Phillies Series Preview: vs Miami Marlins
By Matt Veasey
PITCHING MATCHUPS: MARLINS AT PHILLIES
MONDAY: Aaron Nola (5-8, 4.69 ERA) vs Jose Fernandez (11-4, 2.52 ERA): though just 23 years of age, Fernandez is the undisputed ace of this staff, and one of the best young pitchers in the sport. In his first full season back after 2014 TJ surgery, Fernandez was an NL All-Star. He has allowed only 78 hits over 107.1 innings with a dominating 154/31 K:BB ratio, and 11 of his 17 have been Quality Starts. Nola is well-rested after having a start skipped just before that All-Star break. He has five consecutive overall rough outings on his ledger, but in his last start retired the final 10 batters he faced. Though beating Fernandez will be tough, it is imperative that Nola return to form and keep the Phillies in this game.
TUESDAY: Vincent Velasquez (8-2, 3.32 ERA) vs Adam Conley (6-5, 3.62 ERA): Conley is a 26-year old righty who was the Marlins’ 2nd round pick in the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft out of Washington State. He has allowed 92 hits over 104.2 innings with a 103/43 K:BB ratio, but doesn’t always eat up innings, having only reached the 6th in eight of his 19 starts. Velasquez has a chance to be the Phillies ace one day, but needs to continue showing maturity and growth in managing his emotions and his pitch counts.
WEDNESDAY: Jeremy Hellickson (6-7, 4.03 ERA) vs Wei-Yin Chen (5-3, 4.90 ERA): Chen is a 30-year old native of Taiwan who signed with the Baltimore Orioles as a free agent in 2012. In January of this year the lefty signed a player-friendly free agent contract that allows him to make a decision to stay or walk away after the 2017 season. Hellickson is easily the Phillies most important chip as the MLB non-waiver trade deadline comes just two weeks from today, and needs to string together a few strong outings to increase that value.
THURSDAY: Jerad Eickhoff (6-10, 3.76 ERA) vs Tom Koehler (6-8, 4.68 ERA): Koehler is a 30-year old righty who was the Fish’ 18th rounder in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft out of Stony Brook. Now in his fourth season in their big league rotation, Koehler has yielded 108 hits in 100 innings with a 79/52 K:BB ratio. He is easily the weak link right now in this rotation. Eickhoff has kept the Phillies in the vast majority of his starts, and has wonderfully achieved beyond the club’s greatest expectations after coming from Texas as part of the Hamels deal last July.
Next: KEYS TO PHILLIES VICTORY OVER THE FISH