Phillies spring straining: A quick word on each of the starting pitchers in camp
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
Phillies spring straining: A quick word on each of the starting pitchers in camp
David Murphy, Daily News Staff Writer
Each day this week we will be breaking down the spring training roster position-by-position as we prepare for the official reporting date, which is a week from Wednesday. In today's Daily News, we looked at the projected rotation for the 2013 season and why it probably isn't very realistic to expect a drastic improvement over last season (mostly because the unit was better in 2012 than conventional wisdom suggests).
Here's a look at the rest of the roster:
THE ROTATION
PROJECTED: 1. LHP Cole Hamels, 2. LHP Cliff Lee, 3. RHP Roy Halladay, 4. RHP Kyle Kendrick, 5. LHP John Lannan.
NAMES TO KNOW: LHP Adam Morgan and RHP Jon Pettibone are the two minor leaguers most likely to get a look this season. Non-roster invitees RHP Rodrigo Lopez and RHP Aaron Cook are veterans with major league experience, but both are coming off uninspiring campaigns. Zach Miner, a 30-year-old lefty, also has major league experience, but has not pitched in the big since 2009 and has a 4.85 ERA in 35 career starts. So Morgan and Pettibone will enter spring training with chances to earn themselves serious considerations should the Phillies need an extra arm in 2013. But 26-year-old righty Tyler Cloyd, who had 3 impressive starts and 3 lackluster ones after being promoted from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in August, could be the first man up.
OTHERS IN CAMP: Cesar Jimenez, a 28-year-old lefty non roster invitee, started 3 games for the Mariners from 2006-08 and worked 8 games in relief in 2011. He has pitched exclusively as a reliever the past two seasons. RHP Ethan Martin is another young pitcher on the 40-man roster who will be in camp with an opportunity to earn himself big league consideration down the road. MLB.com had Martin ranked on its Top 100 prospects in the game, but that is probably a bit ambitious. He has a big frame with a big fastball but needs to work on his consistency and his curveball and is pretty old to be still needing significant work on those things. That being said, he is definitely somebody to watch this spring.
By my count, there will be 11 or 12 starting pitchers in camp, depending on the role a couple of guys slot into.
I have serious serious reservations with Kendrick and Lannan. Everyone wanted to blame last seasons demise on the bullpen but once Halladay went on the disable list the season went to ruins. Why did it go to ruins? Kyle Kendrick,injured Vance Worley, and Joe Blanton getting destroyed.
If Halladay is the same leaky 2012 version again the season will be lost as Kendrck/Lannan inspire no one and cannot hold down the fort. Now If Halladay can recover the Phils will compete. The #4-#5 are going to be a big problem.— argonne- If your 4th and 5th starters have to hold down the fort you're in trouble before they ever throw a pitch. I wouldn't worry about Kendrick though, he's proven himself in my eyes as a solid back end starter. Plus our bullpen should be deeper so he just needs to get the game late into the 6th, or preferably into the 7th at this point in his career and it's a job well done. KK is more than capable of posting a solid ERA around 4, maybe even a shade under if he has an outstanding year in him(not predicting, just saying). Lannan i won't stick up for, but he's kinda in the same boat except he won't be given the time to right the ship if things go south. Just keep us in the game and find a way to last at best into the 6th. We've got more than enough kids in the minors ready to take over Lannan's spot if he gets off to a rough start. Halladay is by far my biggest concern on the staff. Hamels, Lee, and KK will do what they usually do. One of our potential 5th starters will eventually grab that job. That leaves Halladay, and i really don't know what to expect from him. — Stephen45
- Doubtful Chuck will go LH, LH, RH, RH, LH. I see it Hamels, Halladay, Lee, Kendrick, Lannan (assuming Halladay is healthy).— PhillySubsMac
- saw Lannon a lot over past couple of yrs in both IL and NL. He is not very impressive or consistent. I expect Pettibone will out distance him for the 5th slot. KK continues to confound me. I wonder which version will show up this year.— NewMick314
- As much fun as it is to speculate on which minor leaguer migth make the jump to the Phillies ths season fans are fated to be wrong or at least not entirely correct.
Last year Tyler Cloyd wasn't even on the big league team's radar in spring training. Yet he earned several starts with the Phillies from late August onward and his success in the minors had fans clamoring for his call up to the Phillies long before that.
B.J. Rosenberg seemed to be spinning his wheels and had gone from a 40 man roster prospect in 2011 to not be included on the 40 in 2012. Yet his success in the high minors led to his major leagues debut by early June. Also, Jeremy Horst was considered bullpen insurance at AAA to start the season but by late June he was in the majors never to return to AAA. He had a fine second half.
Sudden maturing and improvement of prospects during the season leading to their promotion to the majors insures that our best guesses about the big league roster will never be totally correct.— D.K.O. - @argonne -- Did you actually watch the Phillies last season? Kendrick looked very good the final 2-3 months and was arguably their best starter from July until the end of the season.
In addition, some commenters seem to be overstating the value of number four and five starters. From those spots, all they really need are the production equivalent of an average major league starter (i.e. 4.00-4.50 ERA, 1.25-1.35 WHIP, etc.). From this standpoint, Kendrick and Lannan's career numbers suggest they will be better than most of their competitor's fourth and fifth starters.
From a pitching standpoint, the keys are going to be the effectiveness of Halladay, and whether the bridge to Papelbon can consistently hold a lead. It's pretty simple really.— ITM - 11 or 12 starters ... it will look like a 2013 Dodgers game I guess.— s
- High Cheese...I've missed you. It's been a winter of discontent.
Pretty jarring to see is as Hamels #1, Lee #2, Halladay #3. Like it's in reverse order.— everydayguy - high cheeses = war biscuit, whine...— WFChamps
- "RHP Ethan Martin is another young pitcher on the 40-man roster who will be in camp with an opportunity to earn himself big league consideration down the road. MLB.com had Martin ranked on its Top 100 prospects in the game, but that is probably a bit ambitious. He has a big frame with a big fastball but needs to work on his consistency and his curveball and is pretty old to be still needing significant work on those things."
So is he YOUNG or is he OLD??? - Kendrick's absence from the bullpen during Halladay's injury was the reason for the nosedive not his presence among the starters, although until he accepted the challenge at the end of the year he didn't do well as a starter - let's hope he continues to accept that challenge. Adams, Durbin and the, now experienced, kids will hold the BP.— robinlupe
- The "young guns" in camp are only there as a "look see". Kendrick/Lannan will definitely be the #4/#5 starters, based simply on their salaries. Pettibone, Martin, Morgan, Cloyd will be in the wings in case of an injury. Remember those names. Pettibone, Martin, and Morgan (along with Biddle) will most likely join Hamels and/or Lee in the rotation come 2014. Only if Halladay of 2013 is the Halladay of 2011 will his option be picked up for 2014. Nothing wrong with having additional arms. Remember, Worley and Cloyd were not even considerations until their break out seasons. Who knows, there may be other young arms who just need a chance. Until last summer, none of us (or the Phillies) had Darin Ruf on the radar. That is why they are prospects, not sure things.— drhoffman
- boy getting Kendrick and Cook and Lannan innings will be real effort -- particularly when they're being chased after 3— warbiscuit
- ITM: "Did you actually watch the Phillies last season? Kendrick looked very good ..."
Did you actually watch Kendrick the past 5 years?— warbiscuit - CoettaGarner - it took me five minutes to find Ethan Martin's age - 23 (6/6/89). According to the Phils' "Prospects Watch," he hits 97 with his fastball, a good slider, a "tight downer" (?) curve a changeup. He needs better control.— dwp66
