Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels scratched due to illness, Tyler Cloyd to make debut
Tyler Cloyd, named the International League's best pitcher a day ago, will make his major-league debut Wednesday only because of an illness to Cole Hamels.
Phillies starting pitcher Cole Hamels scratched due to illness, Tyler Cloyd to make debut
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
Tyler Cloyd, named the International League's best pitcher a day ago, will make his major-league debut Wednesday only because of an illness to Cole Hamels.
The Phillies announced Hamels will not start as scheduled because of a gastrointestinal illness. Replacing him is Cloyd, who was slated to pitch at triple-A Lehigh Valley. Instead, he will face the New York Mets.
Cloyd, 12-1 with a 2.35 ERA, has become a cause celebre for a fan base craving any sort of drama in the final weeks of a lost season. While posting gaudy numbers in the minors, his rise has been met with skepticism by many scouts because Cloyd rarely throws harder than 90 m.p.h.
Cloyd's strikeout numbers have dropped considerably in 2012 even as his success multiplies. That suggests a great deal of luck. The theory will be tested at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday.
An 18th-round pick in 2008, Cloyd was hardly on the radar screen entering the season. The 25-year-old righty was supposed to pitch for double-A Reading but started opening day for Lehigh Valley because of a last-minute suspension to another pitcher.
All he did was toss six no-hit innings with eight strikeouts.
It was the beginning of a charmed season for Cloyd, who finally has a chance to prove his doubters wrong.
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Comments (75)
I saw the flash news on the Reading Phis FB page but I thought it was because of Worley.— EL Zorro
So Hamels has a case of the sh**s and Cloyd will start in his place? If Cloyd gets lit up, this should put to rest the notion that he should be pitching at this level. MLB scouts usually know the deal when it comes to a pitcher of this type. Slow fastball but decent command. I guess he can do no worse than Worley.— Roy_Halladay- Why can't this kid be a better version of Kendrick or Worley? KK and Vance were lucky to be considered major league ready(not because of raw talent) and kk has made out a career in the big leagues(Vance well see). I like how i can now make assumptions based on your 1 start philosophy. Hoping Cloyd does well tonight just so i can say he's obviously better than Halladay, who has sucked for most of the year — The Pink Floyd
- exactly. no MLB scouts thought kendrink or worley would have any success either. they've both been good contributors on the back end of our rotation. there's only 1 way to find out and that's to let the kid pitch here. the season's over anyway. look forward to seeing what he's got.
- all is saved
seriously, glad we can see this play out now and not in march— WFChamps - Finally!— bdd5014
- Good, let's see what he's got and how it translates up here.— escapedcamden4monterey
- Luck is a combination of "hard work" and "opportunity". Tyler will be fine. What worries me is the guys behind him on the field.— Dull
- This comment has been deleted. — Dew Schbag
- @The Mighty One - Cloyd is 25 years old. Too old for Conlin to have any opinion on.— Roy_Halladay
- After today's start, we'll see if Worely is shut down.— palmyra21
- It's about time.— PhightinPhil
- Some guys just know how to pitch, I'll take control over velocity any day.— rmg154
- Nice.
Now, if you could only have 'command' to go with that control!
Cloyd = next Greg Maddux? Just thinkin' but what do we know by a kid that blows away the A and AA levels? Not much.— 24sDad - This is what it takes for the Phillies to give a young player a shot before he's 30 years old. The anxiety is probably at an all time high in the front office because of this unprecendented occasion.— AvoidSundanceVacations
- I'm thinking Hamels is the immediate reason but they were going to do it for Worley anyway. Welcome to the bigs Tyler Cloyd.— s
- this is going to be very interesting tonight. sounds like a younger version on Jamie Moyer.— tony bell
- Now sign the hurler from the White Sox who used to pitch here and then sign Roger Clemens. That will give us Cloyd, Floyd, and Roid.— dasher
- yes if he pitches well then hopefully they'll have the sense to shut worley down and he can get the surgery he needs. not sure why they haven't done that yet— kilo_005
- OK with him added to the roster, who gets sent down?— BaseballinReading
- They had an open spot on the 40 man so no one's hitting waivers. Yet. The Phillies site says they'll announce the 25 man move before the game. BJ is probably packing his bags. — s
- Dom to DL or Poly to DL or DFA?
— DUDESKINS - Jered Weaver doesn't throw past 90 mph, and he's 15-3 or something like that. If you spot your pitches and they move, you've got a shot.— dblankj
- It's good to see someone rewarded for good performance with getting a chance. Now it's all up to him. In all honesty, I don't expect him to be anything more than a 5th starter type, but I really hope I'm (and lotsa scouts are) wrong. I think Ruf will come up after Reading's playoffs. He'll get more meaningful AB's in the AA playoffs (they'll play Trenton if they get in) than he will in the bigs right now. Then a little taste of Philly and off to the AFL for grooming in LF. But what do I know, I'm just a tv clown. Uggggghhhhh— Krusty
- Right-handed Jamie Moyer? Let's hope the young man has a good first start.— eman
Been pushing to see this kid since June. Would have been helpful if he came up earlier and allowed KK to stay in an already depleted pen. Oh well. Better late than never.
