Phillies calling up top prospect to start in Miami

The Philadelphia Phillies have had a heck of time finding a fifth starter to stick in the rotation this year. Between injuries, underperformance and downright horrible pitching, the front office and manager Rob Thomson are at the point of trying the "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" phase of the season.

Taijuan Walker has been relegated to bullpen duties after a disappointing return from the injured list. Rookie Tyler Phillips has been optioned to Triple-A after his disastrous 2/3 of an inning in Toronto this week. Now the Phillies are going to give one of their top pitching prospects a chance in what will be his MLB debut.

Phillies calling up top prospect Seth Johnson to start in Miami

Phillies fans will get a look at yet another fifth starter this weekend. As Kiley McDaniel of ESPN reports, the Phillies are planning on calling up right-hander Seth Johnson to start on Sunday against the Miami Marlins.

Currently, Johnson is the organization's No. 15 overall prospect and the fourth-highest ranked pitching prospect by MLB Pipeline (he's ranked No. 7 overall by Baseball America). He came over from the Baltimore Orioles as part of the Gregory Soto trade deadline deal. With Kolby Allard unavailable to be recalled until Sept. 10, Johnson is the next best option the Phillies have in Triple-A Lehigh Valley despite his lack of MLB experience.

Johnson, the 40th overall pick of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2019, has overcome some obstacles to get where he is now, including Tommy John surgery in 2022 and moving between three different organizations.

Since joining the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the 25-year-old has been impressive. In three starts, he has a 2-0 record with a 0.56 ERA and 0.69 WHIP. He was recently named the International League Pitcher of the Month.

While his surface numbers look impeccable, when you look under the hood, the way Johnson has gone about his success is interesting. He has a 7.31 K/9 and a 3.38 BB/9, so he's not punching hitters out with regularity. He also gives up a lot of fly balls, at a 52.5 percent clip, which may explain why his FIP and xFIP are so much higher, at 4.05 and 5.61, respectively.

Whether he can continue to generate weak fly ball contact against major league hitters is another matter, and we'll all find out together when he takes the ball on Sunday in Miami.