt Rizzotti probably the most talked about player on this site currently, was promoted from AA Reading to AAA Lehigh Valley today, making it his third level of play this year. Rizzotti was originally the Phillies 6th round selection in the 2007 draft out of Manhatten College.  He played primarily first base, while seeing significant time as the RPhils DH as well. Rizzotti is currently the Eastern League leader in batting average (.362) and comes in with the very impressive line of .362/.451/.638 during his time with Reading this year. On the year, Rizzotti is hitting a combined .361 with 17 HR and 71 RBI in 107 games between Clearwater and Reading.

The Floral Park, Ny native, a lefty, should see regular playing time for Lehigh Valley during the seasons last month.

65 thoughts on “Matt Rizzotti Promoted to Lehigh Valley”

  5. Well earned promotion. You can’t do much better than he did at Reading. We’ll see how he does at this next level. I expect him to keep on hitting.

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  6. If he keeps hitting in AAA is it possible to see him in September as a bench player?

    Best memory I can remember of 2008 was Matt Stairs slugging one deep into the night to pull a head of the Dodgers.

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  7. don’t know why the last part didn’t post.

    It would be great to watch Matt do something like that!

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  8. Clyed … A month or so ago, I would have answered you question with a no chance. Now I think differently. I think this is a trial for him. Since he has to be protected this year anyway, putting him on the 40 man roster shouldn’t be an issue. My opinion is that if he continues to rake, he will be called up after the LHV season. Who knows, if he continues at his Reading pace, maybe even sooner if someone gets hurt, which is always possible at this team!!

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  10. Congrats to Matt.
    But I would have left him in his comfort zone at Reading. IMHO there is not a 40-man roster spot for him this year since we need those to keep our backup infielders as insurance. I’d also like to see a pinch runner type brought in for Sept (that why I was disappointed in losing Berry).
    I do not think Rizzotti’s value (to either the Phillies or other GMs) will improve much at AAA; but it certainly could drop. I have more confidence he would continue to mash at AA and keep his prospect status as high as possible. Since it is unlikely he will play for the Phillies next season (Gload) why promote him for just one month?

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  11. Fix, what downside? If he doesn’t perform, then your justified in leaving him at AAA all next year anyway. Hopefully he ripens by next years trade deadline. If he rakes, then his value is immediately higher. Then he becomes a marketable chip this winter. Moreover, it really justifies dropping someone and bringing him up in september.

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  14. I wonder how LV fans will react, they love Tracy, from what appeared to be lack of enthusiasm in the game at all, I wonder if they’ve even ever heard of a guy like Rizz. Those fans that complain that they don’t have a legitment threat don’t have an argument anymore, rizz is pure clutch 2 outs bottom of the 9th, he like “I got this”

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  16. Good for Rizzotti! Here is hoping this guy is for real. He was a 6th round draft choice, so he was thought pretty highly of. I mean, what else could this guy do this year outside of what he has done at the two levels? He has hit for average and power.

    I really think this has been a very impressive year for the Phils on the Pharm. They now have a prospect at each infield position who has shown promise this season. I don’t think we could say that before the season. You have Rizzotti and Singleton at 1b, Garcia at 2b, Galvis at ss, Overbeck at 3b, and Valle at c. Not to mention loads of potential pitchers and outfielders. Imagine if Collier, Hudson, Dugan and/or Hewitt start to show the same progress? Well done by the entire organization in drafting and developing players.

    Please sign Frazier and Hinson!!!

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  18. If Rizzotti shows that he can hit at the AAA level, the Phillies might want to consider having him learn to play left field–they did it years ago with Greg Luzinski who was no Victorino in the outfield, but he learned and did an acceptable job–the main thing was his bat!

