Phillies Minor League Hot List: 6/22/18

We're beyond the mid-season point for both full-season Class A teams and now would be as good a time as any to run down some of the top performers throughout the Phillies' minor league levels.

Class A Short-Season Williamsport Crosscutters-

Through four games, lefty hitting first baseman Edwin Rodriguez is batting .462 with two doubles and two RBI. The 21-year-old Dominican spent the last two seasons playing in the Gulf Coast League.

Outfielder Matt Vierling, who was the Phillies' 5th round draft selection out of Notre Dame this year, sports a .450 average with a triple, two RBI and two stolen bases through five contests. The 21-year-old righty batter is a native of St. Louis.

Venezuelan born hurler Gustavo Armas had an outstanding start in his first appearance of the young season for the Cutters. In seven innings of work he allowed no runs while striking out seven and walking none. The righty, Armas, is 22-years-old.

Class A Lakewood BlueClaws-

A big week for the BlueClaws saw the club clinch a playoff berth by winning the first half division title on Sunday. They then sent six players to the South Atlantic League All-Star Game only to see two of them, both relief pitchers (Addison Russ and Kyle Dohy), get promoted to High A Clearwater. The promotions will continue, as there are plenty of players on this team showing they are ready for the next challenge, it's just disappointing that those who move up won't get to compete in the playoffs they earned a spot in.

Outfielder Kevin Markham leads the team in hitting with a .284 average. Through 52 games this season, the 24-year-old left-handed hitter has a pair of homers, 16 RBI and 12 steals as well. Markham was the 24th round draft pick of the Phillies last year.

All-Star starting pitcher Will Stewart has been outstanding all season for the Claws. In 11 starts, the left-hander sports a 6-0 record with 1.13 ERA and a .202 batting average against. Stewart, 20, was the Phils' 20th round draft selection in 2015.

Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers-

Infielder Grenny Cumana has been marvelous since his return from the disabled list. In eight games, the 22-year-old Venezuelan has posted a .467 average with two doubles and two RBI.

Outfielder Jose Pujols has been on a solid stretch since the end of April. The 22-year-old righty batting Dominican has a .329 average with 13 extra-base hits (five homers) and 23 RBI in his last 40 games.

Double-A Reading Fightin Phils-

First baseman Austin Listi, promoted to Reading this week, is batting .400 with a home run and seven RBI in four games. The 24-year-old was a 17th round draft choice of the Phillies last year. In 58 games with Clearwater this season, Listi tallied a .344 average with nine homers and 45 RBI.

Corner infielder Zach Green has enjoyed a hot week, going 6-for-14 with two homers and nine RBI in his last four games. The 24-year-old righty batter was the Phils' 3rd round draft pick in 2012. His 12 home runs this season rank 5th best in the Eastern League.

Following a slow start, in which he posted a 7.20 ERA over his first four starts, lefty hurler JoJo Romero has enjoyed some success. He's notched a 5-2 record with a 3.65 ERA and a 9.05 K/9 in his last 10 starts. The 21-year-old was the Phillies' 4th round draft choice in 2016.

Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs-

Right-hander Ben Lively sports a 2.44 ERA and a .199 batting average against in eight starts for the IronPigs. The 26-year-old was 0-2 with a 6.85 ERA over five starts in the big leagues this year prior to a demotion.

Lefty pitcher Brandon Leibrandt continues his terrific season, posting a 3-0 record with a 1.18 ERA and a .194 BAA in 16 games (six starts). The 25-year-old was the Phillies' 6th round draft pick in 2015.

Justin De Fratus Interview Excerpts- May, 2011

Armed with a 2-0 record, 3 saves and a 2.95 ERA in 15 games this season for the Double A Reading Phillies, Justin De Fratus continues to make strides toward his goal of reaching the Major Leagues. Ranked as a top 10 prospect within the Phillies system last off-season, the 23-year-old De Fratus was in camp with the Phillies during big league spring training. In 3 games with the Phils during the Grapefruit League season, De Fratus allowed 4 earned runs in 4 innings and took a loss. He did strike out an impressive 5 batters in those 4 frames, however. Drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 amateur draft, De Fratus stood out as a force in relief last year for both the High A Clearwater Threshers and the R-Phils. In 49 combined games at the two levels, De Fratus posted a 3-0 record with 21 saves and a 1.94 ERA. De Fratus continued his excellent 2011 by pitching for Team USA in the Pan-American qualifiers held in Puerto Rico, helping the Americans finish with a 9-1 record. He also posted out...

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against. The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball w...

Series Preview: Braves at Phillies, August 6-8

The Braves (62-46) travel to Philadelphia to begin a three-game series with the Phillies (49-59) on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. In the past month, the two clubs have faced each other in two separate series, with the Braves winning all six of the contests. Atlanta’s recent dominance over the Phils is the opposite of how things went last season, when the Phillies handed the Braves six losses toward the end of the 2011 season. Those defeats shut the door on Atlanta’s postseason hopes. Read ahead for notes on the pitching the match ups and additional statistical information on this series. Monday, 7:05 PM. Ben Sheets (3-1, 1.46 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (6-6, 3.63 ERA). In 9 career starts against the Phillies, Sheets has a 3-4 record with a 4.50 ERA. Ty Wigginton is 12-for-36 (.333 avg) with 2 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Sheets. The righty Sheets was the Brewers' 1st round draft pick in 1999. In his last 5 starts, Worley has a 2-1 record with a 4.06 ERA. In 9 home s...

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