Keep in mind that he is at a career high for innings pitched already. Hope he's not tiring.
Still very exciting to watch a kid get his MLB debut.
Good luck Tyler !— zubzub- agree with @zub, if this kid Cloyd shows anything, it would have been best for that to have been demonstrated while KK was still an integral piece in the depleted 'pen. I have always looked at KK as the guy who could hold down the setup, 8th inning role better than anyone else they have. Cloyd's promotion and success could have made that happen and, who knows, maybe 4 or 5 losses could have been prevented.
also, @dasher, thanks for the daily dose of good yucks once again.
— advantasux - Glad Kratz will be working with him, to ease any nerves...Cloyd will eat innings...and if he gives up a salami or two, it'll be the solo type. — bearsfriend
- This is about the best way for Cloyd to make an appearance in the bigs this year. A last minute call up and replacing Cole Hamels means less pressure, since nobody expects him to be fully prepared and nobody expects him to compete with what Hamels would have thrown.
I wish the kid good luck and I hope his first taste of the major leagues is fun and a terrific learning experience.— PeteInPhilly - Cloyd should stay and Worley should be shut down for the season for surgery. Diekman should replace B.J. "gasoline on the fire" Rosenberg. I beg to differ with Charlie that Rosenberg needs to pitch at the Major League level. As last and prior seasons proved with Mathieson and Zagurski, velocity means nothing if you don't know how to pitch at the Major League level. Also, remember that Greg Maddux was a control pithcer whose fastball hardly ever cracked 91 mph and sat at 89 - 90 mph. He was a Cy Young Award winner.— dross
- Maddux,Tommy John,Whitey Ford, Randy Jones....none of them could break a pane of glass. — bearsfriend
- Add Robin Roberts to that club and that is more than 1100 Major League wins and three Hall of Fame placques. I'll take Cloyd any day over the "live arms" who have no idea where their pitches are going. And I'd give him at least 2 years to prove he CAN'T pitch at this level before going to plan B.
And for all you would-be scouts here, Greg Maddux in his first 2 years in the majors was 8-18 with a 5.59 ERA. Tom Glavine was 9-21. - Well Rube, looks like another of your long term pitching contracts is set to go bust.— sonnybuoy01
- dasher and s are on a roll. If Cloyd has a poor outing, what is the over/under on the number of posters who rip him and call for Pettibone as the auditions begin in earnest. BTW: for those posters who believe Howard can return to "form" next season, multiply his numbers now by 3.6 (150 games, which is realistic) and look at the Ks, and keep in mind he will still likely have bad wheels next season, given his ankle issues before the achilles. Why any pitcher throws him a fast ball anywhere in his zone is beyond me; throw him a steady diet of slow breaking curves below the knee. Yes, a slam last night (on a 3-2 meatball with no place to put him) to go with three more Ks. He is NOT the Howard of 40+ homeruns and 140+ RBI, which is a concern. Will give Bearsfriend his due: Utley is swinging the bat better, but can he provide 100+ games next season at 34 years old and will he regain his ability to go to his left in the field?— chuckw
- sounds like cole has the shittles. I recommend pepto bismol— lefty1117
- It will be like when he was starter for the International all-star game and
was lit up— baeboo 
Good move for Fightins. Look at Cloyd now. What's the use of waiting and he is 25 years old!— The Monk- After Worley's misery last night, time to shut him down and bring up not only Cloyd but Pettibone or De Fratus too. I pray Cloyd goes at least 5 tonight because the Pen stunk it up last night.— Koons
- Glad to see Cloyd get the start but its a spot start. Despite Worley's health issues, I doubt the phils make a switch and permanently put him in the rotation for remainder of the season. A better idea of what the phils think about Cloyd is to see what happens when rosters expand and what the Phils do with Worley.— PhillyinBmore
- Lefty- Immodium is the best. Wasn't there a big dinner function for the hammers foundation a couple nights ago? intestinal sickness is a way to drop some unwanted pounds off the waistline, I always say.
— road515 - Hamels foundation. iPad typing is challenging.— road515
- Stat geeks need to stop insulting professional athletes with garbage like this: "That suggests a great deal of luck." The chance of a hit on a ball put in play is not equal for all players (i.e., the "luck" theory floated by stat geeks). You just have to flip the equation around to see the glaring and fatal flaw in that theory. If every pitcher has the same chance of giving up hits on batted balls, then that means every hitter has the same chance of getting hits on batted balls. So Michael Martinez has the same chance of getting hits that Pujols does when they both put a ball in play? Yeahhhhh right. Guys like Pujols, Bonds, Wade Boggs, Mattingly, Kirby Puckett, etc. going all the way back to Ty Cobb would just be lucky, average players instead of consistently being at the top in batting categories year after year.— JimG
- "that suggests a great deal of luck" might be the silliest reasoning a professional MLB beat writer can come up with...Luck is when screamming line drives are speared, and tape measure shots wrap around the foul pole..Cloyd has started 26 games this year on 2 levels...going 15-1 with a 2.26 era, holding oppposing batters to a .214 BA...All he can do is pitch to the batters, and "pitch" is the key word here...BTW Matt, it was six PERFECT INNINGS to start out LV's season opener....Good luck to an overachiever...bout time. — bearsfriend
- Remember Randy Jones, Matt? Probably not. He struck out less than 3.5 batters per 9 innings. In the few years he was healthy, rather than lucky - I would argue, he was one of the best pitchers in the NL. This is not to suggest Cloyd is anything but lucky, but strikeouts alone only tell one story.— frankenslade
- The strikeout is one of the most overrated stats in baseball. Nolan Ryan, for all of his 5,000 plus strikeouts, was barely a .500 pitcher with a dismal postseason record.
