Phillies Nation

Cameron Rupp is a catching prospect currently playing with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws. The righty hitting Rupp was drafted in the third round of the 2010 amateur draft by the Phillies, after his junior season at the University of Texas.

Rupp, who lives in Plano, TX, a suburb of Dallas, was assigned to short-season Williamsport after signing his first professional contract last year. In 55 games with the Crosscutters in the New York-Penn League, Rupp posted a .218 batting average with 5 homeruns and 28 RBI. Following the season, the 22-year-old Rupp participated in the Florida Instructional League.

Off to a slow start, batting .182 through 3 games with Lakewood, Rupp is anxious for the weather and his bat to heat up, as he plans to help the BlueClaws chase a third consecutive South Atlantic League championship this year.

Last week, I spoke with Cameron about his draft process, his new home ballpark, joining the Twitter community and plenty more. Check out the media player below to listen to excerpts of the interview.

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Jay Floyd is PhilliesNation’s minor league insider. You can check out more from Jay by visiting his website, PhoulBallz.com.

Right-handed pitcher Justin De Fratus, a California native, who was drafted in the 11th round in the 2007 amateur draft, has shown steady progression since signing his first professional contract with the Phillies.

In 2007, as a member of the rookie level Gulf Coast League Phillies, De Fratus posted a 2-3 record with a 4.30 ERA and a .273 batting average against in 10 games, 8 of which were starts.

The following season, De Fratus pitched with the short season Low A Williamsport Crosscutters. In 14 games as a starter, the man known to his brothers and friends as J-Bone went 6-5 with a 3.67 ERA and a .260 batting average against.

In 2009, De Fratus was a key piece of the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws pitching staff, taking on both starting and relief duties. In 36 games (12 starts) that season, De Fratus went 5-6 with 3 saves, a 3.19 ERA and a .258 batting average against.

After beginning the 2010 regular season with High-A level Clearwater and posting a 2-0 record with 15 saves and a 1.79 ERA in 29 games, De Fratus was promoted to Double A Reading in early July. Over the last two months of the season, as a member of the R-Phils, he went 1-0 with 6 saves and a 2.19 ERA in 20 games. Combined at the two levels and pitching exclusively out of the bullpen, opponents batted .208 against De Fratus.

De Fratus stayed hot throughout the off-season, pitching for Team USA in the Pan-American qualifiers held in Puerto Rico, helping the Americans finish with a 9-1 record. He also posted exceptional statistics for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League Continue reading ProspectNation 2011: #5 Justin De Fratus- RHP

Previously drafted by the Braves out of high school, Austin Hyatt was selected as a 15th round draft choice by the Phillies in 2009, having attended the University of Alabama where he pitched as a starter.

In his senior season with Alabama, Hyatt posted an 8-3 record with a 3.76 ERA in 15 games in the tough Southeastern Conference before signing his first professional contract with the Phils.

Almost immediately, Hyatt began his pro career with the short season Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York-Penn League. The right-hander dominated as a 23-year-old, posting a 3-0 record with a 0.66 ERA and a .141 batting average against in 17 games, 5 of which were starts. With Williamsport, Hyatt struck out a beastly 81 batters in 54 1/3 innings.

The tremendous efforts upon his arrival in the Phillies organization earned Hyatt a bump up to Class A Lakewood where he served as the BlueClaws’ set up man for the team’s postseason run en route to the South Atlantic League title. Hyatt pitched in all 5 Lakewood wins in the 2009 postseason without allowing a run.

As a member of the High A level Clearwater Threshers in 2010, Hyatt posted an 11-5 record with a 3.04 ERA and a .220 batting average against in 23 games, 21 of which he started. In 124 1/3 innings in the Florida State League, Hyatt struck out 156 batters and walked just 35.

In one May start against Jupiter (Marlins affiliate), Hyatt forced the baseball world to take notice of his talents, as he struck out a career high 14 batters, while allowing just 1 hit over 8 innings.

Over Hyatt’s final 10 starts with the Threshers, he won 5 and lost none, while notching an astounding 0.83 ERA.

The 6’2″, 180-pounder was named the Florida State League’s pitcher of the year for his exceptional efforts in 2010, despite being promoted to Double A Reading in early August.

With Reading, Hyatt started 4 games, going 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA and a .247 batting average against. While in Double A, Hyatt added more solid strike out numbers, posting 25 K’s in 22 innings.

Now 24 years old, Hyatt’s pitch repertoire includes a fastball that tops out in the mid-90′s and a very good change up that has movement. Hyatt’s third pitch is a slider that he worked to gain more confidence in last season. The success of the slider, among other factors, could determine Hyatt’s future status, whether as a starter or a reliever.

Expect to see Hyatt back in Reading in 2011.  His future with the Phillies does not seem to be as a starter at this point. With considerable depth among starting pitchers at the Major League level (the starting 5 locked in, with Kyle Kendrick and Vance Worley on standby, in case they are needed), the Phillies could likely move Hyatt back to a relief role, going forward, with hopes he will continue to progress quickly. If Hyatt can take some strides and impress the higher ups this year, fans could see the Georgia native insert himself into the conversation with other relievers the team has as bullpen options.

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Jay Floyd is PhilliesNation’s minor league insider. You can check out more content from Jay by visiting his site, PhoulBallz.com.

Jake Borup is a right-handed pitching prospect that was chosen in the 23rd round by the Phillies in the 2010 amateur draft out of Arizona State University. As a sophomore in 2010, Borup posted an 11-1 record and a 4.08 ERA in 16 games with the Sun Devils.

Borup was assigned to Philadelphia’s short season rookie league affiliate, the Williamsport Crosscutters, after signing his first professional contract. In his first 3 months of pro ball, Borup posted great statistics while playing in the NY-Penn League. In 16 appearances (4 starts), he was 2-1 with a 2.68 ERA and held opponents to a .215 batting average.

The 6-foot-5-inch hurler’s fastball registers around 91 MPH.

I talked with Jake over the weekend about his pitch repertoire, his draft experience, what he has learned thus far as a professional pitcher and plenty more.

While speaking candidly with Jake, I found him to be considerably engaging. Jake has opinions to share and has agreed to bring his thoughts about the world to the public, with an upcoming series of blog posts on PhoulBallz.com and PhilliesNation.com. Obviously, we look forward to introducing Jake to our readers and delivering his distinct outlooks on life and his career to phans everywhere.

Listen to excerpts from the interview with the media player below.

Jay Floyd is PhilliesNation’s minor league contributor. You can read more from Jay on his site, PhoulBallz.com.