Name: Name:  B.J. Rosenberg
Born:  Sep 17,1985  in  Newport News, Virginia 
Height:  6-2  Weight:  210  Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right
High School:  Meade County (Bradensburg, Kentucky)
College:  University of Louisville

Drafted:  Selected by the Phillies in 13th Round (406th overall) of 2008 amateur entry draft (June-Reg)  

In 2008, the Phillies were busy slapping around the NL East and winning the World Series; thanks to their efforts, the 
citizens of Philadelphia politely burned the city to the ground.

But they were also selecting right-handed B.J. Rosenberg in the 13th round of the draft.  Now, normally, this would
 mean he put in his time in the club’s minor league affiliates, and pitch his way through a cloud of other young players 
for a chance at hitting the big time.  He did.  Rosenberg is the product of severe prodding while at the disposal of 
Lakewood BlueClaws manager Dusty Wathan.  Not only has his pitching (7-2, 0.89 ERA, 65 K’s) gotten the right 
people’s attention; it was now sending him to AA Reading.  He went 0-1 with a 2.53 ERA, appearing in 10 games 
and saving three.  It's not great, but enough to get an invitation to Spring Training this year, with a whole slew of 
promising young talent.

With a Phillies bullpen in the midst of rebuilding, it is a good time to be a talented reliever in our farm system.  One 
thing’s for sure, though:  Rosenberg will certainly not be skipping a trip to Clearwater this time around.  Rosenberg
went 7-2, 0.89, with 19 saves with the BlueClaws this season and was promoted to Double-A Reading on August 
6th.  He did not allow an earned run in his last 28.2 innings with Lakewood and his first 5.1 innings with Reading, for 
a total of 34 straight innings without allowing an earned run.  Rosenbers went 0-1 with three saves and a 2.35 ERA 
with Reading early on.

Rosenberg was drafted in the 13th round in 2008, out of the University of Louisville.  There, Rosenberg was a starter 
until he had a shoulder injury which forced him to miss the entire 2007 season.  When Rosenberg came back from 
injury, the Louisville Cardinals converted him to a reliever where he really seemed more comfortable.

Rosenberg has really forced his way into the prospect rankings due to his success at the minor league level. At the 
time of the draft, he was not highly touted in any way and wasn't really expected to make the major league roster 
anytime soon.  Rosenberg has completely dominated in his 2 years as a minor league relief pitcher, and that cannot 
be ignored.  In 2008, Rosenberg pitched at Williamsport and completely embarrassed the New York Penn League 
hitters. In 36 innings, he went 3-1 with 10 saves and posted a 1.00 era, Rosenberg struck out 52 batters compared 
to only 15 walks. In 2009, Rosenberg continued his dominance as he started the year in Lakewood and finished up 
in Reading.  Rosenberg pitched a total of 61 innings between the two leagues and finished with a 7-3 record and 22 
saves.  He posted a 1.18 era while striking out 73 batters compared to only 14 walks.

Rosenberg will probably start the 2010 season at Reading, as he didn't pitch too much at that level. Assuming Rosenberg 
continues his success, he will probably see Lehigh Valley pretty quickly in 2010.  The Phillies think enough of Rosenberg 
that he will be invited to spring training this year, so it will be nice to see what he can do against actual major league 
hitters.  He hosts a 92-95 mph fastball and a good slider, he also has a changeup but doesn't use it too often.  The most 
impressive thing about Rosenberg. is his ability to command his pitches as he can throw them at anytime. He is 23 years 
old and due to the combination of his pitching ability and maturity, he probably has the ability to get major league hitters 
out right now.  He also may get the chance to prove that in 2010 as Contreras is 38 years old, Baez and Durbin have both 
been injured in the past 2 years, and both Romero and Lidge will start the season on the DL.  If the Phillies bullpen does 
need to bring somebody

Find B.J. Rosenberg's career minor league statistics - courtesy The Baseball Cube