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Phillies 2017 Season Preview: Starting Pitcher Vincent Velasquez

By Mike Azzalina

Jul 19, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Vince Velasquez (28) throws a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 19, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Vince Velasquez (28) throws a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Phillies believe Vincent Velasquez is one of the keys their future success. With the stuff of an ace, Velasquez is working to put it all together.

The attitude. The tattoos. The demeanor. The swagger. The arm. The stuff.

The question marks.

After reading those abbreviated statements, which Phillies rotation member would you have guessed? If the immediate thought was not Vincent Velasquez, it is hard to imagine which pitcher it would be.

It was instant chemistry between the right-hander’s electric personality and Philadelphia after his first start in Queens against the New York Mets. His six inning, nine strikeout performance was only a brief glimpse into what the first month would bring whenever Velasquez would toe the rubber.

Five short days later, the 24-year old would ignite the city with a complete game 16 strikeout performance at home against the San Diego Padres.

April was a nice month for Velasquez, but his inconsistencies began to show as the season progressed. Although the fans and organization believe his stuff is ace-caliber, he has a ton to do this season to cement himself in such a prestigious category.

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It all starts with getting deeper into games. The youngster will not ever fit the definition of “ace” if he is unable to pitch past the sixth inning regularly. Last season, Velasquez only made it out of the sixth inning three times in 24 starts. Now, to be fair, he did pitch himself through the sixth inning on ten other occasions. However, a true number one will get through that seventh inning more often than not.

Another part of last season that should not be overlooked was how the Phils were handling him. Being young and having an injury history could have led to Pete Mackanin and the rest of the Phils big wigs wanting to keep Velasquez’s innings under control.

It seems as if the innings may have been a mixture of his struggles pitching late into games and the organization keeping his future at the forefront of their decisions.

In order to extend his starts in 2017, Velasquez will look to change his mentality on the mound. He is smart and knows what he wants to do. He wants to use his fastball. It is electric. Somehow, it truly seems as though it picks up another gear as it reaches the cutout around homeplate. However, he will need to mix up his pitches this season.

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According to Fangraphs, Velasquez threw a version of his fastball nearly 65% of his pitches thrown last season. Even with how electric it is, major league hitters are going to at the very least find a way to foul it off or hit it hard once they have it timed. In an article for the Morning Call, Stephen Gross highlighted this stat by adding that Jerad Eickhoff only used his fastball 30% of the time (still more than any other one of his pitch repertoire).

Also, in that article, Gross threw out some telling statistics. According to Gross’s research, Velasquez had 148 batters at at an 0-2 count.

In those situations, he threw his fastball 65% of the time. Add to it that he threw it 60% of the time in every other two strike count. Meanwhile, Velasquez only used a breaking ball 12% of the time.

That being said, it will be crucial for Velasquez to throw his breaking pitches in order to keep hitters off balance. Additionally, he will work to pitch more to contact this season to keep his pitch counts down and throw deeper into the games. It seems as though Velasquez has really been focused on those pieces of his game.

Next: Phillies 2017 Season Preview: RP Edubray Ramos

If Velasquez carries his hard work from the offseason into the 2017 season, the Phillies and their fans have a ton to be excited about in the future. With his ace caliber collection of pitches, a pitch to contact approach, and confident mentality, VV can erase those question marks and be one of the most dominant pitchers in the game.

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