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Right-handed reliever Justin De Fratus has recovered from the elbow ailment that kept him out of action throughout all of spring training and has begun facing batters in minor league rehab appearances.  The Phillies' 11th round draft pick from 2007 has been checking in, on a regular basis, and providing exclusive updates directly to the fans about his road back to action at the upper levels, throughout the past several weeks, right here on PhoulBallz.com. De Fratus, 24, went 6-3 with 15 saves, a 2.99 ERA and 99 strike outs in 75 1/3 innings in his time with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year before making his Major League debut in September and holding opponents to a .083 batting average in 5 appearances. This week, De Fratus, who has been on the disabled list for the Phillies since the season began, is back in action, appearing with the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers as he works his elbow into shape in somewhat of a delayed spring training....

As right-handed reliever Justin De Fratus recovers from an elbow ailment that kept him out of action throughout all of spring training, the California native has been checking in, on a regular basis, and providing exclusive updates directly to the fans right here on PhoulBallz.com. The 24-year-old reliever went 6-3 with 15 saves, a 2.99 ERA and 99 strike outs in 75 1/3 innings in his time with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year before making his Major League debut in September and holding opponents to a .083 batting average in 5 appearances. Heading forward, De Fratus, who was ranked 5th on the 2012 PhilliesNation.com prospect rankings , hopes to be an impact contributor in the Phillies bullpen for years to come. For Justin's most recent thoughts on his progression to full health, Phils' rookie infielder Freddy Galvis and more, read ahead and step inside the J-Bone Zone... On his progress and what the next steps will be- Everything's been great. The...

The fan favorite known to his family and friends as "J-Bone" is back with another inside look at his progress to begin a new season. Right-handed reliever Justin De Fratus shares his thoughts, exclusively with PhoulBallz.com and PhilliesNation.com once again, from Clearwater, FL. The 24-year-old hurler, who was selected in the 11th round of the 2007 draft, went 6-3 with 15 saves, a 2.99 ERA and 99 strike outs in 75 1/3 innings in his time with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year before making his big league debut in September and holding opponents to a .083 batting average in 5 appearances. Heading forward, De Fratus, a native of Oxnard, CA, hopes to be an impact contributor in the Phillies bullpen for years to come. In the latest edition of The J-Bone Zone, Justin discusses his recovery from elbow soreness this spring, his plans to compete in game action, the always dreaded cuts days in minor league camp and much more. Read ahead to get in the Zone. On...

You know him, you adore him and Justin De Fratus is back in the J-Bone Zone. The right-handed reliever joins PhoulBallz.com once again, from Clearwater, FL to offer his thoughts from inside Phillies spring training. The 24-year-old reliever went 6-3 with 15 saves, a 2.99 ERA and 99 strike outs in 75 1/3 innings in his time with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year before making his big league debut in September and holding opponents to a .083 batting average in 5 appearances. Heading forward, De Fratus, an 11th round draft choice in 2007, hopes to be an impact contributor in the Phillies bullpen for years to come. In the latest edition of The J-Bone Zone, Justin talks about his recovery from his elbow ailment, hunger for game action, Twitter and more. Read ahead for another edition of The J-Bone Zone. On the progression of his elbow, which kept him out of action with soreness for weeks at the outset of spring training... Everything'...

You know him, you adore him and Justin De Fratus is back in the J-Bone Zone. The righty reliever joins PhoulBallz.com live and direct, once again, from Clearwater, FL to offer his thoughts from inside Phillies spring training. The 24-year-old reliever went 6-3 with 15 saves, a 2.99 ERA and 99 strike outs in 75 1/3 innings in his time with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year before making his big league debut in September and holding opponents to a .083 batting average in 5 appearances. Heading forward, De Fratus, an 11th round draft choice in 2007, hopes to be an impact contributor in the Phillies bullpen for years to come. In the latest edition of The J-Bone Zone, Justin talks about the status of his elbow, what being ranked highly on prospect lists means to him, the team's mentality on hazing younger players and more. Read ahead for another edition of The J-Bone Zone. On the status of his improving elbow, which was sore and kept him out of act...

Right-handed relief pitcher Justin De Fratus , known to his brother Steven and those close to him as "J-Bone", joins us live and direct, once again, from Clearwater, FL to offer his thoughts from inside Phillies spring training. The 24-year-old reliever went 6-3 with 15 saves, a 2.99 ERA and 99 strike outs in 75 1/3 innings in his time with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year before making his big league debut in September and holding opponents to a .083 batting average in 5 appearances. Heading forward, De Fratus, an 11th round draft choice in 2007, hopes to be an impact contributor in the Phillies bullpen for years to come. In the latest edition of The J-Bone Zone, Justin updates the status of his elbow, discusses his teammate Austin Hyatt 's chances this year as well as bonding with Phillies fans and more. Read ahead for another edition of The J-Bone Zone. On the status of his ailing elbow that has kept him sidelined for much of spring ...

Righty hurler Justin De Fratus , known to his brother Steven and those close to him as "J-Bone", joins us live and direct, once again, from Clearwater, FL to offer his thoughts from inside Phillies spring training. The 24-year-old reliever went 6-3 with 15 saves, a 2.99 ERA and 99 strike outs in 75 1/3 innings in his time with Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year before making his Major League debut in September and holding opponents to a .083 batting average in 5 appearances. Heading forward, De Fratus, an 11th round draft choice in 2007, hopes to be an impact contributor in the Phillies bullpen for years to come. In the latest edition of The J-Bone Zone, Justin discusses sharing the big league spring training experience with close friends, the Phillies additions of veterans who might present a roadblock for younger prospects and plenty more. Read on for exclusive insider content direct from Florida. On his ailing elbow that has him sidelined from throwi...

Ladies and gentlemen, join us in welcoming Phillies pitching prospect Justin De Fratus, who will be taking time this preseason to offer rare and unique glances inside spring training. De Fratus, an 11th round draft pick from 2007, has been one of Philadelphia's fastest rising relief pitchers over the past couple of seasons. After posting a combined 6-3 record with 15 saves and a 2.99 ERA at Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley last year, De Fratus earned a promotion to the majors and appeared in 5 games for the Phillies. This year, as the 24-year-old De Fratus battles for an opening day roster spot, he'll share all sorts of thoughts and inside looks at camp in Clearwater, FL exclusively with you, Phillies Nation. Read ahead for your first dose of The J-Bone Zone. I left for Florida from my off-season home in California back in late January. I drove cross-country with my buddy Jameson and I've just been down here since then, soaking in the baseball. I got to work at t...