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Phillies 2018 season preview: Pitching prospect Tom Eshelman

By John Town

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 25: The Phillie Phanatic celebrates 'Christmas in July' with the Phillies ball girls in the seventh inning during a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros at Citizens Bank Park on July 25, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Astros won 5-0. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 25: The Phillie Phanatic celebrates 'Christmas in July' with the Phillies ball girls in the seventh inning during a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros at Citizens Bank Park on July 25, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Astros won 5-0. (Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images) /
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After a tremendous Triple-A debut in 2017, pitching prospect Tom Eshelman is looking to make his mark on the Phillies this season.

In a Phillies system full of great pitching prospects, you have to really stand out in order to garner attention. That is exactly what Tom Eshelman did last year, and now he has a chance to make it to the major-leagues this year.

Eshleman entered 2017 hoping to improve upon his performance in Double-A from the year prior. In 13 starts at Reading two years ago, he had a 5.14 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, and an uncharacteristic 6.1 percent walk rate. While most pitchers would be praised for such a rate, Eshelman’s entire game is predicated on being able to walk as few hitters as possible as he doesn’t have the arsenal to overpower them.

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When he returned to Reading in 2017, Eshelman had much better numbers. He walked just five batters in 29 innings, leading to a 3.10 ERA and 1.10 WHIP.

Even though Eshelman made just five starts in Double-A, he was promoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley in May as their rotation was decimated by a string of call-ups. That was where he truly shined as he posted a 2.23 ERA, 3.20 fielding-independent pitching, 0.94 WHIP, and 6.15 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

His 2.8 percent walk rate was the lowest of any level in his professional career. After the season ended, Eshelman received the Paul Owens Award as Philadelphia’s top pitching prospect.

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This year, Eshelman is in spring training with the major-league team as a non-roster invitee. A potential Jake Arrieta signing would make Eshelman’s chances of starting the year in Philadelphia a long shot. Even then, the fact that there is a logjam on the 40-man roster makes it hard to foresee him starting the year in the majors. He will need protection from the Rule 5 draft after this season, so a September call-up is likely.

Eshelman has never been considered a top prospect as he doesn’t have an electric fastball or dominating secondary pitches.

His major-league future rides nearly entirely on his ability to paint the corners and keep hitters off-balance with his four-pitch arsenal. He will be toeing a very thin line, but if he can make it work, he can carve out a role as a back-end starter.

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Eshelman probably won’t be in the majors until later this season, instead starting the year back in Lehigh Valley. However, Philadelphia will eventually need someone to fill in a hole in the rotation, and Eshelman should be one of the first ones called up to fill that role.

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