Minor Leaguers Released, 3 Lakewood Champs Among Those Cut

The Phillies announced several minor league cuts on Monday. Among the released players are 2009 Lakewood BlueClaws first baseman Jeremy Hamilton, '09 BlueClaws pitchers Freddy Ballestas & Ryan Bergh, former Phillies pitcher Joe Bisenius and veteran Major Leaguer Brad Wilkerson

Hamilton, a fifth round pick in the 2008 amateur draft, hit .255 in 88 games with Lakewood last season. His .701 OPS for the season was not quite impressive for a first baseman and was never good enough to earn much playing time over starting first baseman Jim Murphy, who was taken 12 rounds after Hamilton in the same draft, and his .860 OPS in 2009.

Ballestas, a Venezuela native, was signed as an amateur free agent in 2004. Last year for the SAL champion BlueClaws he appeared in 18 games (4 starts), posting a 4.98 ERA and striking out 46 batters in 47 innings pitched.

Ryan Bergh in a pre-season bullpen session with coach Bob Milacki

Bergh spent some time closing games for Lakewood in 2009. Bergh posted a 5.05 ERA in 45 games with Lakewood last year. PhoulBallz.com spoke with Ryan in May and that interview can be found by clicking here.

Bisenius made the Phillies' opening day roster in 2007 and was on the big league roster in 2008 when the Phils acquired Joe Blanton, but he was optioned down to make room. Bisenius hasn't returned to the Majors since, as he's dealt with some performance struggles and injuries.

Wilkerson was signed prior to spring training to add some depth at the minor league level. Although not invited to big league camp this spring, Wilkerson did manage to play in a Grapefruit League game with the Phillies this spring and was hitless in his lone at bat. Wilkerson, who was attempting a come back after a previous retirement has reportedly again announced his retirement from baseball following the release.

-----------------------------

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE.

Share on Facebook

Comments

Heroes- Fight of the Century

VS. It's a big day for your boy, Jay Ballz . No work, X-Men Origins: Wolverine premieres, our Phillies face the Metropolitans for the first time this season and tailgating for BOTH doesn't sound all that absurd to me. Anyway, I surveyed some qualified phans and got several opinions on how exactly a fight might go down if the mutant hero Wolverine faced off against Phillies hero Matt Stairs. Well known blogger, Chris, of I've Made a Huge Tiny Mistake , kept it real and said the following- "Wolverine has adamantium ( indestructible metal substance) claws, so that's a great advantage. Stairs' Wonder Bat is neutralized there. See, the problem becomes Wolverine's ability to recover (he has a regenerative power) faster. Stairs is merely human. Sure, he has a goatee, and goatees are great, but they're great for saving sauce, not for defeating mutants. I think Wolverine takes it in a fight to the death in about 15 minutes because Stairs simply doesn'...

Michael Taylor Q&A

Michael Taylor is currently leading the Reading Phillies' offense and is near the top of the Eastern League in most stat categories (3rd in batting avg- .342, 3rd in HR- 14, tied for second in RBI- 55, 2nd in OPS.- .994, tied for 1st in runs scored- 49, tied for 1st in hits...). The 23 year old Taylor is 6 feet 6 inches tall and has quickly grabbed the attention of phans and media alike as a top prospect to watch. I spoke with Mike Taylor over the weekend, and here is that interview. With all the big stats and being among the league leaders in so many categories, do you think you're ready for the next step? It's kind of a difficult question. Do you have anything left to prove here? There's always something to prove. There's stuff to prove every game. I mean that's one thing that's very interesting about this game. It's such a numbers oriented game. You're only as good as your last "whatever statistical category that someone's valuing". ...

Q&A with Justin De Fratus

Justin De Fratus is a 21 year old right handed relief pitcher with the Lakewood BlueClaws. An 11th round draft choice in 2007, Justin had been a starter in his first two seasons in the Phillies organization. Informed this spring that he'd be switched from the rotation to the bullpen, Justin has excelled and become one of the most reliable pitchers on the Lakewood staff. In 19 games this season, Justin is 2-0, with a 1.83 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 39 1/3 innings pitched. PhoulBallz.com spoke with Justin De Fratus just last night. Here's how that went down... Justin, South Atlantic League all star selections were announced this week, and you were named to the team. Can I get your reaction to that? How excited were you? Very excited about it. Well, especially this year because I just got moved to the bullpen, so this is a new role for me. So, if anything, it's reassuring that I'm doing my job. It's the first time in my pro career that I've been selected as an all star...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog