Phillies still see Vince Velasquez as starter despite struggles
Despite his struggles this year and a season-ending injury, Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said he stills see Vince Velasquez as a starter.
Vince Velasquez’s season ended Tuesday when the Phillies moved him to the 60-day disabled list. Matt Gelb of Philly.com reported that Velasquez will undergo surgery to fix the issue in his right armpit that is restricting blood flow to his finger. The surgery recovery time is about six to eight weeks, so while Velasquez will miss the rest of the season, his offseason should still go fairly normally.
Velasquez’s season has been filled with struggles. In 15 starts spanning 72 innings, Velasquez had a 5.13 ERA, 5.50 fielding-independent pitching, 10.8 percent walk rate, 20.8 percent home-run-to-fly-ball rate and 1.50 WHIP. He averaged less than five innings per start and went past the sixth inning just three times.
Based on all the numbers, it’s easy to call this season a step back for Velasquez. However, general manager Matt Klentak told Gelb he still has faith in the 25-year-old righty:
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“We do still think that Vince possesses all the ingredients to be a top-notch, major-league starter. That would be our hope…“I think every time Vince goes out there, the stuff that he displays — particularly the fastball, the swing-and-miss fastball — that’s something you can’t teach,” Klentak said. “There’s a lot of things we can work on with players, the players can improve upon.“The ability to miss bats with a fastball is a God-given skill that Vince possesses, and that’s why we believe he still has a lot of upside.”
Klentak said that he hopes Velasquez will be a starter when next season rolls around, but will that be the best role for him?
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While Velasquez has flashed plenty of potential – see 16-strikeout start – more often than not he struggles with command and gives up a lot of home runs. While his fastball is an above-average pitch, his slider, curve, and change aren’t nearly as good. According to Fangraphs Pitch Info, Velasquez’s slider was the only pitch with a positive value this year. In fact, when the value is corrected, it was better than his fastball.
Some feel that Velasquez would be better suited in a relief role. His stuff would play up in shorter stints and he would be less likely to sustain injuries. That way the team won’t have to worry about capping his innings next year due to the surgery.
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Whatever role Velasquez does fill in 2018, he will certainly have to improve upon his 2017 performance. He also needs to avoid the injury bug, or else the team will have to put him in the bullpen.