From our last post a few days ago, we’ll pick this up on Thursday down in Arizona.

Thursday: Mesa picked up a 7-4 win over the Peoria Javelinas. Matt Rizzotti was 1-3 with a two run single (more below). Justin De Fratus earned the save with a shutout ninth inning (walk, hit) while Chris Kissock got one out in the 6th inning, the only batter he faced (getting Koby Clemens to pop out with runners on 2nd and 3rd).

Friday: Tyson Brummett started for Mesa in a 13-5 win. He gave up one run in two innings. BJ Rosenberg gave up one run in the 3rd and Jacob Diekman (recent addition to the roster) gave up two runs in the 4th (he has allowed 8 runs in 2/3 of an inning so far). Tim Kennelly went 0-5 but drove in a run in the win.

Saturday: The Rising Stars game. Josh Zeid and Justin De Fratus were selected and Zeid threw a perfect inning while De Fratus retired the only man he faced. Not much else really going on but it’s good to see those guys pitching well. De Fratus looks like a strong candidate for a Phillies bullpen spot heading into spring training.

Here is the recap. The West won 3-2 (Zeid and De Fratus were on the East) on a walk-off HR by Tampa’s Leslie Anderson.

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Zeid is continuing his blogging here and should have a post up soon about the Rising Stars game. Sunday was a league day off and they go again today. The regular season ends on the 18th and then the Championship Series.

Mesa, at 12-10, is two games out of first.

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Rizzotti has played great, despite missing two weeks with an injury. The 2008 BlueClaw is 17-42 with 9 RBIs, 10 walks and just five strikeouts. He is 5th in the league in hitting.

2009 BlueClaws RHP Justin De Fratus and 2010 RHP Josh Zeid will represent the Phillies in the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Game, which will be shown Saturday night at 9 pm on MLB Network.

Click here to see the full rosters.

De Fratus (stats), who was taken in the 11th round in 2007, is having a tremendous 2010. He began in Clearwater, where he had a 1.79 ERA and 15 saves before being promoted to Reading. There, he finished the season with a 2.19 ERA in 24 innings and earned a spot with Team USA in the Pan-Am Games qualifying tournament last month in Puerto Rico.

They finished up and he went straight to Arizona, where he has thrown five shutout innings (one hit, two walks, ten strikeouts).

Since he is a college draft pick (Ventura College in CA) who has been in professional baseball for four seasons, he is Rule-5 eligible and is a lock to be added to the Phillies 40-man roster before the Winter Meetings and the 2010 Rule 5 Draft. He’ll also get his first taste of big league spring training this year and have a chance to make the Phillies bullpen.

Josh Zeid (stats) pitched for the BlueClaws this year, threw seven perfect innings in the SAL Championship Series, and has pitched well in four starts in Arizona (3-0, 3.86 ERA, 12 K, 1 BB).

Congrats to both players.

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Here is a preview article from MLB.com.

Here are a couple of days worth of Arizona Fall League updates for you, again with most of the former BlueClaws playing for Mesa…

Thursday: In a 6-4 loss to Peoria, BJ Rosenberg (2008) gave up four runs in the 5th inning to suffer the loss, while Matt Rizzotti had two hits in five at bats.

Friday: Only Rizzotti played in this 9-1 loss to Scottsdale, going 1-2 with two walks.

Saturday: Tim Kennelly went 2-4 with a pair of doubles in another loss, while Justin De Fratus continued to pitch very well, striking out the side in his inning, while Chris Kissock also threw a shutout inning for Mesa.

Sunday: League off-day

Monday: Nice day to pitch, when your offense has 20 hits and scores 15 runs. That’s how it was for Josh Zeid yesterday, who threw four shutout innings, two hits, no walks, three strikeouts, to improve to 3-0, 3.86 (four starts). He blogs about his outing here.

Last week in Peoria I felt slow, and had bad tempo through my windup. Everything between pitches felt like I had heavy feet, and I just didn’t feel confident. Today I made sure to work quickly and not let close calls by the Home plate umpire get the best of me. I figured if I didn’t give myself time to dwell on the pitches I had just thrown, all I would have to do is throw the next pitch. Coaches always preach “it’s about the next pitch, not the previous pitch,” and you know what, they’re right. I’ve realized that before, but it’s something that I need to learn how to do mid-game, not 6 days later.
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I was very proud of my game today, all of my pitches worked well, and I kept the ball in the ballpark, which any pitcher can say is a huge feat, but what was most fantastic about the game today was how great the whole team played.

