Fab Five? Phillies' top pitching prospects unite at Reading

READING - A piece of paper stapled to the bulletin board inside the Phillies' spring training complex told the five pitchers that Reading would be their post-Florida destination.

Jesse Biddle, Aaron Nola, Zach Eflin, Tom Windle, and Ben Lively are the team's top five pitching prospects. They arrived this week in "Baseballtown" to assemble what is expected to be one of the top rotations in all of double A.

The pitchers were grouped together throughout spring training, leading them to believe they would start the season as teammates. The five pitchers are separated by less than 21/2 years of age.

The hope is that Reading's rotation one day becomes Philadelphia's.

"They can be special every night," manager Dusty Wathan said Tuesday. "You have five guys that can do whatever. It's fun to go to the ballpark as a manager, knowing that every single day you have a really good chance to get a quality start."

Biddle, a Mount Airy native and Germantown Friends graduate, and Nola are both Phillies first-round picks. Eflin and Windle joined the organization in December as part of the Jimmy Rollins trade. Lively was acquired two weeks later from Cincinnati.

Biddle, 23, is the only one of the group to start at least 15 games at the double-A level. He pitched in Grapefruit League games this spring along with Eflin and Nola.

Nola and Biddle are likely to be promoted to triple A before the others. Nola, 21, was drafted seventh overall last June. He zoomed through the minors before ending his season with five starts at Reading. This will be his first full professional season.

"I think we're going to push each other to be the best we can be and go about our business the right way," Nola said.

Eflin and Lively first met when Eflin orally committed to play baseball at Central Florida. Lively, 23, was one of the players who hosted Eflin when he spent a weekend at the school's Orlando campus.

"I showed him a good time," Lively said.

Eflin, 21, reneged on his commitment when San Diego selected him in the first round. He made 24 starts last season at the hitter-friendly California League. The righthander allowed 54 runs and struck out 93 batters in 128 innings at the high-A level.

Lively pitched for three seasons at UCF and was selected by Cincinnati in the fourth round in 2013. The Reds named him last season's minor-league pitcher of the year after he combined for a 3.04 ERA in 26 starts between high single A and double A.

"All of these guys have come together and we've had a great relationship," Eflin said. "That's what is most important, the fact that we're going to push each other and compete with each other."

Windle, 23, made 25 starts last season with the Dodgers' affiliate in the California League. The lefthander struck out 111 batters and walked 44 in 1391/3 innings.

"If they go out one night and have a star game, it's going to drive myself to go out there and try to do the same thing and match that intensity," Windle said.

Windle and Biddle switched uniform numbers on Tuesday morning. Biddle did not want to wear No. 38, which happened to be the number Windle has worn since high school. Biddle will wear 54 instead.

The pitchers sported their new numbers when they walked onto the field at FirstEnergy Stadium. A crew of photographers snapped portraits of Reading's big five as part of the team's media day. The pitching staff's time in the spotlight was ready to start.

mbreen@phillynews.com

@matt_breen