Arizona Fall League Updates, 11/7/11

Today we're taking a glance at Phillies developmental talents playing for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League, through Sunday, November 6th.

First baseman/third baseman Cody Overbeck has been excellent, posting a .339 average with 2 doubles, a triple, a HR and 6 RBI through 17 AFL games. The 25-year-old Overbeck, also sports an on-base percentage of .451. The righty batting slugger mashed 24 regular season homeruns, combined, for Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2011.

Outfielder Tyson Gillies has played in 19 games and posted an unimpressive .197 with 2 doubles and a homerun, 5 RBI and 12 walks. The 23-year-old Gillies, who has been sidelined with hamstring and foot injuries over the past two years, has only made one stolen base attempt in AFL play.

Darin Ruf, a first baseman, has slugged 3 homers and driven in 13 runs, but has had a tough time overall, batting just .223 in 16 games. The 25-year-old was a 20th round draft pick in 2009 by Philadelphia. He posted an .894 OPS in 133 games with Class A Advanced Clearwater in 2011.

Righty hurler Tyler Cloyd has posted a 1-3 record with a 5.73 ERA in 6 starts for Scottsdale. Cloyd, who had a strong second half of the 2011 season with the Double-A Reading Phillies (6-3, 2.78 ERA, 18 games), has struck out 20 batters in 22 innings, but opposing batters have had considerable success against him, hitting .303. The 24-year-old was an 18th round draft choice by the Phillies in 2008.

In 6 relief outings, B.J. Rosenberg has not looked too solid, posting a 0-1 record with a 5.14 ERA. The 26-year-old righty was once a fast rising relief prospect, but has had a difficult time over the past two years after pitching for Team USA following the 2009 season.

23-year-old right-hander Colby Shreve had also struggled, walking just as many as he has struck out, 7, while serving up a .324 opponents batting average and tallying a 6.00 ERA through 8 AFL appearances. Shreve had some ups and downs during the 2011 regular season, moving from the starting rotation to the bullpen for Class A Lakewood, but improved in relief and earned a promotion to High A Clearwater. Overall in 40 regular season games, Shreve posted a 2.87 ERA and a .268 batting average against while striking out 79 batters in 84 2/3 innings.

On a better note, lefty pitcher Jake Diekman has allowed just 1 hit in 8 1/3 innings without serving up an earned run. The 24-year-old reliever took part in the AFL Rising Stars Game on Saturday, throwing 2/3 of an inning without being charged a run. Diekman held opponents to a .199 batting average during the 2011 regular season with Reading. In addition, the Nebraska native averaged 11.49 strike outs per 9 innings this past season.

Lastly, former Phillies outfield prospect Anthony Gose has posted a .242 batting average with 5 doubles, 3 triples and 3 homeruns while swiping 6 bases in 22 games for Phoenix. The 21-year-old stands a good shot at breaking into the big leagues in 2012 with the Blue Jays. Gose was dealt to Houston as part of a trade for Roy Oswalt in 2010 then was quickly flipped to Toronto in another swap.
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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...

All in the Family

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Ring-a-ling

This week I heard old news about how when the Indianapolis Colts won the Super Bowl, they gave former Colt Edgerrin James a championship ring. "Edge" had been a Colt for seven years, and even though he was gone when they won the big one, the team and the coaching staff felt as though James had contributed in building the team that won it all, so they awarded him a ring. This got me wondering which people, in an extended Phillies phamily , would be deserving of a 2008 World Series Champions ring. I heard an interview with Mike Schmidt, in the days that followed the Series, and when asked if he thought he'd get a ring, he said, "They have my (ring) size." Schmidt, the Hall of Fame thirdbaseman , was a long time Phillie, a one time coach of the single-A Clearwater Threshers (where he managed World Series MVP Cole Hamels ) and appears as a guest hitting instructor in Phillies spring training every year. With all those things in mind, of course Mike Schmidt shou...

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