CLEARWATER, Fla. — Two weeks before the Phillies break camp and head north, they still have not decided on their starting pitching rotation.
Or if they have, they haven’t admitted it.
Sure, we know that Aaron Nola, Jeremy Hellickson, Charlie Morton and Jerad Eickhoff, barring something unforeseen, will be in it.
But who fills the final spot?
This is actually shaping up to be a rather fascinating decision.
Coming into camp, Vince Velasquez seemed to be the guy, and he still might be. He was the headline piece in the Ken Giles trade, an exciting power arm with lots of upside. No one would ever admit it, but you can bet the new front office came into camp hoping he’d provide a little early validation to the deal by going out and winning the job.
Again, Velasquez still might end up doing that.
But lefty Adam Morgan is demanding attention in this competition. Brett Oberholtzer (eight scoreless innings) is too, but his ability to pitch out of the bullpen, and give the team multiple innings, might put him there.
When it comes to pitching, there has been a big theme in this camp. Pete Mackanin has said it over and over. He wants guys who throw strikes.
Morgan has done that. Sunday in Tampa, he averaged less than 10 pitches an inning in working four scoreless frames against the Yankees.
Morgan made 15 starts for the Phillies last season, but became kind of an afterthought when the club added a handful of starters over the winter. He has pitched himself out of the shadows in this camp. In nine innings of work, he has allowed just four hits and two walks. He’s not a power-arm guy and therefore has just two strikeouts. But he’s been quite effective mixing and commanding his pitches and is worthy of his place in this race.
Velasquez's power arm has been everything it was advertised to be. He throws hard and is super-aggressive. He pitches with the kind of attitude that suggests future closer if things don’t work out in the rotation. Like Morgan, he has pitched nine innings in camp, but his command has been spotty. He’s been tagged for 10 hits — several of them quite hard-hit — and he’s walked three while striking out nine.
There are still a few miles to go in this race. Velasquez gets back on the mound Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Morgan is expected to pitch Friday against the Pirates. If he keeps throwing strikes and getting outs, those backroom discussions during the final week of camp should be very interesting.
• Reliever Andrew Bailey’s minor-league contract stipulates that he can opt out on May 1 if he’s not in the majors and another team wants to give him that opportunity. Coming into camp, that looked to be a pretty handy provision for the Phillies, especially considering that Bailey is still trying to get his career back on track after shoulder problems. Essentially, the team could have spent two months — March and April — watching Bailey before deciding whether there was a place in the bullpen for him.
But Bailey appears to have other plans. He has thrown the ball well in the first two weeks of Grapefruit League play — four innings, no runs, one hit, no walks, five strikeouts — and could be on his way to breaking camp with the team.
Bailey was the 2009 American League Rookie of the Year and a two-time all-star with Oakland. He might not throw as hard as he once did, but he hit 92 mph on the gun Tuesday and his slider/cutter was effective.
• There aren’t many hard throwers in the Phillies’ bullpen. Right-hander Dalier Hinojosa is the exception. He could end up being a valuable guy for changing looks and getting outs toward the end of the game.
• Not that the closer position matters as much on a rebuilding team as it does a contending team, but this was hardly a confidence-inspiring quote on the topic from Mackanin:
“We'll come up with somebody. Whoever it is may not be a premier closer, but you never know, he might be a good closer.”
• Spring training is a great time to watch a player’s tools. It was fun watching speedster Roman Quinn fly around the bases on the three triples he hit in big-league camp. The kid really knows how to turn on the bases and two significant leg injuries haven’t dulled his speed.
It’s also been fun watching catching prospect Jorge Alfaro throw. The ball shoots out of his hand like a blow dart and looks as if it could be a zip line as it travels to second base.
• Heard the Phillies kicked around the idea of signing outfielder Austin Jackson earlier this spring but were committed to giving the players they had a chance to show what they could do. Aaron Altherr was one of those players. It’s de rigueur these days to look at players as numbers or assets or resources and take the emotion out of it, but we feel for Altherr, a hard-working guy who never topped a prospect chart but climbed his way rung by rung to his chance in the majors after being a ninth-round draft pick. Now he’s out up to six months and the Phillies are keeping an eye on other camps for some veteran outfield help.
• Maikel Franco was once a guy who would swing at a pitch in the on-deck circle. His selectivity has really improved and that’s a good thing because it’s going to be tested this season. He’ll be a marked man in the Phillies' less-than-intimidating lineup, the bat that can consistently hurt other teams, and you have to wonder if he’s going to get a lot of pitches to hit.
Franco hit .280 with 14 homers, 50 RBIs and a .840 OPS in 80 games last season. Thirty-seven of his 85 hits were for extra bases.
With Franco having a big spring and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt talking about the potential of him winning and MVP award someday, it’s worth remembering that the Phillies signed him for just $100,000 (they out-bid the Yankees by $5,000) and once tried to make him a catcher.
• Former Phillie Kyle Kendrick was released by the Braves last week, one day after his old team hit him hard in a Grapefruit League game. Just a thought: Kendrick should consider changing his look and dropping his arm way down, maybe submarine style a la Brad Ziegler, and trying to reinvent himself as a one-inning specialist. Give it a year and see what happens.