TRENTON, N.J. – Matt Rizzotti returned to Archbishop Molloy over the winter at the crossroads of his professional baseball career. Selling tickets at the door of a boys basketball game at Jack Curran Gymnasium, the former Stanner great joked he might be back in Briarwood for good if he didn’t have a big season this year.
“I knew this was an all-or-nothing year and that’s why I worked my butt off in the off-season,” Rizzotti said Thursday at Waterfront Park in Trenton before the opening game of a weekend series against the Trenton Thunder.
The result is a career year for the big first baseman, who is batting a robust .360 with 48 RBIs. On Wednesday he played in the Eastern League All-Star Game and has become the most impressive prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies organization this season.
“He’s opened up eyes in the organization along with the scouts who watch these games,” said Steve Noworyta, the Phillies Assistant Director of Minor League Operations.
The 6-foot-5 former Manhattan College standout came into spring training in the best shape of his life, thanks in large part to his work with Joe Stolzer, Manhattan College’s strength and conditioning coach.
“He changed everything, made me mentally tough for anything,” Rizzotti said. “If there’s a big prospect on the mound that’s been shoving it the whole season, I’m up there thinking I ran stairs for 40 minutes straight one day, me hitting a fastball shouldn’t be too tough.”
Rizzotti took that mentality into the start of the season, which he started in Class A Clearwater, where he batted .263 with 58 RBIs last year.
“I thought I did alright to get out of there, but I guess they saw it differently,” Rizzotti said. “I think it was a blessing in disguise because it made me flip the switch, made me dig down deep and find whatever was down there, harness it and bring it out.”
And bring it out he has. Rizzotti hit .358 in the Florida State League, earning a promotion to the Reading Phillies on May 13.
“He’s continually getting better, he’s learning to utilize the whole field and he’s hitting for power,” Reading manager Steve Roadcap said. “He’s vastly improved since he got here and he vastly improved at first base, too. … He’s a much improved hitter from what he was two years ago and that’s a credit to him.”
Noworyta said it’s common for a player who moves up a level to initially struggle, but that’s not been the case with Rizzotti, who continued his season-long tear in Reading, hitting for power and average.
“A lot of guys have been taken from Double-A to the big leagues,” Noworya said. “This is where you have to compete, this is where a lot of the prospects and the talent is. Pitchers hit more of the corners and hitters have to be more selective and he’s done that. He’s faced some pretty good pitching in this league and he’s turned those guys around.”
Rizzotti, who went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles, a walk and an RBI in a 3-2 loss Thursday night in Trenton, said he loves Double-A and had a blast playing in the All-Star Game Wednesday night at Metro Bank Park in Harrisburg, Pa. He competed in the Home Run Derby and John Maser, his former coach at the Midville Dodgers, did the pitching. He’s the Eastern League Player of the Month.
“I always wanted to get to Double-A, I’ll be happy 30 years in Double-A,” he said. “I always thought if you make it to Double-A, you’re considered a legit prospect. It’s just a big milestone and I’m happy.”
But where does Rizzotti go from here? The Phillies already have a slugging first baseman in Ryan Howard, the 2009 National League MVP who they signed to a five-year extension through 2016 in April, and there’s no opportunity to be a designated hitter in the National League.
Noworyta said Rizzotti shouldn’t be too concerned with his future, especially if he continues to produce at the plate like he is this year.
“Believe me, if you’re hitting, you’ll find a place to play somewhere, either in the organization or have to make that move to get what you want, either now or in the off-season,” he said.
Rizzotti, who was selected in the sixth round by the Phillies in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of Manhattan, isn’t worried about next year or even next week.
“Everyone always says you’re really close now and stuff like that,” Rizzotti said. “I’m really that guy who goes one day at a time. I just took [batting practice], next thing for me is the game – BP, game and tomorrow.”