Remember yesterday when I mentioned the long list of injured Phillies pitches and those being called up to replace them? Well now that our best starting pitcher is headed to the DL, who will replace him? The obvious answer is that no one can really replace the excellent performance we’ve gotten from Hamels this year, but there are a few candidates.

JA Happ: He’s been throwing better of late, control is still spotty, but he’s one of the few options we have in the upper minors

Carlos Carrasco: I really hope they don’t go this direction. Carrasco has really struggled of late at Reading, but threw a gem last night. I’d let him build on that, and if they want to use him at the ML level, I’d wait till September 1 when the rosters expand and put him in the bullpen where they can manage his innings.

Andrew Carpenter: Carpenter has been our more reliable starting pitching prospect since June 1, but he’s only in Clearwater, and that seems like a big jump, even for a polished college starter.

Happ really seems like the only viable option, unless they decide to use newly promoted Fabio Castro as a starter and then bring up a pitcher from Reading or Ottawa to use in relief, maybe an Anderson Garcia or  Joe Bisenius, even though he’s struggled. Remember, moves like this are complicated based on the management of the 40 man roster, so if they choose to bring someone up that isn’t on the 40 man roster, it will probably lead to them having to outright someone off the current 40 man.

Who do you think should start in place of Hamels, and who do you think should take the last spot on the current 25 man roster when he hits the DL?

Though it wasn’t his prettiest game of the year the bullpen picked him up and helped get Andrew Carpenter his record tying 15th win of the year. Andrew joins Ezequiel Astacio of the 2003 Clearwater Phillies as the only Clearwater pitcher to have ever earned 15 wins in a season. Andrew currently has a record of 15-6 and is 8-2 since the all-star break with an ERA of 2.22 over that stretch.

Continue reading Andrew Carpenter Picks Up Record Tying 15th Win in Clearwater →

I hope Fabio has paid up his insurance premiums, as he’s the next guy to walk through the revolving door in the Phillies bullpen, a door which has ultimately led to the trainer’s room and then the disabled list. Mike Zagurski got the tap when Eaton went on the DL, and was injured almost immediately. Enter Yoel Hernandez, and he gets hurt almost immediately. So, Fabio, best of luck!

Today’s question; do you see Castro as a starter or reliever going forward? If he were to pitch a full season in the big leagues next year, what kind of numbers do you see him putting up?

We sometimes get caught up in ranking guys on prospect lists, wondering what so and so will become, etc etc, and sometimes we forget that not every guy in the minors is a prospect, and not every guy is going to make it to the big leagues. Many of these guys know that, yet they continue to play in hopes of one day getting their shot, much like Chris Coste did last season. For every Chris Coste, there are hundreds of guys who won’t make it, but they keep plugging along in hopes of one day getting their shot. Donald Leypoldt, a freelance writer from the Manchester Silkworms of the NECBL, and he passed along a nice article he wrote on Gary Burnham, so I felt I’d share it here. Your feedback, as always, is appreciated.

Continue reading Nice Gary Burnham piece →