Justin De Fratus adding heat to his fastball

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Justin De Fratus spent the offseason hoping to add a bit more velocity to his fastball.

The 27-year-old righthander's fastball sat around 91 m.p.h. last season, two ticks below his mark from 2013, according to FanGraphs. De Fratus said he built the strength through a more serious long-toss program.

"I look at long toss like weightlifting," De Fratus said. "The only way to get stronger is to keep doing it. How do you train your arm to go faster? Well, you try to throw it fast. That's how I did it."

De Fratus appeared in more than 50 games last season for the second-straight year. He recorded 49 strikeouts in 52.2 innings with a 2.39 ERA. He said his right elbow feels 100 percent and as good as it has felt since he missed most of 2012 with injury.

"Knock on wood, I feel good," De Fratus said. "I'm ready to get after it to see if the work that I put into the offseason helps."

De Fratus is a key cog in the Phillies bullpen, which could be one of the league's best units. He, Jake Diekman, Ken Giles, and Jonathan Papelbon combined for a 2.49 ERA with 276 strikeouts in 234.5 innings.

“It’s a fun time,” De Fratus said. “We all get along. We’re actually all pretty good friends. Which makes a huge difference. I’m excited for us to go back out there this year and do what we’re capable of doing, which is pound the zone, attack hitters, and see where it goes from there.’