Elvis Araujo impressing early in Grapefruit League play
Elvis Araujo impressed in Thursday's Grapefruit League game.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. --- Elvis Araujo has yet to pitch above double-A in the regular season.
But early in Grapefruit League play, the 6-foot-6 lefthander from Venezuela has impressed in two outings. After striking out the side in Sunday's exhibition loss to the University of Tampa, Araujo pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning Thursday against the Houston Astros.
"He was a bright spot today once again," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said after his team's 6-3 loss.
Araujo, who signed a major league deal with the Phillies in November, induced a groundout to Matt Dominguez and then struck out Alex Presley and former Phillies prospect Jon Singleton. He caught Singleton looking at strike three.
"He just has that angle coming in with his height and he seems to pitch down in the zone," Sandberg said. "But that ball has a real nice angle to it, so he's been impressive the two times we've seen him.