Catching Up With: Kelly Dugan

CLEARWATER -- After a strong 2013 campaign, former Threshers outfielder Kelly Dugan earned the chance to soak up the experience of his first Major League Spring Training.

Following a year in which Dugan hit a combined .291 between Clearwater and AA Reading, the 23-year old outfielder was added to the Phillies' 40-man roster this offseason. Once a player is put on the big league club's extended roster, he also receives an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

"I was really excited about it," Dugan says of learning he'd be in big league camp this spring. "The fact that I now get a chance to be here in Major League Spring Training is just an awesome experience."

Dugan went 0-for-5 serving as a pinch hitter in four games before being reassigned to minor league camp on March 8. Despite the limited playing time, Dugan enjoyed the opportunity to work on the Major League side.

"Watching great big leaguers get ready for the season, there's a ton of them in there - (Ryan) Howard, (Chase) Utley, (Carlos) Ruiz - these are all champions," Dugan says. "I'm just glad I get to be around it."

The Phillies made Dugan their second-round pick back in 2009, out of Notre Dame High School in California. He was assigned to Clearwater to begin the 2013 season, and impressed with a .318 average and 10 home runs in 56 games. Dugan made the jump to Reading on July 5 and spent the remainder of the year with the Fightin Phils, where he hit a solid .264 with ten home runs.

"Baseball is the same game everywhere," Dugan says of making the transition to AA. "It's a new experience, it's a new league, a new group of guys, and so you've gotta get used to that. Other than that I feel like it's the same. Guys get a little better at each level."

As far as his approach, Dugan continues to carry the same, consistent mentality to the plate as he prepares for the regular season.

"I think you're trying to take the at-bats the same way you take in-season at-bats," he says.

"At the same time you're still trying to find some rhythm at the plate, and so that's kind of what's going on right now. Getting those first few live at-bats out of the way, and getting ready for day one - Opening Day."