Give Kyle Kendrick a chance

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With the recent injury to Freddy Garcia, the Phillies are going to need to make a roster move when his spot comes up in the rotation. With the signing of Jose Mesa (vomit), they will go with an extra reliever until that point. Zagurski has options, so he could be sent down, but he’s thrown the ball well, I don’t know why they’d go that route. Clay Condrey fits the bill of fungible veteran who probably will clear waivers, so he’s my choice to get the tap. But that brings us to who should get a shot to start.


The choices, at this point, are less than inspiring.

James Happ = DL.

Matt Childers = mercenary, no real upside, plus it would require a 40 man move for a guy likely to only make one disastrous start.

Zach Segovia: After experiencing some success at AA, he’s found AAA to be much less inviting, and his lack of a strikeout pitch has finally caught up to him. 67.2 IP, 4.92 ERA, 81 H, 22 BB, 20 K. Ouch. I think it might be time to start using him as a reliever and figure out if he’ll have worth there, because I don’t see him having much worth as a major league starter.

JD Durbin: Durbin, the guy who was waived by 54 different teams in 2 weeks before being claimed and waived by the Phillies, hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire at Ottawa. 40.1 IP, 48 H, 15 BB, 31 K

Eude Brito: No thanks.

then we head to the treasure trove that is our AA rotation

Landon Jacobsen: See Childers, Matt.

Matt Maloney: Maloney really hasn’t shown much this year at Reading. 67 IP, 68 H, 27 BB, 55 K

Tim McClaskey and Heath Totten: See Matt Childers and Landon Jacobsen

So that brings us to….

Kyle Kendrick: 81.1 IP, 82 H, 18 BB, 50 K

Kendrick, over the last year and a half, has made great strides. He’s cut down on his walks, and this season his 2.00 per 9 number is outstanding. He doesn’t miss a lot of bats, but he does keep the ball down, and has allowed only 3 HR in 81 innings.

I’ll admit, none of these options look really palatable. Kendrick will need to be added to the 40 man roster, as will all of the above except Brito and Segovia. Personally, I’d remove Condrey or Brian Sanches, as neither guy is likely to ever be an impact player for the team. Sanches will probably clear waivers, and I’m convinced Condrey would clear again. Kendrick has the most upside of anyone on this list (healthy options at least, I still like Happ), and he probably could pitch as well as Garcia has been pitching. Knowing the Phillies, it will be Segovia, because it doesn’t require outside the box thinking. We’ll see what happens..

16 thoughts on “Give Kyle Kendrick a chance”

  1. One name you didn’t consider is Bubba Nelson, who has been
    starting in AAA lately. In fact, he pitched 5 innings without
    giving up an earned run in his last outing. (Incidentally, I’ve
    given a complete rationale for this choice at philliesphans.com.)
    Unlike any of the names you listed above, including Kendrick, he
    he has decent K/IP numbers. He’s still only 25 and, given his
    history, should be hungry. I say give him a chance. We have
    very little to lose. I don’t want to see them ruining Kendrick
    (like they have others) with a premature callup. If they call up
    Nelson, they could move Kendrick to AAA to see how he deals with
    hitters at that level. Let him continue his deliberate progress through the system.

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  2. The thing that worries me about Nelson is his control. In the last three years, he’s been closer to 4 walks per 9 than 2 walks per 9. I think that’s something which comes back to bite you at the highest level. Umpires don’t give generous strike zones to unproven rookies, and if you nibble in the minors, you’re going to get into real trouble in the majors. Kendrick doesn’t appear to be a nibbler, he just throws his hard sinker down in the zone.

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  3. Come on, James, you’re beginning to nibble…

    Look at Nelson’s numbers this year, and compare his numbers to
    Kendrick’s.

    Hey, I’m not a big Nelson fan. I just don’t think Kendrick is
    ready to be thrown to the wolves.

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  4. I’m just not sold. I still think that control/command is just as, if not more important than strikeout numbers. A guy who is near 4 walks per 9 in the minors is likely to experience a bit of trouble getting out major league hitters. I don’t know exactly what Nelson throws, but if he doesn’t have a major league pitch that grades out as plus, whether it be a curve/slider or changeup, I don’t see how he’s going to retire major league hitters. Kendrick has good pure stuff, especially a sinker, and that’s the reason for the low K rate. However, he has superior command and ground ball tendencies, and that’s why I think I prefer him. If Nelson had plus stuff, he’d have already gotten a shot. As it is, he’s been in the minors since 2000, and has pitched at AA and above since 2003 without getting to the majors. I’d have to think that there is something there that is preventing him from making the next step, and I think it’s his spotty control.

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  5. Aside from the W/L, Kendrick’s 2007 at Reading is reminding me of Segovia’s 2006 at Reading. Results are good, but the K rate is worrisome. I’m fine with giving him a shot, though.

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  6. None of these options are any good. Can’t be worse than today though. As far as a 40-man move, I’m pretty sure that all we need to do is transfer Mathieson on the 60-day DL and we’re fine. Not positive though.

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  8. Well im glad we’re sticking to the integrity of a board for prospects around here 😀

    so how about that Costanzo huh? seems to be heating up a bit.

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  10. 950AM here in Philly is reporting that Kendrick will get the call.

    btw, I was just joking about the un-related thing. It didnt bother me.

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  11. It bothered me, no worries. I’ve been doing this since late December, everyone has really played nice in the comments section, but I do want to keep it related to Phillies prospects. Obviously, we can talk about how prospects are doing FOR the Phillies, but Pat Burrell hasn’t been a prospect in quite some time, so discussions on him don’t seem to be well placed here.

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  12. James:

    Will you be posting on the main page when the phils draft picks sign? Have any signed yet that you know of??

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  14. Hoping Carrasco and Outman fill the Reading pitching slot(s) soon…to ready them for the AFL (maybe along with Mathieson and Overholt in a few weeks) together with Happ and Bisenius…and, possibly, Castro.Together with Kendrick they are all candidates for our staff in ’08 since Lieber and Garcia will be gone and Myers could continue in the closer’s role.

    That’s 6 guys getting ready for ’08…which we really will need!

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