Phillies promote first baseman
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Phillies promote first baseman
Daily News staff
The Phillies have promoted slugging first baseman Matt Rizzotti from Double A Reading to Triple A Lehigh Valley.
Rizzotti, 24, leads the Eastern League in hitting at .362, on-base percentage at .451 and slugging at .638. He hit 16 home runs and drove in 61 runs during his two months with Reading.
In the month of June, he hit .369 with 38 hits, seven doubles, seven home runs, 24 RBIs, and 16 runs scored over 27 games (103 at-bats) in the month.
He began the season at Clearwater, where he was hitting .358.
Combined for the season, in 107 games, he is hitting .361 with a career-high 17 home runs and career-high 71 RBI.
Comments (51)
Wow this guy is a stud! We should trade Howard for Cliff Lee and bring this guy up.— captnjack- yeah but he fields like iron hands Marv Throneberry.— bluejfk
- captnjack is drinking again!— ite483
- Howard wasn't considered a good fielder early in his career, but has worked hard and improved every year. Hopefully this kid can follow the example of "The Big Piece".— JettMartinez
- indeed!— captnjack
- blah blah blah blah blah blah Cliff Lee blah blah blah blah blah blah blah— beagle29
- He is a great hitter but as somebody said I heard his fielding is very suspect plus he is not too fast. Unless his fielding improves he may end up as a DH in the American league.— kzimm63
- Hard to say that he is less of a fielder than Ryan Howard at a comparable stage but if he's not a Gold Glover in the next 10 minutes, I'm sure that bluejfk would be ready to trade him for a sack of oats and then complain the next day about Ruben depleting the farm system.— Claudio Vernight
captnjack needs to either improve his sarcasm or delete his account! Not sure which based on that post but ONE is correct!- Rizzotti had better offensive numbers at Reading than did Domonic Brown when he was there earlier in the season for a similar number of games. I saw Matt play about 10 games with Reading and in the EL All Star game. At the bat he was a more savvy hitter than Ryan Howard. He sprayed the entire field from foul line to foul line and all points in between with line drive base hits but was quick to work a walk too. Last week he went 5 for 5 in one game and when they stopped pitching to him he walked 7 times over the next two games. Defensively he certainly threw to second more accurately than Howard normally does. Of the plays at first I saw, the only one that he may have missed was a hard hit ground ball to his left which deflected off his glove for a hit.— Dull
- Where does he fit on the team with Sweeney/Gload at first?— krupps58
- What's his UZR? I don't even know what a good UZR is, so if someone, somehow, knows his UZR, please also explain if it's good or bad. I had a 3.28 UZR in little league.— B in DC
- Has anyone read what Atlanta fans are saying about Wagner? You would think it's Philly fans talking about Lidge! Why can't our players learn to slide 'feet first'?— Ray99
- Can he play outfield?— ConverseB24
- GNIKGNARLY, I think my sarcasm is just fine thank you. Unfortunately it takes common sense and cognitive thinking skills to pick up on such a high level of subtlety. But if you read enough of the comments usually left here I can understand how you would think I was being serious and/or drinking.— captnjack
he might not be able the handle the fielding duties of the AL DH (guy has NO fielding skills). waiting for him to cool off, but he just doesn't. his babip is near .400 but his line drive rate is right around 18%. hope he is for real, hes easy to root for. hes a big kid. 6'5" and kinda looks like Jim Thome.- Sounds like the next pc of trade bait to me. I think the kid Singleton in A ball will be the 1B of the future. He's only 18, and growing. Hey Ray99, the key to the race will be who blows LESS saves, Brad or Billy. Billy has 5 and Brad 4 so far.— duckman15
Comment removed.- Dull, you're another that should never be allowed to post on here from this day on. You're actually comparing a minor league player to Ryan Howard. Get out of the house and stop drinking during the day. Howard is a big league star and this kid Rizzotti (nothing against him) is a minor league player. Can you read this.... MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER. He's batting against guys like the Phillies got for Cliff Lee. PLEASE STOP!!!!!!!!! Howard=MVP,Rookie of the Year, Homerun King,All-Star, WS Ring. I can't even stand reading on here anymore. Please put down the cans of Bud people.— Phinally
- Phinally, someone gets my point.— captnjack
- Wow, this Rizzotti can hit for power and for good average....maybe he will be the next Ryan Howard.— Bill20
- If the Phillies could teach Pat Burrell how to play a serviceable left-field, perhaps they could do the same with Rizzotti to play left in 2012 after Ibanez.— smel4727
