Prospect Jerad Eickhoff to make major league debut on Friday

Phillies pitching prospect Jerad Eickhoff - who was acquired from Texas as part of the Cole Hamels trade - will make his major league debut on Friday at Miami.

The righthander had a 2.49 ERA in three starts with triple-A Lehigh Valley. He struck out 19 batters and walked three in 212/3 innings. Eickhoff, 25, matches a mid-90s fastball with a changeup, slider, and curveball. His curveball is his outpitch.

He will be the fourth Phillies pitcher this season to make his major-league debut, joining Aaron Nola, Severino Gonzalez, and Adam Morgan.

"I like his bulldog mentality," IronPigs manager Dave Brundage said. "I like the way he goes about it. I like his tenacious approach. He's on that mound and he's ready to go and he's ready to compete. He's shown that he can compete and command that baseball. I think that's been the most impressive thing."

Eickhoff was pitching for triple-A Round Rock the night that the Hamels trade started to come together. He was pulled after five shutout innings. The pitcher had thrown just 59 pitches. It was a little earlier than normal, Eickhoff thought. His manager shook his hand and told him "there was some stuff going on." Eickhoff learned he was traded after the game when he was called into the manager's office.

"I feel great," Eickhoff said. "I'm at a great place mentally with my mechanics and with the feel of my pitches. I've just been doing a good job of carrying that over from start to start and staying in my own mindset in between starts."