Phillies: Breaking down the five starters in the rotation
Entering the month of June, every Phillies starter has had their fair shares of good games and bad games. We break them down pitcher-by-pitcher and grade.
Every pitcher has their ups and down throughout the duration of the season. More than 60 games into the regular season, that has certainly proved to be the case.
From Vince Velasquez’s terrible starts to Aaron Nola’s gems, we break down each starter in the rotation and give them a grade based on their performances so far this season.
Aaron Nola
The 25-year-old Aaron Nola has been lights out the majority of this season. He got the call to start the season opener in Atlanta – a start that lasted 5 1/3 innings. Out of those 5 1/3 innings, he’d go on to allow just one run. That is just one start of many great starts to come this season.
In just his third start of the season, Nola dominated the Cincinnati Reds at Citizens Bank Park for what was his first win of the season. In eight innings pitched, he allowed just one run. He finished the month of May going 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA. He started in six games.
As of June 9th, Nola hasn’t allowed more than five runs in a start so far. Needless to say, that is something other starters currently in the rotation have done.
As of publishing date, Aaron Nola is 7-2 with a 2.35 ERA this season. He’s in the midst of what could potentially be the biggest season of his career." >
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Not only has Nola pitched good so far this season, he’s only shown a glimpse of what he’s capable of in his many starts to come.
According to mlb.com, Aaron Nola is projected to have a cumulate record of 14-8 with a 3.05 ERA to end this regular season. That’s in 31 games started.
Jake Arrieta
Veteran Jake Arrieta is the newest asset to the Phillies rotation this season. The Phillies acquired him via free agency in the offseason fresh from the Chicago Cubs.
Arrieta finished April going 3-1 with a 3.49 ERA. Despite losing his last start of April against Miami, he was able to make up for it as he won his previous three consecutive starts. He started off the year about as well as he could hope.
The 32-year-old righty had an outstanding month of May this season. In his first start of the month May 6, he went six one-run innings against the Washington Nationals. Arrieta struck out twenty batters over the course of five games in May this year. He earned a majority of those twenty strikeouts against the Atlanta Braves, racking up seven strikeouts – his most in a game in May.
Philadelphia Phillies. JAKE ARRIETA. B+. As of June 9th, 2018, Arrieta is 5-4 with a 2.97 ERA. He combined a 5-2 record for the month of April and May. He has been a worthy addition this year.. Starting Pitcher
While Arrieta is not the ace in the rotation with Aaron Nola, he’s still an important asset to Philadelphia’s rotation.
Vince Velasquez
Vince Velasquez is certainly not starting his season off the way he hoped for. In the final year before he hits arbitration, Velasquez has pitched up and down. He hasn’t been that consistent starter in the rotation the Phillies need to have if they want to compete for October baseball.
Velasquez won his first three starts of the season but then lost his three next starts. Despite ranking sixth in strikeouts in the National League with eighty-three, he lacks consistency.
On his start on June 8, against the Milwaukee Brewers, Velasquez was completely dismantled. He pitched 3.2 innings and allowed ten runs. Ten runs in less than four innings. That wasn’t the only horrible outing Velasquez has pitched this season.
Back in April, in just his third start of the year, Velasquez managed to allow six runs in just four innings against the Atlanta Braves. Philadelphia ended up losing that game 10-1.
Earlier in the season, prior to Jerad Eickhoff being placed on the 60-day disabled list, there was some talk that Velasquez would be moved to the bullpen should Eickhoff return. However, that clearly hasn’t happened yet and Gabe Kapler has no plans of doing so in the near future.
Despite all the bad starts, there have been very few good outings the righty has had this season. On May 17th, Velasquez pitched six and one third shutout innings in Philadelphia’s win against the St. Louis Cardinals.
In that game alone, he struck out five. The most strikeouts Velasquez got in May was against the San Francisco Giants with a total of twelve strikeouts.
Starting Pitcher. Philadelphia Phillies. VINCE VELASQUEZ. C+. 26-year-old righty Vince Velasquez is starting his 2018 season with the Philadelphia Phillies off to a rocky start. In the midst of his contract year, he has managed to walk twelve batters in the month of May alone.
At some point, the team will have to determine what they want to do with Velasquez. If he remains inconsistent through the end of the season, a move from the rotation is probable.
Zach Eflin
Into his third season in the big leagues for the Phillies, 24-year-old righty Zach Eflin is having an okay season. He has yet to finish a big league season with a winning record, and an ERA below 5.00.
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Out of five starts in May this season, Eflin only has two starts that he pitched past the fifth inning. Only one of them was credited with a win, while the other was a no-decision. His strikeout numbers for May were high – as he totaled 29 strikeouts.
Eflin’s strikeout rate has significantly improved compared to his first two seasons. He has struck out 23.8 percent of opposing hitters, more than 10 percent higher.
Per mlb.com, Eflin is projected to finish the 2018 season with a cumulative 6-7 record and 4.35 ERA.
Philadelphia Phillies. ZACH EFLIN. B. Zach Eflin is another victim of having a up-and-down season in the Phillies rotation. Regardless of all those downs he had, there are still many ups he has and those ups are what secured him a spot in the Phillies rotation thus far.. Starting Pitcher
The “B” rating is a combination of his record, his past starts, and his projected stats for the remainder of the 2018 regular season.
Nick Pivetta
Righty Nick Pivetta is occasionally the victim of no run support, amongst other pitchers throughout the big league. Despite the no run support, Pivetta has still found himself in a good season so far.
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In the month of May, the Canada-native finished with a 3-2 record. In five games started, he was able to rack up 33 strikeouts while only allowing nine runs. Six of those runs came in his first start of the month against the Nationals.
However, June hasn’t been his month so far. In two starts, Nick Pivetta is 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA. On his June 7 start in Chicago, Pivetta allowed four earned runs on six hits in five complete innings.
Pivetta can also be found occasionally high in a pitch count in early innings – something that has always been the case with Pivetta. On the bright side, it is happening far less often this year.
NICK PIVETTA. A-. The twenty-five year old is currently playing in his second big league season for the Philadelphia Phillies. In his first season (2017), he finished the season with a 8-10 record. Things have been turning around this season, as he is on pace to rack up 170 strikeouts this season.. Starting Pitcher. Philadelphia Phillies
Even though Pivetta has not been strong in June so far, his overall numbers this season are much better compared to last year. He has a 3.76 ERA and 4.22 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 13 starts.
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Pivetta is slowly becoming the team’s third-best starter behind Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta. If your third-best starter pitches like this, something is going right for you.