phrasal verbs - Throw a ball up versus Throw up a ball

For the phrasal verb to throw something up, as it to toss an object in the air, is this sentence OK, or is it interpreted as John vomiting out a ball?

(I) John threw up a ball

My intuition is that this would imply John ejected a ball from his stomach through his mouth. To get the reading where John tosses the ball in the air, I would need the particle up to follow the object.

(II) John threw a ball up.