Phillies prospect Freddy Galvis has wrapped up his Venezuelan League season after playing in 47 games for the Aguilas del Zulia. The 22-year-old, who was ranked as the Phillies' 4th best prospect in an August survey of Phillies minor league experts conducted by The Reading Eagle, struggled at times in the off-season league played in his native country.Overall, the switch-hitting shortstop posted a .249/.308/.333 line with 7 doubles, 4 triples, no homers and 24 RBI.
Galvis, who was signed by the Phillies in 2006 at age 16, picked up the pace late with Zulia, as he sported a .326 batting average with 10 RBI over his final ten contests.
After an abbreviated Venezuelan League effort last off-season that saw Galvis spend an extended stretch working out under the supervision of Phillies personnel at the team's spring training home in Clearwater, FL, Galvis stood out offensively in 2011. Always regarded for his defense, the glovesmith's bat was steadily disregarded, until he delivered career highs in homeruns (8), OPS (.716), doubles (43), triples (5) and stolen bases (23) in 137 games combined at the Double-A and Triple-A levels of the Philadelphia developmental system.
Galvis' performance in the clutch was noteworthy as well, as he batted .321 with runners on base and .341 with runners in scoring position for the Aguilas. On the flip side, Galvis posted a .192 batting average with the bases empty.
Mark Parent, who managed Galvis in 2011 with the Double-A Reading Phillies, regularly credited the youngster's solid success this past regular season with the increased importance of his at bats, after moving up toward the top of the batting order. The added pressure of what can be deemed as more crucial at bats seemed to help Galvis to prosper.
Having proven himself to be a key contributor in critical spots, the 5-foot-10-inch 170-pound Galvis must work on improving his output on a more consistent basis in order to take that step to highest level of the sport.
No matter what the splits say, there's no reason to be discouraged with a slick fielding young prospect who has shown tremendous amounts of improvement. The simple fact is that if Galvis can grow as a ballplayer in the coming year at a pace that is similar to what he did in past one, the big leagues will be calling.
Also of note...The home park for the Aguilas was not kind to Galvis. In 23 games at the Luis Aparicio El Grande Stadium, Galvis posted a .212/.261/.282 line, compared to his .283/.349/.380 line in 24 games on the road.
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