In the past two weeks, I've attended a couple of Philadelphia Phillies games. Between that time, I've followed them all this season. Usually, I'm still into the National Hockey League playoffs, regardless if the Philadelphia Flyers are still playing or not, but watching the Phillies this year has been nothing short of captivating. In the first game I attended, I mentioned in a previous article, Aaron Nola got the start against the Washington Nationals where the Phillies led all the way until the bottom of the ninth with two outs and two strikes.
The Nationals did end up winning the game in extra innings, 10-6. On Tuesday, I attended the Phillies game against the New York Mets when Nick Pivetta took the mound with a start. Pivetta got the win on Tuesday, but the real story regarding the pitching was the return of Jerad Eickhoff. This much is evident due to Pivetta being sent back down to the minors and Eickhoff returning back to the starting rotation as of April 17th, 2019. Pivetta had a lot of the pressure relieved off of him in the bottom of the first inning when the Phillies were up 10-0, but ultimately Eickhoff was welcomed back after four innings of solid pitching.
The Phillies got the redemption win by a score of 14-3 before completing the series win earlier on Wednesday with Jake Arrieta on the mound in a 3-2 win. However, two pitchers I've yet to mention are Zach Eflin and Vince Velasquez. Eflin hasn't been the most consistent in the rotation, but I do think that his best performance was on April 2nd, 2019 against the Nationals when he pitched just five innings, allowed no earned runs, and struck out nine. Velasquez has yet to notch a decision this season, but has lasted longer in each outing, pitching six innings most recently against the Miami Marlins. Overall, these are my thoughts on the starting pitchers this far into the 2019 season for the Phillies:
Continued on the pages below.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Aaron Nola
Aaron Nola has yet to record a decision in April, which is a far cry from his Cy Young nominee dominance that the Philadelphia Phillies are used to. In his only win, he pitched six innings against the Atlanta Braves, allowing one earned run with eight strikeouts. Since that game, Nola has had a rough time, twice pitching less than five innings. His longest outing this season has been in the 10-6 loss against the Washington Nationals when he did give up back to back home runs in a game where I believe he should have been pulled out earlier by Gabe Kapler.
A couple of observations that I've keyed in on are that he tends to be in the nineties with his pitch count around inning six, which is going to fatigue the pitcher who is known to be the ace of the rotation. The other bite-size piece of information that could maybe help explain his struggle this season on the mound is that Jorge Alfaro is not catching for him anymore.
JT Realmuto is clearly an upgrade for the Phillies, but what I mean here is specifically that Nola's personal catcher in 2018 was Alfaro, and that was even with Wilson Ramos. I think that chemistry is a crucial component of the success of a starting pitcher in each game with a catcher, so this could just simply be growing pains in the early part of the 2019 season between two good players. Clearly, I think Nola will return back to the standard form that we all know he can perform at and it will be a thing of beauty with Realmuto on the receiving end.
Nick Pivetta
Nick Pivetta does have a 2-1 record for the Philadelphia Phillies this season, but that is largely due to the offensive production. He has capped at five innings this season and had an awful showing against the Washington Nationals on April 10th, 2019 when he almost pitched four innings, allowed seven runs, and struck out six. In that game, while he did produce his highest amount of strikeouts in a decision so far in 2019, he also allowed the most runs. Pivetta did get the start against the New York Mets on April 16th, 2019, but had a ten run cushion at the bottom of the first inning as the game fell apart around the pitching of Steven Matz and the Mets. Also, Pivetta has been easy to hit off of, allowing at least seven in each of his decisions. In his most recent game against the Mets, his showing wasn't good enough to keep his place in the rotation as the home crowd saw the return of Jerad Eickhoff.
Jerad Eickhoff
He absolutely passed the eye test in his 2019 Philadelphia Phillies season debut against the New York Mets on April 16th, 2019. Jerad Eickhoff got the save and secured the win for Nick Pivetta, but his showing was strong enough to relocate his position in the Phillies starting rotation. Eickhoff is a guy that I've been rooting for because he has potential but just has been bitten by the injury bug a few times in his Phillies career. In the four innings he pitched, Eickhoff only allowed three hits, no runs, and struck out six.