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  19. Matt Rizzotti proves that hard work in the off season does pay off. No matter what happens at AAA he has already had a 2010 season to remember. As Charlie would likely say to him “boy just relax and have some fun” with the Pigs. In the 09 spring training at the minor league complex I was watching him take BP on Carlton Field. Pitch after pitch the ball was jumping off his bat rocketing toward the City of Clearwater trash transfer station which sits behind the right field fence. For whatever reason that season he was unable to carry that stroke into the games. But this season was different for whatever reason. He was able to adjust that BP stroke to hit to all fields and take it into the regular season at two levels already with amazing results.

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  20. ‘Pigs manager Dave Huppert mentioned in his pre game press chat that Rizzotti is “expected to share time at first base with Andy Tracy”.

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  21. I’m off to the game now, jeremy, and I’ll be cheering for Matt. He did poorly the one night I saw him in Reading, so I’m interested in how he does tonight. Frankly, it’s the one reason I’m even going to the game tonight in this heat. I don’t feel well and the play has been pretty bad around here since DB left us. Well, I will get a free Schneider bobble too.

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  23. Minor is starting tonight. Will not be going deep into game, the Braves have a pitcher piggybacking him.

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  24. I love my area. I love being 3 miles from Coca Cola Park. I hardly go though. Went to the Reading/LHV exhibition before the season to see Domonic play. Like zero reaction for him at the time. Kinda disheartening. Love the park, but I’m not a root for Andy Tracy type guy.

    Good luck Rizz. I’ll make sure to check him out on TV tonight.

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  25. I can’t wait to taste Rizzotti’s cheese steaks next year. I am sure he will work his butt off to be an viable left fielder next year.
    Good times for the young man. HooooooRay

    Next project Harold .

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  27. Chuck hustle, I think you are a little optimistic with overbeck and galvis. But the phils have done a great job of developing talent this year. Galvis I’m afraid will be this centurys steve jeltz.

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  28. This guy is great. This guy will never ever play LeftField.

    1B – Lefty Masher off the Bench ala Stairs – DH.

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  29. Overbeck needs serious work, he was ice cold at the plate when coming up, then he warmed, but rapidly has cooled off again, add in the fielding and I’m not very impressed with a bunch of games going 0 for with tons of k’s and then the occasional dinger.

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  30. Galvis on the other hand is gold glove material the bat goes back and forth but generally just average but he is very young. So I have hope in him.

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  31. Matt Stairs and Matt Rizzotti are completely different profiles. Stairs believe it or not actually came up through the minors as a 3B/2B/SS before settling in the outfield. Plus he’s a half foot shorter.

    The Rizzotti to left field talk is silly. Sure Luzinski played left field. He was bad enough out there that he cost the Phils a possible World Series berth. Is anyone really looking forward to reliving those years?

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  32. I don’t know if Rizziotti can play LF. Logan Morrison played minor league ball for 5 seasons. He is 6’3″ 235. He’s played 407 games at 1b, and 21 games in LF. He has started 8 games in MLB and all were in LF. BTW 19 0f the 21 games played in the minors were played in 2010. Matt Rizziotti is 6’5″ 235. Morrison is not a good defender in left and the Marlins arn’t the Phillies. To think Rizziotti can’t go to the AFL or instructional ball and try to play the outfield is nuts. I don’t think the phils looked at Rizziotti as a potential prospect in the passed years after his ordinary #’s. What’s the difference if they looked at him as org filler in the OF or 1b? They shouldn’t put him in LF this season it would be unfair to him. It would be unfair to him if they don’t give him a shot this offseason. People shouldn’t act like it’s impossible for him to change positions until they try him out. I wish the best of luck to him and hope he has a long career in MLB.

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  33. Rizz did OK tonight in AAA, 1 for 4 but made contact on all 4 at bats. He looked really good at 1st and did a great dive trying to head off a hit. Time will tell but my gut is he’ll be fine at AAA. I kind of feel bad for Tracy, he was passed over for Sweeney now Rizz came up. When was the last time that Tracy had any opposition for 1st, was it when Howard moved up?

