5 pitchers who failed to turn into aces with the Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies history is scattered with some excellent pitching, from Robin Roberts to Steve Carlton to Cole Hamels and others. And the team certainly is fortunate to currently have the 1-2 punch of Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola (regardless of how you feel about him) at the front of their rotation at the moment.

But too many times, we have been sold a bill of goods or boarded the hype train for a young arm that just didn't pan out, wide a wide range that has gone from 'somewhat disappointing' to 'abject disaster'. Perhaps this is the case with many other teams, but we only care about the Phillies, so the point is moot. And this probably all goes back decades, well before we had all of the data and video that we do now. So let's just zone in on the last 30 years of Phillies history as we cherrypick a few of these hurlers who let us down and made us swear we'd never get excited about any young pitcher ever again (even though we all know that we still would).

We could talk about more recent flameouts like Spencer Howard or Bailey Falter, but instead we'll just stick to pitchers who are either past their playing days or, in one case, have generated enough of a sample size to not have to worry about them starring elsewhere after an inability to step up for the Phillies. Expectation also plays a large part in this discussion, as high draft picks or pitchers who came over in high-profile trades are more likely to stick in our minds than guys who made a nice initial splash but then immediately fizzled. One thing is sure, though, this list could be a whole lot longer. Welcome to the annals of Phillies pitching.

Carlton Loewer

A towering (6'6", 220) and highly-regarded right-hander, Carlton Loewer was selected 23rd overall in the 1994 MLB draft, one where the first round turned out to be extremely lousy in retrospect aside from Nomar Garciaparra, Paul Konerko, and Jason Varitek going consecutively in the middle of the round. After working his way through the Phils' system for a few years, Loewer got off to an excellent start at Triple-A in 1998, leading to his first taste of big league action on June 14, 1998. And what a debut it was.

Toeing the rubber at the Vet against the Cubs on a Sunday afternoon, Loewer tossed a complete game, striking out eight Cubs (including Sammy Sosa) in a 4-2 victory. It was pretty magical, and with a name like 'Carlton', it seemed like fate that the Phillies had unearthed a stud. Unfortunately, we may have jumped the gun on Loewer. In a rematch against the Cubs at Wrigley Field five days later, he allowed five runs over seven innings (although the Phils won the game), then was tagged for seven runs in six innings against the Red Sox in his next start, which he bizarrely also won. First off, Terry Francona let this guy go that deep in his first three MLB starts. It was a very different era. And yes, Loewer was 2-0 at that point, but with a 5.73 ERA, and things would only get worse.

The Yankees rocked him for eight runs on June 30 to really kill the mood and hand him his first loss. Loewer took a regular turn in the rotation for the rest of the season, and he was able to mix in some palatable starts along the way, but by the time the dust settled on the 1998 season, his ERA stood at 6.09 over 122.2 innings pitched.

Despite this, Loewer opened the 1999 season in the team's rotation, and he generated similar results. Then, on May 4, he twirled a complete game shutout against the Padres, which suggested he might be figuring things out. But it turned out to be a fool's gold, as he muddled along after that, then missed a large chunk of the season due to a stress fracture. He made it back for September and pitched sparingly out of the bullpen, and that was the end of his Phillies career. Loewer was traded to the Padres (presumably impressed by the way he shut them out) that offseason.

Before ever throwing a pitch for them, however, he injured himself falling out of a hunting blind and ultimately missed the entire 2000 season. Loewer started two games for San Diego in 2001, left baseball in 2002, then re-signed with the Padres and made five more starts in 2003. That was the end of his MLB career. Now, just a few weeks shy of turning 50, he apparently owns a real estate company in Wyoming.

Gavin Floyd

Oh, what could have been for the fourth overall pick in the 2001 MLB draft. Taken one pick before Mark Teixeira (and many picks before David Wright), Gavin Floyd was immediately christened the Phillies' ace of the future at a time when the club was reeling after having traded Curt Schilling the year before and was in need of a serious talent infusion in its pipeline.

He peaked as high as the #9 prospect in the sport, according to Baseball America, as he climbed the ladder towards the bigs. Then, near the end of the 2004 season, we got a tantalizing glimpse of things to come. Floyd appeared in six games (four starts), going 2-0 with a 3.49 ERA over 28.1 innings. It was a solid debut that lent hope for the future, and things got even better when Floyd made the team out of spring training in 2005. He had only recently turned 22, but it was go time.

Opening as the team's fifth starter, Floyd pitched seven innings of one-run ball to defeat the Cardinals in his first outing of the season to start things off on the right foot. Unfortunately, the Braves lit him up for eight runs in his next outing. Surely the Phillies wouldn't lift their prize arm from the rotation after a single stumble, though, right? Wrong. With Vicente Padilla (more on him shortly) returning from an injury to rejoin the staff, Floyd was bumped into an undefined role. Padilla's first start of the season arrived a few days later against the Mets, who crushed him for eight runs in three innings. The first man out of the bullpen for mop-up duty was Floyd, who also gave up eight runs in three innings. Four days later, Floyd was again torched by the Braves, who knocked him around for five runs in 0.2 innings in another relief appearance. The Phillies had seen enough, and Floyd was demoted.

