AFL Update

8. Arizona Fall League

Matt Rizzotti went 1-3 on Thursday, knocking in 2 runs on a single.  In 42 AB’s, Rizzotti is at .405/.509/.452 with 0HR and 9 RBI’s. While walking twice as much as he has struck out in the AFL (10/5), Rizzotti has now gone over 100 plate appearances without a homer including his late season time in Lehigh Valley.

Justin DeFratus had a bumpy inning earning the save on Thursday giving up a single and a walk, but he got the job done and still has not allowed a run in 6 AFL games, striking out 10 in 6 innings. Continue reading AFL Update →

Zeid, DeFratus named AFL Rising Stars, AFL update

8. Arizona Fall League, De Fratus, Justin

Matt Rizzotti continues to swing a very hot bat, going a combined 5-10 in games Monday and Tuesday, with 2 doubles and 4 RBI’s.  In 39 Fall League AB’s, Rizzotti is at .410/.531/.462 with 0 HR and 7 RBI. He has walked 10 times and struck out only 4 times.

Tim Kennelly has been opening eyes in his limited action going 2-3 with 2 runs and a double in the 15-1 Mesa win Monday.  Kennelly was behind the plate with 5 hurlers from the Phils organization on the hill. Kennelly is now at .429/.500/.619 in his 21 AB’s, with 0HR and 2 RBI’s. Continue reading Zeid, DeFratus named AFL Rising Stars, AFL update →

Jason Grey at ESPN on De Fratus/Rosenberg

De Fratus, Justin

In yesterday’s column

Justin De Fratus, Philadelphia Phillies: De Fratus absolutely looks like a big league bullpen arm, with a 92-95 mph fastball that touched 96 mph once when I saw him, and good tilt on an 83-85 mph slider that can get strikeouts. A strong pitcher with a good frame who uses his lower half well, De Fratus does a good job finishing his pitches. De Fratus isn’t far from a call-up and looks like he could fill a seventh- or eighth-inning role at the big league level, and from there anything can happen. Then again, he’s also in an organization that left Scott Mathieson behind to dominate Triple-A hitters all year.

B.J. Rosenberg, Phillies: Rosenberg appeared in only 20 games this season due to a lat strain, so we can give him a bit of a pass if he’s still getting up to speed. In one of his outings I saw, he gave up three homers in four batters, all on poorly located fastballs. He has been working in the 91-92 mph range and occasionally touching 93 mph, but with not a lot of movement on it. His low-80s slider projects to “solid average,” and his 80-81 mph changeup has been below average. I’m just not seeing good stuff or command right now.

I love that De Fratus is getting his deserved props now. He’s done what every prospect needs to do, continue to prove himself while he climbs the ladder. 2011 could be a big year for him. Rosenberg, well, not as optimistic.

Fall League Roundup

8. Arizona Fall League

Matt Rizzotti–Continued swinging a hot bat, going 2-5 on Thursday and 1-2 with 2 walks on Friday. Rizzotti is now at .379/.526/.369 in 29 Fall League at bats, with 7 walks and 3 strikeouts.  The only complaint is that all 11 of Rizzotti’s hits, most out of the cleanup spot have been singles.  That being said, .379 is .379.

Tim Kennelly–Started in LF on Saturday and had a big day, going 2-4 with 2 doubles and 2 runs scored. .389/.421/.556 in 18 Fall League AB’s with 2 RBI’s.  Continue reading Fall League Roundup →

Mailbag Responses

Mailbag

Thanks to everyone for submitting questions. Some of you submitted like 10 questions each. I’m gonna have to pick and choose. First question

Dan asks

Thank you for taking my question. I am wonder what the prospects are for Jeremy Barnes, both next year and beyond? He seems to be a forgotten man among fans on your website. When healthy last year he hit extremely well and played all over the infield.

At 23, turning 24 in April, Barnes needs to move real fast, and has to really hit if hes going to make the majors. His .292/.383/.441 line at Lakewood is decent, but not for a 23 year old. He split time between 2B and 3B, and his future lies as a utility infielder if he can hit enough to get there. He didn’t show much home run power, but did end up with 38 doubles in 461 PA. He needs to finish at Reading this year and prove he can hit quality pitching if he’s going to end up making it to the bigs.

Check below for the rest.

Continue reading Mailbag Responses →

Fall League Update

8. Arizona Fall League

A bit of a new format that will hopefully be more user-friendly as far as looking at the prospects this week.

Tim Kennelly–Played in all three games, Monday thru Wednesday going 0-1 on Monday as a pinch hitter, 0-2 Tuesday in Left Field, and 2-3 with a run scored, a double and an RBI on Wednesday. .357/.400/.429 in 14 AB’s with 0 HR and 2 RBI.  3 k’s.

BJ Rosenberg–Pitched in the 5th inning of the game on Monday, throwing a scoreless inning.  He did allow a hit, walked one, and struck out two. Control remains an issue as just 11 of his 22 pitches were strikes.  Has made 4 appearances, 0-0 with a 4.76 ERA.  5.2 IP 8H 3BB 4K. Continue reading Fall League Update →

Mailbag questions

Mailbag

Hey everyone. I’ve been meaning to write some stuff for the site recently, but every time I sit down and make time to do it, I forget what I wanted to write about. So I think this would be a good spot for a mailbag, maybe some of your questions would spur me on and give me ideas for longer posts. One thing I am going to do this winter, with my top 30 prospects, is release a Top 30 that also includes every prospect traded in the last few years who is still prospect eligible, ie, Drabek, Taylor, Cardenas, etc etc, which I think should be interesting. But anyway, if you have a question you want me to answer, follow these simple steps. Send an email to phuturephillies at gmail dot com. In the title, put “mailbag”. DO NOT POST YOUR QUESTION HERE, I WONT ANSWER IT!

Simple enough. I’ll try and post my answers either Friday or Saturday, depending on the response!

Singleton to LF

Other Stuff

Reports from the Phillies indicate that they have been extremely impressed with the work of Jonathan Singleton in the OF, and as a result, they expect him to begin next year playing LF in Clearwater.

Ready, set, discuss.

Fall League Update

8. Arizona Fall League

Thursday–Mesa were 4-2 victors over Scottsdale without any Phils in their lineup.  Two Phillie relievers saw work in relief with both BJ ROsenberg (6th inning) and Chris Kissock (7th) throwing scoreless innings.  Each allowed a hit, with Kissock striking out a batter.

Friday–Mesa took it on the chin 6-2 Friday evening, losing to Peo Sagueros.  Again, no Phillies in the lineup with just Tyson Brummett seeing action out of the bullpen.Brummett pitched the 3rd and 4th innings and gave up a run on 2 hits in his 2 innings of work. 13 of his 23 pitches were thrown for strikes. Continue reading Fall League Update →

The Return of Travis Mattair

Other Stuff

3B Travis Mattair, the Phillies 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft has made a decision to return to the baseball diamond after a one year “retirement”.  Excellent work over at http://www.phoulballz.com in picking up the story and interviewing Mattair.  Mattair, who is soon to be 22, spent both 2008 and 2009 in Lakewood and hit .236/.326/.333 in a disappointing 2009 campaign. In 450 AB’s, Mattair had 3 HR and 39 RBI to go along with 12 SB.

Mattair has placed himself behind the eight ball underperforming in 2009 and then with his self-imposed exile (trying to earn some minutes on the Boise State basketball team) last year, however, with that being said, he is a player who the Phils put a good deal of stock into at one point.  It should be interesting to see what Mattair can do to earn a minor league roster spot in 2011 after a full year away from the game.