Justin De Fratus
| Justin De Fratus | |
|---|---|
 Justin De Fratus during batting practice in Philadelphia 2012-09-27 | |
| Philadelphia Phillies – No. 30 | |
| Relief pitcher | |
|
Born: October 21, 1987 Whittier, California | |
| Bats: Switch | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 18, 2011 for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| Career statistics (through 2013 season) | |
| Win-loss record | 4–3 |
| Earned run average | 3.67 |
| Strikeouts | 53 |
| Teams | |
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Justin Andrew De Fratus (born October 21, 1987) is an American professional baseball relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). De Fratus grew up in Oxnard, California and played in high school prior to playing at Ventura College. In the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft, the Phillies selected him in the 11th round. He methodically moved his way up through the Phillies system, spending about one year at each level from rookie to class A, and then moving through two levels per season in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, De Fratus made his MLB debut, and by 2013, he was a regular member of the Phillies bullpen.
Early career
De Fratus attended Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard, California; he was a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. His high school coach, David Soliz, asserted that he could pitch in the major leagues for a long time, saying, "He definitely has the stuff to pitch in the majors. Justin has the stuff, but he also has the confidence. The odds were against him being drafted in the 11th round out of Ventura College.[1] De Fratus was the first Rio Mesa player to reach the majors during Soliz's tenure.[1] He went onto attend Ventura College, where, like at Rio Mesa, he was a starting pitcher.[1][2]
Professional career
The Phillies selected De Fratus with the 353rd overall pick in the 11th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft,[3] and assigned him to the GCL Phillies, with whom he went 2-3 with a 4.30 earned run average (ERA) in 10 games (eight starts). The next season, 2008, he pitched for the Williamsport Crosscutters, and went 6-5 with a 3.67 ERA in 14 starts.[4] Before the 2009 season, at the decision of Phillies minor league pitching coordinator Gorman Heimueller and assistant general manager Chuck LaMar, De Fratus became predominantly a starting pitcher so he was "not sitting down four games out of the week" and could be a more focused pitcher.[5] He took his first crack at relief pitching with the Lakewood Blue Claws, and ultimately began to flourish, posting a 5–6 record with a 3.19 ERA in 36 games (though still with 12 starts). He came into his own in 2010, splitting time between the High-A Clearwater Threshers and Double-A Reading Phillies, posting a 1.94 ERA with 21 saves in 49 games. By 2011, he reached Triple-A, and made his Major League debut on September 18, 2013. During his debut, an opposing batter fouled a ball off, and De Fratus's brother caught the ball.[6] Ultimately, it was a scoreless debut, and he went onto pitch four more big-league games that season. Like in 2011,[7] in 2012, he was given an opportunity to open the season in the Phillies bullpen, but ended up injuring his shoulder, and missing much of the 2012 season;[8] he did pitch with the big-league club in September, and by 2013, he was a regular member of the bullpen, pitching in 58 games with the big-league club, and performed well enough to be considered likely to break 2014 Spring Training firmly implanted in the Phillies bullpen.[9]
Personal
De Fratus is a devout Roman Catholic who, though he was raised in a large Catholic family, struggled with his faith after an injury early in his career, but ultimately determined the injury was a gift from God to help him better understand his faith: "I really feel that the setback was God telling me, ‘Hey you are not done. You are not done yet figuring out what you need to figure out, and I am going to give you a little more time.’ There is a big reason why that injury happened and I feel that I used it as best as I could have." He noted that he would like to take classes at a seminary to help proselytize to others.[10]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Manzano, Gilberto (July 5, 2013). "Phillies with a side of mustard". Camarillo Acorn. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ Dransfeldt, Jeffrey (June 1, 2013). "Rio Mesa High graduate Justin De Fratus returns to majors calm and confident". Ventura County Star. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ Mandel, Ken (June 9, 2007). "Phils keep focus on size as Draft wraps". MLB.com: News. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ "Justin De Fratus Stats, Bio, Photos, Highlihgts". Lehigh Valley IronPigs Stats. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ Gelb, Matt (February 23, 2011). "How Phils spell relief: C-o-n-v-e-r-t a s-t-a-r-t-e-r". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ Potkey, Rhiannon (September 20, 2011). "De Fratus has a ball in major league debut". Ventura County Star. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ Hagen, Paul (January 11, 2011). "RHP De Fratus auditioning for a spot in Phillies bullpen". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ Bloom, Barry M. (May 11, 2013). "Phillies option Tyler Cloyd, call up Justin De Fratus for bullpen". phillies.com: News. MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ Bingol, Spencer (November 16, 2013). "Player Review/Preview: Justin De Fratus". That Balls Outta Here. Fansided - a division of Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
- ↑ Carney, Patrick (October 24, 2012). "Mercy vs. Evil and the Major Leagues". FaithWorks. Catholic Relief Services. Retrieved December 1, 2013.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
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