Before the start of spring training, the Phillies starting rotation was supposed to be a strength. But after dealing with injuries to Ranger Suárez and top prospect Andrew Painter, the club had to rethink their rotation. And in doing so, Phillies starters have been a mixed bag the first two times through the rotation.
The starting staff is still headlined by Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, but each of them have only looked okay so far. The other three spots in the rotation belong to Bailey Falter, Taijuan Walker, and Matt Strahm.
Falter wasn’t a lock to make the rotation this spring, but Painter’s injury put him there. Walker, who signed a four-year deal with the club during the offseason, has struggled with his command early on. And Strahm, who was signed during the winter to be a left-handed option out of the bullpen, was thrown into the rotation because of Suárez’s injury.
Nola was given the ball on Opening Day. It was his sixth consecutive Opening Day start and things did not go well. After a solid first three innings, things got out of hand in the bottom of the fourth against the Rangers. Nola gave up five runs in that inning and was removed from the game before the inning was over.
The former first-round pick’s second start of the year came in the Bronx against the Yankees. He was much more effective there. Nola tossed six innings against New York and was charged with three earned runs, while striking out five and walking one.
It was suggested that Nola’s struggles in his first start were due to the new pitch clock. The Phillies used a stop watch during the right-hander’s bullpens before his second start of the year. When asked if that helped, Nola said, “What’s going to get us used to the pitch clock is getting out there over and over again in a game situation.”
Nola was also asked if he was more comfortable pitching with a clock in his second start. He responded by saying he was and that the more he gets acclimated to it, the more he can use it to his advantage.
Zack Wheeler followed up Nola’s Opening Day start with a less than ideal outing. He pitched 4 1/3 innings against the Rangers and surrendered five runs – four of which were earned. Wheeler only walked one batter, but on a day where the strike zone was inconsistent, he struggled with his command overall. Out of his 94 pitches, only 55 were strikes.
The veteran right-hander was then on the mound for the Phillies home opener. He looked a little better. Wheeler only allowed two earned runs in his 5 1/3 innings, but struggled with his command again as he walked three batters.
One important thing to point out about Wheeler’s two starts outside of his command issues, is how his velocity dipped throughout both of them. The one-time All-Star began each outing sitting 95-97 miles per hour with his four-seam fastball. But by the end of the outings, he was only reaching 94-95.
A decrease in velocity over the course of a start isn’t new when it comes to Wheeler. It’s something he experienced at the start of last season and during the Phillies postseason run in the fall. It is still something to monitor, though, as Wheeler is coming off a heavy 2022 workload and isn’t getting any younger.
Falter has been solid so far for the Phillies. In his two starts, he’s pitched 10 1/3 innings allowing just three earned runs. He hasn’t walked a hitter, either. However, Falter has allowed 11 hits and has been hit hard at times.
The 25-year-old left-hander has been able to work around those hard hits, though. He even retired the last 12 batters he faced in his outing against the Reds.
Falter has altered his pitch usage so far this year. It is only a small sample size, but he has thrown his curveball 31 percent of the time in his first two starts. Last season he used that pitch 16.9 percent of the time. The lefty uses his curve as the primary secondary pitch against right-handed hitters – who have had success against him in the past. Working that pitch into his repertoire more often could lead to more success against opposite-handed hitters.
Walker has struggled in his starts, especially with his command. In his first inning of the year against the Yankees, Walker threw 33 pitches and walked three hitters. He was asked about that afterwards and replied, “I was a little amped up in the first inning. … I think it was just trying to be too cute.”
The 30-year-old right-hander had command issues again in his second start of the year on Easter Sunday. Walker pitched 4 2/3 innings against the Reds and walked five batters. Out of his 105 pitches, only 64 were strikes.
The veteran right-hander’s splitter usage is up in his very short tenure with the Phillies. It was his most effective pitch last season with the Mets, but it hasn’t been the same this year as hitters have a .286 batting average against it.
Overall, Walker has thrown nine innings. He has 10 strikeouts, eight walks, and has allowed six earned runs.
Strahm, the club’s fifth starter, has been their best arm so far this season. He’s made three total appearances, two of which have been starts. The veteran left-hander has thrown nine innings with nine punch outs and two walks as a starter. He’s also given up just five hits and has yet to allow a run.
The 31-year-old has been on a pitch count in each of his starts. He only threw 61 pitches in his first start against the Yankees and 59 in his second against the Marlins. Strahm has attacked hitters by pounding the strike zone. Out of the 120 pitches he’s thrown as a starter, 84 have been strikes.
As noted above, the Phillies signed Strahm to be a left-handed reliever during the offseason, but numerous injuries resulted in him being put in the rotation. When asked about how he felt about being in the rotation after his start against the Yankees, Strahm said, “I refuse to call myself a reliever or starter. I’m just a pitcher, so whatever they need and whenever they need it [I’m willing to do it].”
In total, the Phillies rotation has pitched 47 2/3 innings through the team’s first 10 games. They’ve allowed 23 earned runs, which is good for a 4.34 ERA.
When it comes to reinforcements, the Phillies have recently provided updates on the previously mentioned Suárez and Painter, along with Nick Nelson and Cristopher Sánchez.
Painter is far away from throwing off a mound, let alone pitching in a big league game. However, Suárez is going to throw a bullpen session on Tuesday. Sánchez threw four no-hit innings in a rehab outing with the Ironpigs and Nelson pitched in a simulated game on Monday.
While Nelson and Sánchez are considered rotational depth, Suárez is an important piece to the Phillies rotation and could be back by the end of the month.
No matter how things shake out when it comes to return dates for the pitchers currently on the injured list, the starters that are healthy will need to settle in to help the club win games early in the year to help prevent a slow start like last season.
Destiny Lugardo contributed to this report.
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