- 90 mph is faster than any pitch Jamie Moyer ever threw and he had a long career. Next, we need Ruf. He's what, 22? Washington started Harper at age 19. Let's see what he has.— 1republican
- So, chuckw, Howard would have been on pace for 32 HR's and 104 RBI's. Considering he had no offseason prep and no spring training, I will bet you even money his numbers excede that next year if he plays 150 games. And the 230 SO pace is not far from his seasonal averages that I bet strikeouts would come down to their normal 150-200 a year.— Master Dreamz
- JimG, to be fair to stat geeks, indicators of good and bad luck (like fielding independent pitching and batting average on balls in play) are normally based on comparisons to a player's larger body of work. For example, Cole Hamels FIP was identical between 2008 and 2009. However his BABIP was much lower than his average (.280) in 2008 at .259 and much higher in 2009 at .317, the numbers indicate that Hamels' effort was similar across seasons, but he had good luck in 2008 and bad luck in 2009. Not sure I see any fatal flaws in that reasoning.— jtj10
- "That suggests a great deal of luck."
Maybe some luck is in order.— Cazptain Philadelphia - I guess cole-SLAW doesn't have the stomach for it...— toiletofphilly
- should do fine as long as Dubee leaves him alone.— rtiannelli
- Cole probably went out with Jimmy for an Ugandan dinner.— OldCityJoe
- Hey, we all asked for new faces, and were seeing them. I know they arrived a little too late, but it is what it is and lets not start complaining when it doesnt work out. We know were out of it, so why not bring up some more and lets see what they are made of, wont hurt a bit to this team.
— huntnmike3666 - Cole hungover from his charity event at the Crystal Tea Room last night?— SteveWis
- As with anybody coming into the major leagues, the chances that he will succeed are not very good. BUT I do NOT understand people who rule out his chances because his fastball doesn't top 90. Doesn't anybody remember a guy named Greg Maddux? If this guy is half the pitcher Maddux was, he'll be the best pitcher on the team.— altoonaaslan
- Just a few days ago after a Braves-Giants game, Tim Hudson was saying that Lincecum needs to start looking for fewer strikeouts, and that he tells all the young Braves pitchers an out is an out.— The K Man
- If Greg Maddux was being scouted today with his slow but pinpoint stuff, would he even be drafted? Too much emphasis on speed.— BigAfromBucks
- Hamels has a case of the runs and misses a start..........Worley's elbow has a case of the runs all year and he's kept in the rotation. SMH.— FurlongPhilly
- Who knows? He could be the next Greg Maddux who never really threw hard.— Eddieboy
Anybody remember Lowell Palmer or Billy Champion?We shall see.- maybe howard can get the sh*ts and they'll bring ruf up!— Ryne Duren
- Cole's got the runs ?
— t4tuck - Asking whether Cloyd should be in a Phillies uniform next year on the day of his major league debut is the stupidest question anyone could ever ask.— lake
- jamie moyer has won more than 250 games and he doesnt throw more then 60 mph— stayoutofphilly
- Just to correct a few things... Nolan Ryan was 2-2 with a 3.07 ERA in the postseason. He really didn't have many appearances. Greg Maddux was 11-14 with a 3.27 ERA. That being said, perhaps the best postseason pitchers of the last 20 years, Schilling and Smoltz are both power pitchers.— SweetsErik
- Luck? It sounds like he throws the ball where he is trying to throw it when you hear Sandberg tell it. That is sometimes called "pitching" and there is nothing wrong with it.— Paul SoTX
- no doubt he has the ability the first start in the majors is all about confidence and keeping the adrenilin down. Good luck with Chuckles and Dopey Dubbe trying to help him.— rtiannelli
- It makes sense to take a look at Cloyd now. He's a long shot to be an effective starter over the long haul, but he's earned it. At this point I don't care how many games out they finish.- they can still be in it next year if they make a few right moves, stay healthy and have some good luck. Look around the league- every team has some holes to fill.— Rtmuss
- welcome to the show, tyler. see, what we do here, we give you a run or two, hope you can toss a shutout, and if you don't, why, back to the bushes and we go with the 20 mill guys.— bubba church & granny hamner
- diarrhea cha cha cha...diarrhea cha cha cha— Boss76
- Cole must have swallowed his wallet.— tellitso
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The Phillies Zone is the place for up-to-the-minute Phillies coverage from the Inquirer.
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