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De Fratus & Brown Rehab, Knigge Speaks

On Friday, two players that could potentially provide some help to the big league Phillies roster this season were in action with the organization's Gulf Coast League club, rehabbing their injuries. Right-handed reliever Justin De Fratus (elbow strain) and outfielder Domonic Brown (knee sprain) both looked good in their efforts down Florida.

De Fratus, who threw a scoreless frame for the GCL Phils on Friday while striking out two and allowing no baserunners, says that everything feels good and that he is slated to pitch again on Monday with the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers. De Fratus last pitched a scoreless inning on Tuesday, in his first official game action since April. At this stage, the 24-year-old is taking his progress on an appearance-by-appearance basis, as the Phillies plan to make sure each outing goes well, without any setbacks, before they make decisions on each subsequent appearance.

Additionally, Brown went 2-for-5 on Friday with two doubles and an RBI in the GCL Phillies' 8-6 loss to the Braves. The 24-year-old is 10-for-16 (.625 batting average) with seven doubles and four RBI in four contests this week with the GCL club.

It's unclear when Brown, who played in 47 games with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs this season, prior to missing time with a knee sprain, might come back north, but it will likely occur in the coming days, barring any setbacks for the 6-foot-5-inch 205-pounder.

Righty reliever Tyler Knigge, who was promoted from Clearwater to Double-A Reading this week, threw a scoreless inning in his Eastern League debut on Thursday. The 23-year-old posted a 4-1 record with 9 saves and a 0.60 ERA in 34 appearances with the Threshers prior to joining the R-Phils.

Of the opportunity to climb the developmental ladder, Knigge, an Idaho native, said, "Holy smokes! I am at a loss for words. I'm very excited for this. With all that being said, I will keep it very simple. I'm going to go in and keep my head down, work hard every day and continue my journey to the big leagues. It's what I dreamed about as a child and I will do whatever it takes to get there."

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