Also, Tyson Brummett, BJ Rosenberg, Chris Kissock, and Justin De Fratus threw four perfect innings of relief (former BlueClaws threw 8 shutout innings in the win). Matt Rizzotti was 3-5 and Tim Kennelly went 2-3. Nice day all around.

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Michael Taylor has cooled off a bit since his blistering start (8-17 with 2 HRs) but has walked 5 times in his last 15 plate appearances.

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Rizzotti, who is 14-34, is 4th in the league in hitting (.412) and Zeid, with his three wins, ranks 2nd in that category.

Can be found by clicking here.

I ended up throwing 4 innings, gave up 4 earned runs and had 4 strikeouts. I walked my first batter of the fall league, and I was pretty upset about it. Walks are miserable. I’d rather know the hitter did his best to get a hit, not be given a “free pass.” Rough days happen as a pitcher, it’s how you work out the next week before your next start that shows what kind of competitor/ person/ and pitcher you are.

If you let the bad days pile up, it’ll get harder and harder for you to dig your way out. But if you’re able to wake up the next morning with a smile on your face, and a better outlook, success can be had much easier. Baseball isn’t the end all be all, but it is a great profession to be a part of for the near future. I’m living out my dream, and I should never take that for granted.

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Yesterday, Mesa won 7-6 (box score). Matt Rizzotti, back in the lineup, had an RBI single. Tim Kennelly went 2-3. Justin De Fratus struck out the side in the 8th inning and Chris Kissock had a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save.

Josh Zeid earned the win yesterday in Arizona, improving to 2-0, but was hit a little bit for the first time, allowing four runs over four innings (his longest outing of the AFL).

Here is the box score.

Tyson Brummett followed Zeid and allowed a home run to White Sox prospect Eduardo Escobar.

Tim Kennelly went 0-2 off the bench for Mesa, the other former BlueClaw to play yesterday.

Zeid (stats) has nine strikeouts against just one walk so far in 10 innings.

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As a side note, MLB puts their daily game notes on the Arizona Fall League page. They’re definitely worth a read. Click here for yesterday’s notes.

Again, not a whole lot going on in Arizona from a former BlueClaws standpoint…

Yesterday, BJ Rosenberg and Chris Kissock each threw shutout innings for Mesa.

Matt Rizzotti has not played in a few days.

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Josh Zeid, in his latest blog entry, discusses pitching to Bryce Harper, this year’s #1 overall pick, who Zeid faced in Harper’s first professional at bat. He popped out to short.

He had a simple approach. Swing and swing often. I only got to throw him 1 pitch in his very first at bat, and he swung out of his shoes. I threw an inside fastball as hard as I could while hitting my spots, and he tried to hit it a country mile. He hit a very high pop up to my short stop Andrew Romine (LAA), and that was it for my day with him.

He ended up going 1-4, doubling in the later portion of the game, which was a nice piece of hitting, but that’s what we want. Walking him does no one any good, and yet every time he got out, fans were getting frustrated that he wasn’t getting hits much easier. The greatest hitters in the game get out seven out of every ten at bats. THREE hits out of TEN at bats gets you to the Hall of Fame. He’ll be fine; he’s young and he’s very talented.

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Sebastian Valle is 6-16 with a home run in the Mexican Winter League, where he played very well last year.

We have a lot to catch up on from the action in the Arizona Fall League. See below.

Thursday: Both BJ Rosenberg and Chris Kissock threw shutout innings of relief for Mesa, who beat Scottsdale 4-2.

Friday: Tyson Brummett gave up one run in two innings of work and was the only former BlueClaw to play for Mesa.

Saturday: Mesa won again, 7-2, but only Justin De Fratus (a scoreless inning) pitched among the former BlueClaws. He threw a perfect inning with two strikeouts, his second shutout inning since re-joining the team from Pan-Am Games.

BlueClaws pitcher Josh Zeid got to face Bryce Harper, the #1 overall pick in the 2010 draft (by the Nationals), who made his pro debut yesterday in the Arizona Fall League.

