Phillies: 5 takeaways after first dozen games of 2021 season

3. Not an ideal early showing from Matt Moore and Chase Anderson

The Phillies No. 4 and 5 starters — Matt Moore and Chase Anderson — have some questions to answer, as both have been shaky.

Anderson has an ERA+ above 100 at 102, but has a FIP of 6.69. Baseball Savant numbers don’t help out Anderson neither, ranking him just the 16th percentile for strikeout percentage and 24th percentile for walk percentage. In other words, he is not striking out enough guys — at just 6.00 per 9 innings — and is walking too many batters, 5.00 walks per 9 innings.

Not everything has been bad for Anderson. Guys are not hitting the ball hard when they make contact, as he ranks in the 98th percentile for average exit velocity. Anderson also ranks in the 84th percentile for hard-hit percentage. If he can get some more strikeouts and stop walking batters, things will get a lot better.

Moore has a different case study in his first two starts — with a 54 ERA+, and 5.53 FIP. While that is bad, there are some things to feel good about. Moore is striking out 9.72 batters per 9 innings and ranks in the 75th percentile for chase rate.

The reasons why Moore is struggling are not good for the Phillies. When hitters make contact, they make great contact against him — as he ranks in only the 10th percentile for barrel percentage. His hard-hit percentage, meanwhile, ranks in just the 22nd percentile and his average exit velocity ranks in just the 23rd percentile.

This is going to be a major worry for Moore. Guys are going to hit the ball when he pitches. If they are getting a lot of the baseball and hitting it hard, it is a recipe for disaster. Moore has been a disaster in his first two starts and we know the reasons why.