Phillies News: Ranger Suárez dominates rehab, Jordan Romano looks fixed, Koyo Aoyagi

After the Philadelphia Phillies dropped their series opener in St. Louis on Friday 2-0 to the Cardinals, there have been some concerns about the offense's quiet performance as of late. While the Phillies will just have to wait for the bats to come around, the starting rotation has more or less held up its end so far early in the season.

And it looks like the Phillies are on their way to getting more pitching reinforcements soon.

The Phillies' rotation could get a major contributor back in the fold in the coming weeks after 2024 NL All-Star Ranger Suárez made his first rehab start for the Single-A Clearwater Threshers on Thursday evening. Placed on the 15-day IL with lower back tightness ahead of Opening Day, the southpaw was impressive in his first game action since suffering the injury during his lone start of spring training.

Ranger Suárez looked dominant in his first rehab outing

Suárez began his rehab start by punching out the first three hitters he faced on swinging strikes, with his four-seam fastball reaching 92.2 mph. His fastball wasn't the only thing working, as his cutter, sinker and changeup made quick work of Daytona's hitters in a 10-pitch second inning.

After allowing a leadoff single to Luis Reyes to start the third, Suárez bounced back quickly with a swinging strikeout on a 73.2 mph curveball, and then got Iverson Espinosa to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Suárez's day was finished after tossing three scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing only one hit on 33 pitches. Despite the strong start, it's expected that Suárez will need at least two more rehab appearances before the Phillies have him rejoin the starting rotation later this month.

The team wants Suárez to build up his pitch count after missing most of spring training this year. And with Taijuan Walker pitching well in his absence, the Phillies are under no pressure to rush the valuable left-hander back just yet.

Jordan Romano says mechanics are fixed and then pitches like it

It's no secret that Jordan Romano's had a rough start to his Phillies career after producing a 15.75 ERA during his first five appearances this season. Signed to a one-year, $8.5 million deal this offseason, Romano arrived in Philadelphia with high expectations after the team lost Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez via free agency.

After allowing seven earned runs in his first four innings of work this season, Romano was starting to look like damaged goods. But after tossing a scoreless inning of work against the Atlanta Braves in a 4-2 extra-inning loss on Thursday, things seem to be trending in the right direction for Romano after a concerning start to his Phillies career.

Romano looked like a totally different pitcher when he took the mound in the eighth inning with the game tied. With his velocity noticeably down in his previous four appearances (94.1 mph), Romano's fastball averaged 95.9 mph during his one inning of work, and reached a high of 96.9 on the radar gun. With his four-seam fastball landing for strikes, the added velocity set up his slider, which he used to get the Braves' 3-4-5 hitters out in quick succession on weak contact.

According to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, Romano said before that game that the team found a mechanical issue that had been causing a drop in velocity.

Romano's breakout performance couldn't have come at a better time. There was an expectation that Romano would move to lower leverage situations until further notice, but a three-hour rain delay and an overworked bullpen were enough for Phillies manager Rob Thomson to hand him the ball to start the eighth. While it was just one appearance, Romano's scoreless inning of work is a promising development after the former Blue Jays closer's struggles were beginning to make Phillies fans restless.

It looks like Koyo Aoyagi is starting to get a grip in Triple-A

When Japanese pitching phenom Roki Sasaki did what everyone expected and signed a free agent deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in early January, it looked like the Phillies' streak of missing out on Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) talent would stretch into another offseason. That all changed when the Phillies signed three-time NPB All-Star Koyo Aoyagi to a minor league deal on Jan. 19, with an invite to spring training. While the signing certainly didn't generate the same attention-grabbing headlines as his fellow countryman, the Phillies front office clearly found the 31-year-old right-hander's previous success in Japan as something worthy of a closer look.

After failing to make the Opening Day roster out of spring training, Aoyagi was sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he made his professional debut stateside on March 28. It was a debut he'd rather soon forget, as Aoyagi hit two batters in the inning, while walking two others, and allowing an earned run to cross the plate without allowing a single hit.

Nightmare debut's don't get much worse than that. But to Aoyagi's credit, he's bounced back nicely during his last three appearances, and hasn't allowed a single run since his unfortunate Opening Day implosion. Over his last three innings, Aoyagi has seen his ERA drop from a season high 13.50 to 2.45, while allowing only one hit and two walks and notching five strikeouts. Even more impressive, Aoygai looked simply unhittable during his last appearance, earning his first hold of the season, and striking out three in a dominant inning of work.

While it remains to be seen if Aoyagi will make his debut with the Phillies anytime soon, his swift recovery following a shaky start is no less impressive. That being said, Aoyagi was clearly a good pitcher in his home country.

If his sidearm delivery and pitch mix continues to fool hitters, the Japanese product could be called upon later this season if injuries to Tanner Banks or Matt Strahm create a sudden need for a versatile left-handed reliever in the Phillies bullpen. Either way, it looks like the Phillies have another quality arm stashed away at the minor league level.

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