Phillies secret weapon J.D. Hammer anything but a Wild Thing

The Phillies bullpen has struggled in 2019, but J.D. Hammer is quietly dominating.

Exhasterbated by injuries, the Phillies bullpen has been stretched thin and punished because of that. Philadelphia has thrown a reliever out with no days rest 62 times this year, the second-most in baseball, and they’ve allowed 4.80 runs per game, just above the league average.

Because of the short-handedness caused by injuries, Philadelphia had to dig deep into their farm system and call up J.D. Hammer.

From the day Hammer was acquired from Colorado for Pat Neshek, he became a folk legend among those who followed the Phillies farm system. With the hair and glasses of Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn from Major League, Hammer’s arrival to the big leagues has been a near perfect Hollywood script.

Through his first 14 major league games, Hammer has a 3.00 ERA and has faced the minimum number of batters five times.

Hammer’s worst outing was just the fourth of his career when he entered a game with two inherited runners on in the sixth out in San Diego. After a five-pitch walk and a strikeout, Hammer gave up a three-run home run to Manny Machado.

Since giving up that home run, Hammer has a 2.20 ERA and is generating outs without having to rely on a Rick Vaughn-esque strikeout.

While Hammer is throwing a lot of strikes (63 percent) he’s averaging less than a strikeout per game and more than one flyball out per outing.

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According to Statcast, only 2 of the 184 pitches Hammer has thrown have been “barrelled” and 31.3 percent of balls have been “hard-hit,” which is below the major league average.

Hammer has emerged as a set-up option for Gabe Kapler, entering in the eighth inning five times, the most of any inning. Seven times he’s been placed in high-leverage situations where the game is within three runs, all of which the Phillies were behind.

Unlike last season with Seranthony Dominguez,  Kapler is not overutilizing Hammer. Dominguez broke down late last year and is now facing Tommy John Surgery. Dominguez was used on one or less days of rest 28 times last year. Thankfully, Hammer has been held to that just six times through is first 14 games, entering a back-to-back situation twice.

Managed properly, Hammer can be a Hollywood hero who helps lockdown games late for the Phillies. Potentially the set-up man of the future, Hammer has a chance to establish himself as one of the best young bullpen arms in the game known for his stuff and not his look.