Whose the Fifth Starter?

January 8th, 2010 | by joeb03 |

There is only one question mark surrounding the makeup of the 2010 starting rotation. Already penciled in are Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Joe Blanton, and J.A. Happ. With Pedro Martinez gone, who is going to assume the unenviable role of the fifth starter?

The Candidates

1) Jamie Moyer is probably considered the favorite to rejoin the rotation. After getting booted from the fifth spot in favor of Martinez later in the season, he pitched fairly well in long relief duty. Unfortunately, his 2009 campaign prematurely ended due to a groin injury. Moyer made no secret of his displeasure from being removed from the rotation to begin with, but his play gave the Phillies no choice. Now a year older (47), just how much can Moyer bring to the table?

Another point to consider is that Moyer is set to undergo surgery on his meniscus Monday, leaving his status for spring training and opening day in question. Even if the Phillies plan to hand Moyer his job back when he returns, who will hold his spot in line? And if that person is pitching well, could you make that decision anyway? I would have to think at this point in his career Moyer is not guaranteed anything, especially with his atrocious ‘09 campaign and recent string of injuries.

More after the jump…

2) Kyle Kendrick made three separate appearances on the Phillies roster this year. All were for limited duty as he spent the majority of his ‘09 season pitching for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. In 143 innings with the Triple-A club, Kendrick compiled a 9-7 record with a 3.34 ERA. His WHIP was a respectable 1.18, having yielded just 35 walks. In Philadelphia, he amassed 26.1 innings with a 3.34 ERA and 1.37 WHIP.

I’ve never been the biggest Kendrick fan, but with another year of development behind him, he is likely a better option than Moyer at this point. Neither are strikeout pitchers, but Kendrick is by far the better ground-ball pitcher, an asset when you play half your games at Citizens Bank Park. My beef with the 6′3, 25-year old is his mound presence. After giving up a cheap hit or watching his teammates commit an error, he looks visibly shaken. He then proceeds to give up a rally and finds himself out of the game. If he can get his mental approach down, then his back-end-of-the-rotation stuff will suffice at the No. 5 starter position.

3) Andrew Carpenter was the Phillies 2nd-round draft pick in 2006 and gradually worked his way up to Triple-A and even got a spot start with the big league club. In 156 innings with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Carpenter went 11-6 with 3.35 ERA and 120 strikeouts. Unfortunately, scouts are bearish on his potential. Here is one view on the 24-year old:

“Carpenter has been around for what seems like forever, and appears to have kind of hit the wall in terms of where he’s going. His stuff is fringy, his command is fringy, and he throws across his body, which is a red flag in terms of future injury. He probably doesn’t have the stuff needed to start, especially in a tough park like CBP and on a championship caliber team. Because his stuff is fringy, he doesn’t necessarily have the best profile for a reliever. He needs to find 2 secondary pitches he can trust, tighten up his arsenal, and focus on his command and he might make it as a reliever.”

His 6′3, 225 lb. frame is perfect for a right-handed power pitcher, but Carpenter’s stuff is not enough to warrant a job in the bigs. At least he has proven to be successful at Triple-A, which bodes well if the Phillies need to bring him in for a spot start again.

4) Ryan Vogelsong is a 32-year old journeyman who spent last year pitching for the Orix Buffaloes in the Nippon Professional Baseball League of Japan. Kinda sad that we’re considering this guy to be a starter on our world championship-contending team, but let’s take a closer look. In two years of Japanese baseball, he went 10-10 with a 4.08 ERA and .278 batting average against. Next….

5) An outside candidate. The Phillies are apparently still on the lookout for another starter and a lefty reliever, but there is not much to choose from. Amaro has had contact with the agents for Chien-Ming Wang and Ben Sheets, but their current asking price is likely too much. Brett Myers is still hanging around, but it’s clear to me that Amaro does not want to bring back the enigmatic righty. Also to consider is Pedro Martinez, who has voiced his hope to play a full season in 2010, and his preference to stay with the Phillies. His asking price is also out of Amaro’s range, however.

With a few more months until spring training gets underway, Amaro and manager Charlie Manuel can save this discussion for a later date. But the list of candidates above is not exactly a “who’s who” of quality major league pitchers, and Philly fans everywhere are going to continue to ask, “Why did you get rid of Cliff Lee”, which would have made the ‘09 NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Happ the fifth starter going into 2010. Oh well…

Rating: 10.0/10 (3 votes cast)

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