Star of the Day: Zeid gave up one run in three innings for the second straight start (two hits, no walks, two strikeouts). So far so good for Zeid, who is making the rare jump from Lo-A straight into the Fall League, which routinely features top prospects from Double and Triple-A.

Also: Justin De Fratus made his Fall League debut, throwing a shutout inning. He had been pitching with Team USA who was knocked out in the semi-finals of the Pan-Am Qualifier by the Dominican Republic…Also, Tim Kennelly went 1-4 for Mesa…Box score.

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Here is more on Harper, who popped out to short in his only at bat against Zeid.

Harper’s first at-bat had the fans at the park smiling. The phenom hit a sky-high fly on the first pitch he saw from Mesa Solar Sox starter Josh Zeid in the second inning and as if on cue, it began to rain as soon as shortstop Andrew Romine caught the ball for the out.

The sky cleared up by the time Harper resumed his position in right field for the top of the third inning. He later cleanly fielded a single off the bat of Mets prospect Josh Satin as if the grass were as dry as cardboard.

Those in attendance chuckled at the fantasy of Harper’s fly making it rain.

Here are two days worth of Arizona Fall League Notes.

First, Monday:

Star of the Day: BJ Rosenberg…the 2009 BlueClaws pitcher threw two scoreless innings for Mesa, rebounding from a shaky Fall League debut, where he gave up three runs in 1.2 innings following Josh Zeid’s start on Tuesday.

Elsewhere…Matt Rizzotti went 1-4 for Mesa. Box score.

And Tuesday:

Only one former BlueClaw played for Mesa, with 2008 pitcher Tyson Brummett allowing one run over two innings of relief. Box score.

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So far, Michael Taylor is 8-23 with two home runs. He is 3rd in the league with 16 total bases…Matt Rizzotti is also off to a good start, 7-20 with five walks and just two strikeouts.

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Josh Zeid talks about pitching to Carlos Ruiz on July 9th in Lakewood…

Having no idea of who I was, or the scouting reports on the other teams batters, he quickly learned who I was from my 38-pitch bullpen before the game and carried it throughout the game. He led me to a no hitter through 5 full innings. Granted, I let the magnitude of the situation get the best of me in the sixth, where I gave up 3 runs on a bunch of badly executed pitches, but it was still a fantastic experience. He called pitches I would have never thrown in certain counts and at certain locations, but since he was calling them, I was going to throw them. For the most part, his confidence in his own calls gave me a sense of confidence in myself, as well.

Zeid is pitching today.

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Bryce Harper, taken #1 overall in June’s draft by the Nationals, will make his AFL debut today.

Sorry, missed yesterday…double up today.

Friday: Matt Rizzotti went 2-4 again and Tyson Brummett rebounded from the HR he allowed to Michael Taylor on Opening Day by throwing two shutout innings in an 8-7 win over Surprise (scored three in the 11th).

Saturday: In a 10-1 win over Peoria, Matt Rizzotti went 0-4, Tim Kennelly had a pinch-hit single and Chris Kissock threw a shutout inning of relief.

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Josh Zeid blogs about his first start (3 IP, 1 ER on Thursday)

For my first outing in the AFL I couldn’t have been more pleased with the outcome. I was relatively nervous going into the game, because, well to be honest, I have not faced a batter above Low A ball in a game situation in my career. I’ve faced some higher level guys in simulated game situations, but I’ve never had AA or AAA guys standing in there trying to hit line drives off the center field wall.

In 3 innings I gave up a run on two singles, with no walks and three strikeouts. I learned that these more mature hitters will jump all over a badly located fastball, and poorly executed off-speed pitches. I knew that going in, but being told that and actually seeing it happen from a first person view is a completely different image.

A couple of former BlueClaws in action yesterday in the Arizona Fall League.

Star of the Day: RHP Josh Zeid, who started and earned the win (they do not use the minimum five innings for a starter to qualify for the win) in his AFL debut yesterday. He gave up one run over three innings, striking out three. He’ll probably blog about it later today at his AFL blog.

Also: BJ Rosenberg followed Zeid but struggled, allowing three runs in 1.2 innings. Matt Rizzotti was 2-4, also for Mesa, who won 11-6 (box)…Michael Taylor did not hit his third home run in as many days, going 0-5.

Day two in the Arizona Fall League.