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  34. Here’s the thing. Even if he CAN play LF,* there’s PLENTY of reason to believe he would be pretty lousy at it. That is, cost the team 30 runs a year (or more) lousy. Now, some few players excel so much as hitters that they can make up for that – though honestly if I were a GM the last thing I’d look for is that kind of player – but a REASONABLE evaluation of his hitting skills is that he won’t hit enough to justify that kind of defensive cost. I mean, some people are comparing him to Ibanez, but that’s sort of a low bar. Saying that he might be better than a 2010-2011 vintage Ibanez is not exactly high praise. (Interstingly, the organization seems generally to agree with me on the importance of good defense – the team has been one f the best defensive teams in the league for years – though les so this year, mainly because of injuries, but also because Ibanez has been so awful. And a few other players are having subpar defensive years.)

    The fact is, if he can play passable defense at 1B, he might hit enough to be a regular there – for someone. But all this talk about trying to switch him to the OF is crazy not just because it is questionable at best whether he can play the OF at all, but why would you be HOPING that the Phillies are going to fill an outfield slot for the next few years with a guy who AT BEST is going to be one of the worst defensive outfielders in the league? I mean, defense MATTERS.

    Now, of course there is the crowd who doesn’t have the first clue about projecting minor league performance to the major leagues, and has convinced themselves that he is going to be the next Ryan Howard, except that he’ll hit .350 on top of the HR power. I exaggerate but not by much. As for those people … I’ve been bending over backwards to be kind, and trying to answer their arguments seriously, but more and more I think that either ridicule or simply ignoring their opinions makes more sense. You would think these people would learn – after being wrong SO MANY times (though I guess it’s still theoretically possible that Micheal Taylor could be the next David Winfield – I wish I could remember who came up with THAT one – was it you, baxter? But it’s even less likely now than it was a year ago) – but apparently not.

    *And of course none of us knows for SURE whether he can play the OF, but (1) presumably the Phillies organization knows the answer to that a heck of a lot better than we do whether that is possible, and (2) the fact that they haven’t tried him for even an inning in the OF a significant indication that he doesn’t have the skills to play there. Unless of course you’re one of the mentally challenged people on this site who are convinced that the Phillies organization is filled with idiots who don’t have the first clue about players development – or, even worse, for some nefarious reason don’t WANT their players to succeed, and actively trying to sabotage them. Of course, on TOP of all that, I would think that a guy that seems to find the defensive responsibilities of 1B so challenging wouldn’t be the best candidate for a move to the OF.

    Oh, one more thing:

    “F. Logan Morrison played minor league ball for 5 seasons. He is 6’3″ 235.”

    This has to be the stupidest of many stupid arguments I’ve read on this site. Height and weight have … I won’t say nothing to do with whether someone can play the OF, but they are close to the most important. It’s about speed and athleticism primarily. Does Rizzotti have the speed and athleticism to play the OF? Again, none of us have DIRECT knowledge of that – even seeing him play won’t answer that question, as probably only 2 or 3 of the people who frequent this site have the background/knowledge to make an accurate judgment on that. But everything we have read and heard about him, combined with the way that the Phillies have been developing him.

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  35. And as to why I feel somewhat strongly about this – why I’m not just ignoring it – past experience tells me that the following will occur:
    (1) Phillies, for good reason, will keep him at 1B,
    (2) The haters who comment here will use the “failure” to try him in the OF as more “evidence” as to how stupid the Phillies organization is.

    Of course, when he goes on to have a decent but not all star career as a 1B/DH, his boosters will have amnesia and move on to NEW reasons to hate the organization.

    Really I couldn’t care less that many people around here are clueless about player evaluation. What pisses me off – a little, not a lot, it is after all just a game – is the CONSTANT irrational bad mouthing of the organization from a certain segment of the readership here.

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  36. Larry M. I’m not trying to bad mouth the Phillies organization player development at all. It certainly looks like Rizz is not an outfielder candidate, more likely a power hitter who was born to trot.

