Vincent Velasquez – Philadelphia Phillies
Vincent Velasquez, along with teammate Aaron Nola, have been huge on the mound for a Phillies team that no one saw contending this season. Part of the Ken Giles trade with the Houston Astros in the offseason, the big right-hander has the look of an ace in the making.
Velasquez is 5-1 with a 2.42 ERA through his first eight starts for the Phillies, and ranks among the top ten pitchers in all of Major League Baseball with a 1.7 fWAR, 2.45 FIP, a 0.99 WHIP, and 10.99 strikeouts per nine innings.
The California native burst onto the scene in April, throwing six scoreless innings and striking out nine in a 1-0 win over the New York Mets and following that up with a complete game, 16-strikeout blanking of the San Diego Padres. Far from a flash in the pan, Velasquez has also had two other starts holding the opposition scoreless.
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