It really is as simple as this: if Andrew Painter hadn't overworked himself in the minors and didn't need Tommy John surgery, the Phillies would have Top 5 all-MLB rotation this year. And that's with no disrespect intended towards Cristopher Sanchez, who's been decent if imperfect since coming up. When Aaron Nola, Zach Wheeler, Taijuan Walker and Ranger Suarez are that good, doing just alright is gonna make you feel inadequate comparatively.
The Phillies are in second place in the NL East, have a great spot in the Wild Card race, and get to play teams like the Pirates and Marlins coming up. What's been interesting to watch has been this current series with the Orioles, where all the games have been close, and most have been decided by a late run or extra-innings move by somebody like Alec Bohm or Colton Cowser. These are two great teams neck-and-neck, and it's been awesome to see them try and outmatch each other. As I write this the Phils are looking like they're finishing with the series win, but you can never tell honestly.
The Phillies were able to hold on to momentum for most of June and early July, and have looked relatively decent since the break, in order to stave off the Mets and Marlins, who've had debilitating losing streaks in those periods. A lot of that comes down to the starting pitching, which has a 3.84 cumulative ERA, honestly lightened by Cristopher Sanchez's surprisingly low 2.98 ERA. The bulk of the rotation is made up of solid innings-eaters like Nola and Wheeler, plus Taijuan Walker, who shook off a slow start to become one of the team's best pitchers this year. Walker has been a tad inconsistent since his return to consistency in 2020, but he's been excellent when on, and the Phillies have been experiencing an excellent campaign from him, with an 11-4 record and a 4.06 ERA. Walker may not be the flashiest of these starters, but he's allowed the least amount of hits, and the least amount of runs, of the three who've been active since Opening Day. I'm very happy with how he's done for the Phils, as I worried he'd resemble the shoddiest of his Mets tenure with us.
We're also seeing a fairly strong campaign from Aaron Nola in what could be his last season in Philadelphia. As the team seems to be competing through the end of the month, I doubt he'll be ending the season anywhere else, and it will be interesting to see if Sam Fuld tries to keep Nola around after the season. I think it'd be nice if he stuck around, he's certainly been a fan favorite here, but I also know he might want a big contract somewhere starrier, so that might happen as well. And considering that we're likely without Painter for another damned year, it'd be nice to have more starting security.
Speaking of starting security, there's a feeling that Fuld might go for a fifth starter at the deadline to take the pressure off Sanchez. While Syndergaard wasn't worth his weight in gold last year, I'd be down to see the team net someone cool for the stretch run. Maybe we bring back Drew Smyly? Maybe we give Michael Lorenzen a shot? Maybe we aim higher and go for a bigger gun a seller's auctioning off? It's fun to dream, even though I've been disappointed in July before.
Coming Tomorrow- Ironically, one of the potential rotation additions I mentioned.
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