Star of the Day: Michael Taylor, again. He hit his second home run of the young season, but unlike Tuesday when he homered off a former BlueClaws teammate, this time he took Eric Niesen deep (a Mets farmhand who played for Double-A Binghamton this year). Taylor, who hit six HRs this year with Triple-A Sacramento (A’s) is using the Fall League to try to gain momentum heading into 2011 after what he felt was a sub-par season. From MLB.com:

“It was a frustrating year,” he said. “A lot of things go into why a player has a good year or a bad year. Sometimes it’s luck, sometimes it’s circumstances; obviously, I had some hopes for this season and it didn’t quite work out the way I wanted to, but I learned more from this season than I did any other season because I learned how I had to grind in the face of disappointment.

“I’m as proud of it as any other season because of the amount of work I put in. It’s tough to come in every day when you’re searching for something that can help you make the leap.”

Taylor plays for Phoenix, and again homered off Mesa, the team with the Phillies prospects. The only former BlueClaw to play yesterday was Tim Kennelly, who went 1-3 with an RBI single.

Here is the box score.

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The story of the day in the Arizona Fall League, however, was that the Nationals decided to send Bryce Harper, the #1 overall pick in the 2010 draft.

“He’s 17 years old and he doesn’t even turn 18 until Saturday,” GM Mike Rizzo said. “He is very excited. What I had to decide on was: ‘Is he going to be over his head in the AFL?’ It’s a very advanced league, but I think he is going to handle it. It’s going to be very valuable to him.”

Day one in the books down in the Arizona Fall League. Here’s the rundown from a  BlueClaws perspective…

Star of the Day: Michael Taylor (2008)…playing with Phoenix, the Oakland A’s OF hit a home run in the fourth inning off another former BlueClaw, RHP Tyson Brummett of the Phillies. The two were teammates with Lakewood for a few weeks in the beginning of the 2008 season, and later with Clearwater.

Elsewhere: Matt Rizzotti (2008) went 2-4 for Mesa and John Mayberry was 0-2, playing half the game in right field.

Box Score.

The BlueClaws are very well represented in the Arizona Fall League, the most prestigious off-season league in the game. All told, eight former BlueClaws will play, plus 2010 Lakewood manager Mark Parent, who will serve as hitting coach. All Phillies representatives will play for the Mesa Solar Sox.

The league runs through mid-November, and BlueClaws Blog will have daily updates, features and interviews.

Further, 2010 BlueClaws pitcher Josh Zeid, one of the Phillies representatives, will be blogging from Arizona. Click here to read Zeid’s blog.

Below, find information on the Phillies representatives in this year’s Arizona Fall League:

Pitchers
Tyson Brummett (BlueClaws 2008): Brummett, a 7th round pick in 2007 from UCLA, had a 4.06 ERA this year split between Clearwater and Reading. He went 3-0 with a 1.95 ERA with the BlueClaws over six starts in 2008.

Justin De Fratus (BlueClaws 2009): De Fratus, an 11th round pick in 2007 from Ventura College, split the year between Clearwater (2-0, 1.79, 15 saves) and Reading (1-0, 2.19, six saves). He is currently playing for Team USA in the Pan-Am Games Qualifying Tournament and will head to Arizona after that tournament is complete. De Fratus went 5-6, 3.19 as part of the 2009 SAL Champion BlueClaws, striking out 101 and walking just 16.

Chris Kissock (BlueClaws 2008): Kissock, a 9th round pick in 2007 from Lewis-Clark State, went 7-3, 2.68 between Clearwater and Reading this year. He went 4-6, 4.37 with the BlueClaws in 2008 and pitched in the Hawaiian Winter League that year.

BJ Rosenberg (BlueClaws 2009): Rosenberg, a 13th round pick in 2008 from the University of Louisville, was with the BlueClaws from Opening Day until August 7th in 2009, and didn’t allow an earned run after Memorial Day (29 innings pitched). He was then promoted straight to Reading. This year, he participated in Major League Spring Training but he pitched just 27 innings after battling injuries.

Josh Zeid (BlueClaws 2010): Zeid, a 10th round pick in 2009 from Tulane, is the only 2010 BlueClaw to appear in the AFL this year (Troy Hanzawa played in the AFL in 2009 after spending that season with Lakewood). Zeid went 8-4, 2.93 this year with Lakewood and played in the SAL All-Star Game. During the SAL Championship Series, he faced 20 hitters and recorded 21 outs.

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