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PhoulBallz Interview: RHP Justin Friend

Righty hurler Justin Friend stood out as the top reliever in the Phillies' development ranks this year. The Oklahoma State University product was acquired by the Phils in the minor league portion of the 2010 Rule 5 Draft.

This season, in 38 games with the Double-A Reading Phillies, the 26-year-old Friend posted a 2-0 record with a 0.23 ERA while successfully converting all 24 of his save opportunities. From late June through the month of July, Friend pitched with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. As a member of the 'Pigs' bullpen, Friend went 2-1 with a 4.40 ERA and 1 save in 12 games.

In each of his two seasons in the Phillies system, Friend has been named an All-Star, first in the Class A Advanced Florida State League in 2011, then in the Double-A Eastern League this year.

This month, during the EL playoffs, I spoke with Justin about his All-Star season, Phillies fans, his pitch repertoire and plenty more. Check out the media player below to hear the full interview.



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Anonymous said…
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