That four-inning sample size has been better than any four innings Pivetta has pitched this season, but I do worry that putting him right back into the lineup so quickly is dangerous. I think Eickhoff should come in relief for another game, mostly because we all know that Vince Velasquez doesn't necessarily pitch deeply into ball games. If Eickhoff were to impress again as he did against the Mets on Tuesday, then I would have pulled the trigger to put him back in the rotation. Either way, I do believe that Pivetta is the odd man out right now. If he could have kept his ERA down this season, then we could easily be talking about putting Velasquez in the bullpen, becoming the dominant reliever or closer that he can be.
Vince Velasquez
Vince Velasquez is the only pitcher to not record a decision this season in any game he has played in. There is a line of improvement for Velasquez however, which is that he is growing into pitching deeper into games. In the season, he has done a good job at keeping his ERA low, but doesn't seem like he has the offensive output when he is on the mound specifically.
It's the old Cole Hamels curse in some ways, pitching low scoring games but not getting a decision. In his last two starts, he pitched five innings against the Washington Nationals and six innings against the Miami Marlins. In those two starts, he has combined to only allow six hits and three earned runs.
There is no doubt that if he can keep the quality control on board, winning decisions will come his way. In the idea that the Philadelphia Phillies do attempt to sign a left-handed pitcher, however, I would recall Velasquez to the Phillies bullpen because I think he is a reliable hand to close games for the win. There have been some rumors about the Phillies eyeing a trade for Madison Bumgarner. If that were to happen, I think Velasquez to relieve or close in a pitching role is best for business.
Zach Eflin
Just before Zach Eflin's last start against the Miami Marlins, we saw flashes of a potential breakout season. He pitched five innings against the Washington Nationals to kick off his 2019 campaign, allowing three hits, no runs, and striking out nine. He followed that game up pitching deeper against the Minnesota Twins for seven innings, allowing six hits and one earned run.
After his 2-0 start, the rough outing against the Marlins ended in four innings with ten hits allowed and six runs. Eflin belongs in the starting rotation, but he should be the fifth in rotation. I look forward to watching how his season unfolds because he is absolutely young depth withing starting pitching for the Philadelphia Phillies and could have a bountiful career. If there is a pitcher, however, where someone could argue that Vince Velasquez should stay in the rotation if the Phillies were to trade for Madison Bumgarner, I think that Eflin wouldn't be a bad decision to take a role in the bullpen either. However, the stat to look at is innings pitched, to which I think Eflin is going to hold that advantage over Velasquez.
Jake Arrieta
In the offseason leading up to opening day, there were a lot of reports about how Jake Arrieta was in better condition to rebound from his 2018 campaign. When I saw this, I was very excited because I originally perked up when Arrieta was signed to the Philadelphia Phillies to supplement the starting pitching rotation after his run with the Chicago Cubs. In this season, Arrieta has been an iron man of sorts, pitching no less than six innings in a game and as much as eight innings in a win against the New York Mets on April 16th, 2019. With as much depth as Arrieta is pushing for in each game, his ERA stands at a 2.25, which is good enough to earn a 3-1 record so far in 2019.
This is the pitcher who should be second in the starting rotation, but I do understand why he is third in this current rotation. Spreading the wealth around the starting rotation can go a long way, so if Aaron Nola can find his form from last season alongside this 2019 Arrieta, I think the Phillies can begin to believe that they have two aces. Pitching goes a long way to winning championships. Nola and Arrieta finding form with JT Realmuto on the receiving end is very important to achieve that goal.
As of this moment, my starting rotation based on performance this season would read Jake Arrieta, Aaron Nola, Vince Velasquez, Jerad Eickhoff, and Zach Eflin. That is absolutely open for editing and debate, but I'm mostly hoping that Nola can get back into form with the upgrade of a catcher he now has. Until then, Arrieta has performed better.
It will be interesting to see what the Philadelphia Phillies do with the rumor of trading for Madison Bumgarner looming overhead, but at the end of the day, I think the starting pitching rotation has a larger upside, especially with the return of a healthy Eickhoff.
Also, on an unrelated note to this article, please, go and sign Craig Kimbrel to a three year, forty-five million dollar contract. That is allegedly what he is putting out there as a fair offer and I agree. Bolstering the bullpen with one specific pitcher such as Kimbrel would do wonders for the long term in the "Hunt for October."
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