I maintain to this day that the Phillies ruined Floyd by the way that they handled him early in that 2005 season. GM Ed Wade, new skipper Charlie Manuel, and everyone involved failed when it came to the team's top prospect. The indecision of keeping him on the periphery once the rest of the rotation was healthy was inexcusable. There appeared to be no plan in place on how to handle a talented young arm. At any rate, Floyd made it back to the majors in time for a pair of starts and one relief appearance in September that year, "dropping" his ERA to 10.04 over 26 innings for the campaign. Another unsuccessful stint in 2006 (7.29 ERA over 54.1 innings) led the Phillies to package him along with future all-star Gio Gonzalez to the White Sox in exchange for one lousy, injury-shortened year of Freddy Garcia.

As for Floyd, he did pretty well in Chicago, winning 63 games and compiling a 4.22 ERA over parts of seven seasons. He later bounced to Atlanta, Cleveland, and Toronto, retiring at age 33 after the 2016 season. Maybe he just never would have become an ace, regardless of the situation. But the Phillies did him no favors. A missed opportunity, to put it mildly.

Brandon Duckworth

After being drafted in both 1995 (by the Blue Jays) and 1996 (weirdly by the Diamondbacks, who didn't exist yet) and not signing a contract either time, Brandon Duckworth inked a free agent deal with the Phillies in 1997 to begin his professional baseball journey. He performed impressively at all stops along the way, and he got the call to join the Phillies in late 2001, making his first start on August 7 of that year. He'd put up a quality start that day, earning a win over the Padres with six solid innings. Even more impressively, he held the Dodgers to a single run over seven innings in his next start to register another victory. At this point, you'd better believe the Duck Pond was already in full force at the Vet.

Duckworth would actually put up eight quality starts in his first nine big league appearances, and his ERA stood at a sparkling 2.93 at that point. He stumbled a bit in his final two starts of the season, which is a shame, because those were important games for the team as they jockeyed with the Braves for the NL East title. Ultimately, Duckworth would finish with a 3-2 record and a 3.52 ERA in 69 innings pitched. It certainly looked like you could pencil him in as an important member of the 2002 rotation.

This sounded good on paper, but Duckworth just couldn't recapture his initial magic. He took a regular turn in the rotation all season, but he only managed to go 8-9 with an alarming 5.41 ERA. Any dreams of a resurgence in 2003 went by the boards when he posted a 4.94 mark over just 93 innings. He was removed from the rotation in August, never to return. Duckworth was included as part of the package in the Billy Wagner blockbuster trade that offseason, and he ultimately stuck in the majors through 2008. He actually signed with the Phillies again in 2010 and logged over 100 innings at Lehigh Valley that season, but an MLB return of the Duck Pond never materialized.

Vince Velasquez

We really tried, folks. In a town where it seems like we always give up on players too early only to see them have success elsewhere, Vince Velasquez was given chance after chance to make things work for the Phillies, for whatever reason. So, with apologies to guys like David Coggin, Matt Beech, Mike Mimbs and a few others in the 'honorable mention' category, a list like this just isn't complete without a discussion of 'Vinny Velo'.

Originally a second round selection by the Astros, Velasquez flashed some promise in Houston during his first taste of the majors in 2015. The Phillies saw enough to decide that they wanted him included in the Ken Giles deal that they swung with the Astros that offseason, and there was a shiny new toy in town. In his Phillies debut on April 9, 2016, Velasquez was stupendous, tossing six shutout innings and striking out nine Mets to earn the victory. The following start was even better, and it set expectations way too high.

Making his Citizens Bank Park debut, Vinny whiffed 16 Padres and threw a 3-hit shutout in one of the most thrilling pitching performances the Phillies franchise has ever seen. The crowd grew more and more electric with each strikeout, and it looked like a new star had been born before our eyes. Sadly, you know the rest.

Velasquez didn't exactly stumble over the rest of the 2016 season, but he endured his ups and downs before ultimately finishing with an 8-6 record and a 4.12 ERA over his 24 starts and 131 innings. It seemed to be a disappointing finish after such a blazing start, but optimism remained. 2017 dashed those hopes, however, as Velasquez struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness. He threw just 72 innings for the Phils, to go along with a 5.13 ERA. He was healthier in 2018 and 2019, but not much more effective, posting ERAs of 4.85 and 4.91, taking a regular rotation turn and causing eye rolls and utterances of "here we go again" every fifth day among Phillies fans.

Amazingly, Vince Velasquez stuck with the Phillies through 2021, despite numerous failed opportunities that should have been his last chance. He's been on three teams since leaving town and figures to add more to his ledger if he shows just barely enough to keep himself in MLB for a few more years. His Phillies career ended with a 4.93 ERA in 582.2 innings over 133 games (116 starts). Maybe they just should have let him play the outfield full-time.