'Miserable' Biddle shut down by Phillies

Jesse Biddle's next start had been scheduled for Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading.

Instead, the Phillies decided it was time for one of their top prospects to stop pitching for a while. According to a release sent out by the double-A Reading Fightin Phils, Biddle was placed on the temporary inactive list Thursday.

"We decided to give Jesse a mental break," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "In order to do that, we had to place him on the temporary inactive list."

"I'm miserable out there," Biddle told the Reading Eagle. "I'm very unhappy and I don't know why. Nothing feels fluid out there. Nothing feels natural."

The Philadelphia native and Germantown Friends product is 3-9 with a 5.03 ERA in 15 starts this season with Reading. The 27th overall pick in the 2010 draft, Biddle returned to the Fightin Phils this season after going 5-14 with a 3.64 ERA last year.

That was the first bit of difficult news he had to encounter, and it was followed by a slow start. He was 0-2 with a 5.02 ERA after his first three starts this season, and in one of those games he made three errors. He appeared to have righted himself over his next seven starts, going 3-2 with a 2.55 ERA, but on May 22 he was hit in the head by a piece of hail during a storm.

Biddle suffered headaches and missed his next start. Since then, he is 0-5 with a 9.82 ERA in five starts. His most recent outing was his worst. He allowed 10 runs on eight hits, including two home runs, and three walks.

The Fightin Phils also announced that former outfield prospect Jiwan James was released Thursday.