Up until today, Francisco Rosario had be having an excellent spring and there were rumors out of Phillies camp that he had a strong shot at the starting rotation if he could keep up his excellent play. He is known for having a mid-90s fastball, a good changeup and a nasty slider. The biggest knock against him has always been his control. He walks too many batters and he has trouble hitting his spots. When he's on, he can dominate but more often than not he simply can't locate his pitches. Also, at 27, he can no longer be considered a prospect but more of a minor league journeyman. That being said, he was given the start this afternoon against the Atlanta Braves. As with most the Phillies candidates for the 5th starter slot, Rosario was absolutely hammered by the Braves lineup. His line for the game was as follows:
Francisco Rosario
IP - 2.0
H - 3
R - 6
ER - 6
BB - 2
SO - 0
HR - 1
This outing transformed what had been an excellent early spring (1.04 ERA) to a typical Phillies 5th Starter (5.94 ERA in 10 2/3 IP)
So where do the Phillies go from here? If everything stays the same the Phillies will go into the season with a Starting Rotation of:
1. Brett Myers
2. Cole Hamels
3. Jamie Moyer
4. Kyle Kendrick
5. Adam Eaton
Both Eaton and Kendrick have been atrocious so far this spring but hopefully at least one of them can turn it around. Eaton has always had good stuff but has never been able to either stay healthy or be consistent for an entire season. Kendrick's secondary numbers do not suggest that he will put up a repeat performance of his 2007 effort (10-4, ERA under 4 in 20 starts).
It is still very early in Spring Training, and the Phillies still have 2 full weeks for a 5th starter to emerge from the pile of 6th and 7th starters they currently have in camp. At least the hitting has been decent so far this spring.
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2 comments:
"At least the hitting has been decent so far this spring." Really? By what standard? Little League? Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Pat Burrell, and Geoff Jenkins are all batting below the Mendoza line. The Phils need to start getting serious or they'll have another losing April. The pitching sure as hell isn't going to carry them.
Hitting in Spring Training is more about working on things like going the opposite way and laying off breaking balls, etc. The hitting will come around as most of the lineup consists of proven hitters. The Phillies pitching, as anyone would agree, is far more questionable. The Inquirer actually had an interesting article comparing Spring Training hitting statistics to regular season numbers and there is no real correlation with 70 point swings in either direction depending on the player.
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