NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Reading Fightin Phils

R-Phils 43rd Opening Day roster announced

April 4, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Reading Fightin Phils News Release


Reading, PA - The Philadelphia Phillies have announced the 24-man roster for Double-A Reading. Seven members of the club are among the Phillies Top 30 Prospects according to Baseball America. Fifteen players were originally signed or drafted by the Phillies, compared to 14 on last year's initial roster.

Outfielder Michael Taylor is the Phillies #6 prospect, according to Baseball America, after hitting .346 (170-492) with 76 R, 39 2B, 4 3B, 19 HR, 88 RBI, 15 SB in 132 between Lakewood and Clearwater in 2008.

RHPs Vance Worley (#16) and Mike Stutes (#17) make the jump to Reading after just being drafted in the 3rd and 11th rounds, respectively, in last year's draft. The last player to begin his first full professional season for the Phillies in Reading was Pat Burrell in 1999. The last pitcher to do so was lefty Randy Wolf in 1998.

LHP Joe Savery, the Phillies first round pick in the 2007 draft, is their #20 prospect is also heading to Reading.

OF Quintin Berry, whose 30-game hitting streak for Clearwater was the longest in the Minors last year, is the Phillies 25th best prospect. He led the Florida State League with 51 stolen bases last season and the South Atlantic League with 55 in 2007.

RHP Pat Overholt (#26) and LHP Sergio Escalono (#27) return to Reading where they both pitched in relief last season. Both pitched in the Arizona Fall League last year. Escalona is on the Phillies 40-man roster.

Also on the Phillies 40-man roster and set to begin the season in Reading are RHP Joe Bisenius and 2B Brad Harman. Both played in Reading and also earned a call up to the big leagues last year. Harman led all Eastern League middle infielders with 17 HR and was named the best defensive 2B in a survey of league managers conducted by Baseball America. He was also the starting shortstop for Australia in the World Baseball Classic.

RHP Jason Anderson, who spent parts of the last two seasons in Reading, also has Major League experience (Yankees and Mets, 2003-2005. So does IF Kevin Mahar (Texas, 2007) who is new to Reading.

3B Neil Sellers returns after hitting .275 with 19 HR (T-5th in EL) with 78 RBI last year. Versatile IF Carlos Leon is also back. Just 29-years old, Leon has played in the EL every season this decade. He was the starting shortstop in the 2006 EL All-Star Game at Altoona as an R-Phil. Michael Spidale has hit .297 with 93 runs in 157 games for Reading the last two seasons while playing excellent defense at any outfield position. C Kevin Nelson returns after posting a .992 fielding percentage and allowing just one passed ball in 155 innings behind the plate last year. RHP Tyson Brummett, a 2007 draftee, returns to Reading after pitching here and for Lakewood and Clearwater last year. He pitched in the Arizona Fall League in 2008.

RHP Francisco Butto, originally signed by the Phillies in 1999, is back in the organization. He last pitched in the system in 2005 (Clearwater and Reading). He pitched for Venezuela in the WBC. LHP Josh Shortslef is new to Reading but not the EL. He's pitched for Altoona (Pirates) the last three seasons.

SS Ozzie Chavez, whose middle name is Smith, begins his first season with the Phillies after spending the previous nine in Milwaukee's organization. He was a non-roster invitee to Major League spring training this year. IF Brian Stavisky is also new to the Phillies and the EL. He hit .312 with 16 HR and 51 RBI in 86 regular season games and .290 with 2 HR and 7 RBI in eight playoff games to help the Travelers win the Texas League championship.

OF Gus Milner has steadily advanced a level at the start of each season since being drafted in 2006. He'll get his first taste of Double-A as will C James Gosewisch, RHP Alex Concepcion and LHP Matt German. Concepcion and German have averaged better than a strikeout per inning pitched in their careers. Gosewisch was also a non-roster invitee to Major League spring training this year and played in the Arizona Fall League.

Reading's starting pitchers, in alphabetical order, are: Brummett, Concepcion, Savery, Stutes and Worley. Full biographies with statistics are available by clicking on Roster in the Press Box section of rphils.com.

Check out the Reading Fightin Phils Statistics

• Discuss this story on the Eastern League message board...

Eastern League Stories from April 4, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Reading Fightin Phils Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central