    But talk about player evaluation and development did you know that when Rizz was in Clearwater, his manager Razor Shine would not let him play in game with a lefty pitcher. Shine’s rationale was that a lefty could not hit a left and that’s how it was when he came up. Rizz has been hitting lefties as well as he’s hit righties. You are right that it is a game to us, but not to the players whose fate is in the hands of the organization. I’m pointing this out as one definite known developmental screw up. Maybe some posters know more then you about player evaluation.
    player evaluation.

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  37. Don’t really care about the argument, but Rizzotti didn’t exactly prove that he could hit lefties last year when given the opportunity (4-33).

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  39. I’m sure there are people on the site who are better at player evaluation than I am. But the people who think that Rizzotti is going to be a star as a major leaguer, or that Micheal Taylor is going to be the next Dave Winfield, or who otherwise think that every superficially impessive minor league performance, often in a small sample size, by a Phillie farm hand is directly projectible to Major League performance, don’t happen to be among them.

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  40. Well B last year is over. When a young player “gets it” he becomes a different player.
    History is just that. An indicator not gospel.

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  41. “But talk about player evaluation and development did you know that when Rizz was in Clearwater, his manager Razor Shine would not let him play in game with a lefty pitcher. Shine’s rationale was that a lefty could not hit a left and that’s how it was when he came up. Rizz has been hitting lefties as well as he’s hit righties. You are right that it is a game to us, but not to the players whose fate is in the hands of the organization. I’m pointing this out as one definite known developmental screw up. Maybe some posters know more then you about player evaluation.”

    Nice story, to bad its not true. Razor Shines and Matt Rizzotti were in clearwater in different seasons.

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  42. Larrym, slot of people pointed to rizziotti’s size to say he couldn’t play LF. The body of a 1 b thing. That was my point. I don’t think he can be a good defensive OF. Good defense is important. For what reason with the numbers rizziotti put up before this season would justify a position switch? This season for rizziotti statistically came out of left field. Pun intended. The phillies should make an attempt to see if he can play there! His bat off the bench and part time play in the OF could be valuable to the big club. I don’t think he can be a full time player on this team but he can be a player who can contribute.

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  43. To further clarify on the player evaluation front, I claim no ability at all to evaluate things like swing mechanics, pitching mechanics, etc. etc. Nor do 99% of the people commenting here have the ability to do that. I rely mostly upon reading what the professional talent evaluators say (the people who DO know how to evaluation swing mechanics, pitching mechanics, etc.) supplemented by an informed understanding of statistical evaluation.

    What I find amusing are the people who disagree with the professional talent evaluators based upon nothing but a superficial and ill-informed evaluation of raw statistics.

    The irony regarding Rizzotti is that my take on hime is actually probably more optimistic that the professional “consensus.” (To the extent that that consensus is knowable.) And I think more optimistic than almost all of the people on this site whose opinion I respect.

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  44. Slabs,

    That’s a reasonable opinion, though IMO still unrealisitc as to the positibilty of playing the OF. I am not directing most of my my comments at you (aside from the specific comment about Morrison; on that point, I think you are missing the more serious objection to Rizzotti playing LF). But you do realize there is a small but vocal contingent of people on this site who think he can and should be the regular LF for the Phillies next year, and that in that role he would become a star?

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  45. Not trying to wade into the Rizzotti fray again, but the fact he only had 33 ab against lefties last year suggests the story was true, even if someone got the coaches name wrong

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  46. The fact that Rizzotti only got 33 abs doesn’t suggest the story to be true. It suggests that he did not show that he could hit LH pitching well, so the manager stopped using him against Lhanders. He wasn’t great against RH pitching either, and since he wasn’t a great prospect, they weren’t patient.
    The story wasn’t true. That’s all.

