MVN - Most Valuable Network

Better than Brett? Phillies hope so

The last time the Phillies were in Atlanta, they swept the Braves. After losing six straight series, they’re in a position to do the same tonight with Cole Hamels on the hill. Hamels was moved up to start tonight due to the off day on Monday and the demotion of pitcher Brett Myers to the minors. As of now, the Phillies have not named a starter for Friday’s game against the Mets. Who will it be? There are options.

J.A. Happ: Happ seems like the most logical choice to take Myers’ start tomorrow night. He’s 5-6 this year at Triple-A Lehigh Valley with a 3.54 ERA. What Happ has going for him is the fact that he is the Phillies’ hottest minor league pitcher right now. In June, he went 3-1 with a 2.51 ERA. He has struck out 104 batters in just 101.2 innings pitched, and has made a strong case to be Myers’ replacement. The 2004 third round draft pick from Northwestern started one game last season for the Phillies. Ironically enough, it was against the Mets. It was a less than impressive debut for Happ, as the lefty lasted just four innings, allowing seven hits and five runs. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, but Happ’s made enough of one this season to warrant a call-up.

Kris Benson: The story of Benson is murky, to say the least. We’ve seen plenty of reports about Benson missing starts and getting them pushed back. At times, it’s been frustrating to see a lack of progress in him. However, Benson started Sunday at Lehigh Valley, and threw 73 pitches, 49 for strikes. He gave up four runs and five hits in four innings, but was able to reach the low 90’s on the radar gun a couple of times. He was consistently in the upper 80’s. Benson hasn’t pitched in the Majors since 2006, but his long road back to the Show may be about over. Even if he doesn’t get the call-up for Friday, and it’s highly unlikely he does, he could replace another Phillies pitcher as the season progresses.

Carlos Carrasco: Either the Phillies are hiding something, or there’s bad news. Last night, Carrasco was scheduled to pitch for the Reading Phillies in Eastern League action. However, the Phils’ top pitching prospect was scratched from his start last night with shoulder tightness. So, either Carrasco is injured, or the Phils’ front office is planning on calling up the 21-year old to make the start tomorrow night. Carrasco is 5-7 with a 4.18 ERA in 97 innings pitched this season. As the top prospect, he’s been bantered about in trade rumors for the past few seasons. The Phillies will be making a mistake with him if they trade him, however. They need to remember that he’s just 21, and young pitchers sometimes take a little while to develop (See Floyd, Gavin). If he does miraculously get the call-up, it will be his first start in the Bigs.

So, those are the three main options for the Phillies as of now. Of course, by the time July 31st rolls around, there may be a new face in the rotation from the outside. For now, it’s just about trying to get to the 31st.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 11:47 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.