- The kid can hit. It looks to me the Phillies are showcasing him for a major trade next year for a reliever.— EL Zorro
- How serious does this mean Howard injury is?— GAphil
- Clearly Rizzotti is the second coming of Lou Gehrig which means he'll never get injured. Release Ryan Howard NOW!! Don't bother trading him, just get rid of him. Rizzotti hit over .350 in AA! In AA!! He's fantastic! Howard can't even go the whole season without getting hurt. Rizzotti can pitch every 5th day as well so we don't need Halliday either. He gave up a run the other night so clearly he's done. Release him!!!!— James TL
- He's 24 I believe. So unless he learns to play a new position, he won't be a Philadelphia Phillie. Singleton will be the man to replace Howard should he continue to progress.— kato24
- he can't catch, period = DH. he will be perfect trade bait to the AL for a top reliever next year.— MichaelZoe
- Minor League Update. In case you haven't noticed...with all the "talent pieces" RAJ "gave away", the Phillies minor leagues are blossoming with good talent. I've kept an eye on the minor leaguer's traded and honestly, except for Drabek, the others haven't lived up to their promise. Marson has been up and down to AAA. Luke Donald will be an average utility guy at best. Carrasco isn't what he was hyped to be...at least yet. And if you look at AA, A, and rookie ball, the Phillies minor leagues do have good position players and some realy intriquing pitching prospects. Oh..J Happ got LIT last night for Houston...1 innning...7 runs.— drhoffman
The Phillies need a reliable right handed batter off the bench who can also spot start at first. That doesn't mean he is ever taking Howard's spot. Howard is the best RBI man in MLB by a wide margin. He also is a hard worker who has lost weight and worked hard to improve his defense. Who knows if Rizzotti will hit AAA or big league pitching, but the numbers clearly show he deserved a promotion.- Bill Conlin was all over this!!— gambs
- Teach him to play LF. The team lacks a Burrell.— cea
- Good question Converse. First base is blocked for a while, can he catch?— moebile
- Rizzotti will be traded in off season along with other pieces for an outfielder or a closer. He's useless as a 1b to this team for the next 6 years...— jeff gross
- GIVE UP ON CLIFF LEE. ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. IM SO SICK OF ALL THIS LEE TALK— csaul475
- GIVE UP ON CLIFF LEE. ITS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. IM SO SICK OF ALL THIS LEE TALK— csaul475
- Smart move to showcase him at Triple A. He is trade bait, nothing more, nothing less, perhaps for a serious upgrade in the bullpen.— chuckw
- Drhoffman... you are are right on point with your observations... I will admit I was a bit worried about the Phils releasing those guys but it has allowed others to move up and blossom.. its been great.. I just wish some of these idiots up here would stop squawking about all the talent we gave away because of getting Cliff and Halladay— nixman101
- I've been singing this kid's praises since he came up to Reading. We go to a lot of Reading games and have enjoyed watching guys like Matt, Dominic, Michael Taylor (traded), and Drabek (traded). Reading had some talent the last couple of years but they've pretty much have been stripped dry. Well, the Phil's are said to have a lot of single A ball talent so I guess R-Phils fans will be seeing them the next few years.— vinonoir
- 24 years old in AA? 24 yr olds should be in the major leagues, not wallowing at AA.— booman55
- Paul SoTX Mat Rizzotti is a left handed batter. I know. I watched him play in Reading.— vinonoir
- drhoffman, nice update on the players the Phils have traded away.— vinonoir
- Why must the Phillies be so conservative? Bring him up to the show!— Galihad
- Riz is a pure American league DH. His value to the organization is as a chip to play for talent this team needs. Specifically, bullpen help.— Nigel#1
- Paul SoTX ... Rizzotti is NOT right handed!— tbaldosa
- Perhaps he can be traded for a similar strong prospect at a position of future need- 3B, SS, C, OF, RP, SP.— borncynic
- Not sure why they got Sweeney unless they just wanted another right handed bat on the bench when Howard comes back. Gload can do a good enough job filling in while Howard is on the DL. Ransom will have to go to make room for Sweeney.— SteveS11
- Why didn't they trade Rizzotti for a closer THIS year?— ml307n
To all you nitwits who have predicted that JA Happ was the next Steve Carlton, check out his line from last nite. At best he is Randy Wolf, a third or fourth starter.— blaqjaq- Trade him for Cliff Lee!!!!!!— Boscoe Jonez
- I want Cliff Lee back. Since a trade is impossible I propose a clandestine operation. A van and a trip to Texas is needed. Boys need not apply.— oddpoet
- Hey krupps58....our boy is NOT being brought to the Phillies....just being promoted to TripleA ballclub.— TBear
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