Shortstop Galvis making case for promotion to Phillies

ALLENTOWN - The month of September brings the expansion of Major League Baseball rosters by 15 players, and one of the players making his case for a promotion is smooth-fielding shortstop Freddy Galvis.

Since being promoted at the start of August, the 21-year-old Galvis has played a torrid stretch with triple-A Lehigh Valley. In 23 games since being promoted from double-A Reading, Galvis is hitting .321 with nine multihit games and 13 runs scored.

On Sunday, the same day that Phillies star shortstop Jimmy Rollins strained his groin in Washington, Galvis drove in two ninth-inning runs in an eventual IronPigs loss to Indianapolis.

For the first three weeks of his promotion, Galvis batted at the bottom of the IronPigs order before being moved to leadoff this week. He's gotten a hit in each start at the leadoff spot, including three hits on Wednesday.

The placement of Rollins on the 15-day disabled list, coupled with the impending roster expansion, may yield Galvis a call to the majors. The Phillies have used both Michael Martinez and Wilson Valdez at shortstop, similar to the way they handled Placido Polanco's time on the disabled list.

But Galvis does not focus on the Phillies.

"I don't try to pay too much attention to that," said Galvis. "I just try to play hard every day. Good things will happen."

Before Friday's game and since July 1, Martinez and Valdez combined for a .228 batting average and 15 hits. And while they are both valued more for their gloves than their bats, Galvis has long been known for his defensive play. Assistant general manager Chuck LaMar said Galvis was ready for his promotion to Lehigh Valley and has handled the situation well.

"He's a baseball player that brings his defensive game to the park every day," LaMar said.

A native of Venezuela, Galvis said he was first discovered by a Phillies scout while playing youth baseball five years ago. In his four seasons with the Phillies, Galvis has moved through each level fairly quickly. Before joining the IronPigs, he played in 258 games at Reading, by far the most time he spent at one level.

Galvis said he hasn't been informed of anything by the Phillies, but his coaches and teammates tell him to stay focused and play hard every day. He said he's working on everything while at Lehigh Valley and is learning from playing on an IronPigs team that is made up mostly of players with big-league experience.

"I want to play big league," said Galvis. "Right now it seems close, like one step."