The Vince Velasquez Experiment Needs to be Over – Again
Before the world of Philadelphia Phillies baseball was paused thanks to the carelessness of the Miami Marlins and the ineptitude of Commissioner Rob Manfred, and before their third game of the season was even halfway over, the team appeared to be moving in the right direction.
Sure, they lost the opener, but a bounce-back performance the next day showed what this team is capable of.
Then on Sunday, Bryce Harper gave the Phils a three-run lead in the first inning with his first home run of the season.
Jay Bruce would make it 4-0 after tripling in Jean Segura that same inning. The energy was palpable, and a four-run lead should allow the “new and improved” Vince Velasquez to pitch comfortably, right?
Wrong.
Velasquez would let up two home runs in the top of the second, allowing the pesky Marlins to tie it back up. Just like that, he was back to the old Vince Velasquez.
He would only go three innings, striking out four, walking two, and allowing three hits and four earned runs. Any Phillies fan could have told you that’s what was coming from Velasquez.
So much has been made this offseason of his work with new pitching coach Bryan Price. He was getting his confidence back, learning from his past failures, and adding to his pitch repertoire. With a good Spring Training – and Summer Camp – he had worked his way into the starting rotation once again.
After Sunday, there is no doubt that the Vince Velasquez experiment officially needs to end.
The Phillies keep expecting him to be the same guy who struck out 16 in his second start with the team, way back in 2016. But if the four-plus seasons since then show us anything, it’s that he is not that guy. Instead, he’s the guy with a career ERA of 4.71, and the guy who has let up a staggering 1.5 home runs per nine innings, many of them daggers to the heart. Yes, he can strike guys out with the best of them. But he’s never in games long enough to use that to his advantage.
Velasquez is better suited for the bullpen. There, he can throw as hard as he can for an inning, and not have to worry about lasting late into the games.
The bullpen, with its patchwork of arms, needs help, and Velasquez could excel in that role.
The good news is, Spencer Howard is waiting in the wings. He’s the number 34 prospect in all of baseball, and once he’s not on the roster for five days this season so the Phillies can manipulate his service team and delay his free agency by a year, he should be called up to take Velasquez’ spot in the rotation.
Even Harper recognizes the need for Howard, saying it’s a problem if he’s not in the rotation by the sixth game of the season. And he’s not wrong. Howard looked great during Summer Camp and is clearly deserving of the fifth spot in the rotation. Even if he struggles or gets hit around, he needs to stay in the rotation all season. We need to find out if Howard is truly a part of this ball club for the years to come, and the only way to do that is to get him in there now.
We know what Velasquez can do, and it’s not great.
That experiment has to end, and the Spencer Howard era needs to begin.
Featured Image: Chris Szagola/The Associated Press
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