Skip to main content

De Fratus and Team USA Cruising in Pan-Am Qualifiers

By
The United States' Pan American qualifying team is on a roll down in Puerto Rico. In 3 games of tournament action, Team USA is undefeated and has outscored their opponents 34-10. The top 8 squads in the 13-team tournament advance to the 2011 Pan American Games, while the team that finish in the top 6 also qualify for the 2011 International Baseball Federation World Cup.

USA's offense and pitching have been equally impressive in the early going. Combined, Team USA batters have posted a .393 batting average with 10 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homeruns and 31 RBI. Team USA pitchers have held opposing batters to a .193 batting average, have struck out 26 batters and allowed 4 walks and 5 earned runs in 25 innings.

Justin De Fratus

Justin De Fratus is the only Phillies prospect on Team USA. De Fratus, a right-handed reliever, has pitched just 1 1/3 innings, in which he allowed 1 unearned run in play thus far. In 49 games between High A level Clearwater and Double A level Reading this season, De Fratus posted a 3-0 record with 21 saves and a 1.94 ERA, while striking out 71 and walking just 11 batters in 65 innings pitched.

De Fratus, who will turn 23-years-old later this month, values the opportunity to represent his country and to gain experience playing beside individuals who are highly regarded prospects in their own organizations, including 4 players who participated in the MLB All-star Futures Game this year. "It's really (great) to be representing America. The guys are really cool. We have a good group that seems to be meshing really well together. Plus, they're all legit players," De Fratus told PhoulBallz.com exclusively this week.

The coaching staff for Team USA includes former Major Leaguers Ernie Young, Leon Durham and Jay Bell, as well as White Sox pitching coordinator Kirk Champion, former Blue Jays manager Carlos Tosca and Gulf Coast League Phillies manager Roly De Armas. De Fratus says the overall team atmosphere is relaxed, thanks to the coaching staff. "The coaches are awesome. They're pretty much just letting us play our game," De Fratus said.

Other Phillies prospects playing in the Pan American qualifying tournament are 20-year-old Julio Rodriguez on Team Puerto Rico, as well as 21-year-old Phillipe Aumont and 25-year-old Chris Kissock, who are both on Team Canada. All three are right-handed pitchers.

Team USA is back in action Tuesday evening at Roberto Clemente Stadium in Carolina, Puerto Rico against the Dominican Republic.

___________________________________________________

For unique stats, info and updates...follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

By
TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Jason Knapp Q&A

By
PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...
5 comments
Read more

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

By
While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...
6 comments
Read more