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  47. My point is rizziotti could be a replacement to dobbs next seeason. If he could play LF that would improve his value as a bench player. Thinking he could replace Howard or ibanez is fairy tale world stuff to me. Pete incaviglia played left luzinski played left and morrisson is doing it now. The phils tried Howard in left in spring training too. Not in the middle of his break out season. Hindsight is 20/20. Rizziotti in the phils wildest dreams would never of thought he would have a season like this so they couldn’t of even thought about moving him off 1b. They should try him in the offseason and hope he takes to it so they have a cheap replacement for greg dobbs.

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  48. 33 abs over the course of a season? That’s hardly a sound sample size. Are you suggesting that the coaches the Phillies employ are so unenlightened as to make decisions from the small sample size of 33 abs?

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  49. Well Slabs, again I think we’re now in the realm of where reasonable minds may differ. I tend to doubt that the Phillies will want someone in that role who is just learning the position, but even someone like myself who mostly respects the Phillies decision making process would have to admit that they tend to rely a little to much on “proven” Major League players for bench roles.

    And it’s ironic that I may be more optimisic than you are as to whether Rizzotti can someday be a Major League regular, albeit most likely not for the Phillies.

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  50. Even if Rizzotti suddenly becomes competent as an OF between now and next spring he still won’t be a replacement for Dobbs because he cannot play 3b. Ross Gload is already signed through next season as a LH bench player who plays 1b/OF. Adding Rizzotti would be redundant and a waste of a bench spot.

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  51. Well i agree that the phils like the proven player. Rizziotti would be 5 or 6 on the dept chart in the OF for the phils. Benfran and gload would be players that could be used ahead of him. The payroll will come into play for next year. Maybe they find a guy for the minimum that will produce the same. Still the rizz would be cheaper. He dedicated himself to be a better hitter last offseason. I would be willing to give him a shot to do the same this offseason defensivly.

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  52. Regarding what 3up said, it can’t be emphasized enough that the 12 man pitching staff massively limits bench personel decisions. From 5 spots you need to back up 8 positions – hopefully with some redundancy as well. That’s the reason we see so many offensively challenged bench players – a bench player who hits .200 but plays 3 positions is more valuable than a bench player who hits .300 but plays only one position.

    If I was running a team, I probably would make do with an 11 man staff, or even 10 as was typical when I first became a fan. But 12 man staffs are now the norm, and I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect the Phillies to buck that trend.

    And this is why it may actually be MORE likely to see Rizzotti as a regular 1B for someone, as opposed to a bench guy.

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  53. The Phillies would likely be better off with an 11 man staff right now considering the rotational strength they possess. As it is, they pretty much get by with an 11 man staff considering Herndon’s presence there and Baez to a lesser extent.

    ****Even if Rizzotti suddenly becomes competent as an OF between now and next spring he still won’t be a replacement for Dobbs because he cannot play 3b.****

    There is about a 0.5% that Dobbs will be in a Phillies uniform in 2011. He will almost certainly be non-tendered after a 2nd full season of pure suckiness. There might be openings on the bench that need to be filled. I agree it wont be Rizzotti simply because of Gload already being a lock for the backup 1B/LH Bat role.

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  54. I think Rizzotti has turned his game around. Up until mid-point of this season, he basically go no respect from Phillies minor league organization. He was not viewed as a prospect. That’s why over his Phillies career he DHed so much. Also why he sat against left handers often. The minor league managers wanted to win games and used those not considered serious prospects in the manner that most led to winning, not the best development path for a guy like, Rizzotti, whom they saw as organizational filler. He was just a decent/good bat. He uppped his game considerably this season and needs to be regarded as a prospect. As a result, he gets to hit against lefties and play the field more consistently. Maybe he learns some LF over the winter to maximize his value as a bench player.
    Next year I think unless he burns up ST, he is the LV 1B and injury insurance for the big club. Sometime later next year, he is a big Phillies bench guy. Tracy likely is a coach or manager in Phillies farm next year as is Hoover. They will also provide minor league injury insurance.

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  55. Allentown – where I part ways with you is that I see no evidence that Rizzotti was viewed as organizational filler by the front office. Certainly no DIRECT evidence (in terms of statements by the relevant parties). Nor do I think the circumstantial evidence supports that POV. He was a 6th round pick, not typically a pick used for organizational filler. He played regularly – over 400 PA in both 2008 and 2009. He was moved reasonably quickly through the system, and performed fairly well if not nearly at this year’s level.

    The only “evidence” that the team saw him as organizational filler is that he played1B, not the OF. (He didn’t DH until this year.) But that is at least equally consistent with the team seeing him as a real prospect who is defensively limited & needed experience playing 1b, the position he was & is best suited for.

    I think the point of view that you are advancing is wishful thinking – you want to believe that he can play the OF, and you are constructing a narrative to support that belief. Unfortunately, it’s a narrativewith no basis in fact.

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  56. My favorite Rizzotti story can be called the ” tale of a break out season” I was anxious to see him play at AA after his recent call up from Clearwater. There in Harrisburg with no DH in the game and still doubts about his ability, Roadcap, the Reading manager, had Matt on the bench while some six year free agent started at first. He did get to pinch hit in that game and lined a double down the left field the line. After a couple of weeks passed and Matt’s batting average was sitting north of .360 the next time Reading came to play in Harrisburg I arrived early to watch BP and old Roadie was down on one knee behind first base with a fungo bat hitting ground balls to Matt with a drill to work on his foot work at first. Matt was now a fixture in the starting lineup in games against NL teams. It will be interesting to see how they handle him at AAA.

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  57. LarryM —
    Wrong on two counts. Rizzotti did not move up normall, he repeated at CLW to start this season. And no, he didn’t normally play 1B at CLW last year, he only played 1B in 28 games of the 101 games he played. Durant played most of the time at 1B for last seasons CLW team. Btw, in those 28 games at 1B, Rizzotti had 6 errors, vs. 15 errors for Durant in 108 games. In 2008 at Lakewood, Rizzotti played 56 games at 1b of the 102 games that he played. Again, Durant got more games at 1B than Rizzotti. Apart from that, your analysis is spot on.

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  59. allentown,

    Youre right about DH in 2009, but really that’s still a pretty thin reed to build your argument on.

    As for starting in Lakewood this year, your just being silly. I mean, you are factually correct, but it doesn’t contradict what I was saying. LOTS of real prospects spend more than a full year at a given level. His overall progression has been entirely consitent with prospect status.

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  60. Clearwater, not Lakewood. I think a reasonable reading of the facts says he was behind Durant in prospect status in 2008 and 2009. A serious prospect is given maximum opportunity to improve all phases of his game, including defense. You just don’t DH a guy you see as a serious prospect. Being a #6 draft pick isn’t as much as it seems. Each of the past several drafts, the Phillies have drafted a number of guys in the top 10 draft slots who were not among the stronger picks and really safe, at or below, slot bonuses. This has allowed them to go a little over slot on a pick or two in the top 10 and have the top 10 as a whole come in on slot. That is one of the large criticisms than many of us have on the Phillies draft budget. Taking college seniors in the top 10 rounds is not aggressive drafting.

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  61. Not in the starting line-up tonight. Silly to bring him up if you are going to play Andy Tracy ahead of him…

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  63. Nowheels I don’t disagree that Dobbs will probably be DFA’d when Howard is ready. But about 5-10 days after he returns the rosters will expand and they will have additional backups available.

    There’s a big difference between playing short a backup infielder for a few days vs. carrying only 1 backup infielder for the entire season just so they can carry 2 left-handed 1b just in case Howard needs a rest.

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  64. Again Rizzotti sitting for Tracy. This makes no sense to bring him to AAA if you aren’t going to play him…

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  65. 0 for 4 tonight for Rizzotti..no strikeouts though. .721 OPS thru 6 games so far. A long string of games versus American League organizations starts this week for LV. Rizzotti should start most of the games during that period.

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