Phillies: Vince Velasquez shift to bullpen needs to happen in 2018

The Philadelphia Phillies need all of the starting pitching help they can get,  making the apparent decision to finally Vince Velasquez to the bullpen.

A few years ago, the Philadelphia Phillies shipped prized closer Ken Giles to the Houston Astros for a package of players.

The most successful of the group thus far is pitcher Vince Velasquez. Although he has yet to indeed break out at the MLB level, the hard-throwing righty won’t turn 26 until mid-2018.

Velasquez has the stuff to become an outstanding big league pitcher. Unfortunately, injuries have played a significant role in holding him back.

In his two years with the Phillies, Velasquez has made only 39 starts. The Phillies have yet to test him out in a relief role, but it’s time they do.

Starting pitching is the Phillies’ primary need at the moment. Only number one starter Aaron Nola performed well enough last year to secure a spot in the rotation.

While Velasquez will surely open 2018 on the 25-man roster barring injury, his best place would be in the bullpen.

The Phillies have already begun to build an incredible relief corps. Hector Neris will return as the closer while aiming to repeat last year’s success. He’ll be joined by veterans Pat Neshek and Tommy Hunter.

Neshek began 2017 with the Phillies before he was dealing with the Colorado Rockies. Next year will be Hunter’s first trip through Philadelphia, after a perfect season with the Tampa Bay Rays.

As we’ve seen countless times, teams cannot win without a good bullpen. The Phillies are building this, and the last piece they need to add is moving Velasquez there.

Since debuting in 2015 with the Astros, Velasquez has averaged 9.7 strikeouts per nine. As a reliever, this number would likely go up. It’s not the reason he should move out from the starting role anyway. The primary purpose of this career shift is to save him from getting hurt by limiting his innings.

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Thus far, Velasquez has shown that he’s not the type of pitcher to go the distance. Lots of walks and strikeouts increase his pitch-count on a regular basis.

Last year, for instance, Velasquez averaged less than five innings per start. When a starter fails to reach more than five frames, it’s time to reconsider their role.

Ideally, the Phillies move Velasquez to the bullpen in preparation to make him a closer down the line or perhaps a perfect setup man.

If they can land two good starting pitchers before the 2019 season, they should be set with an outstanding roster.

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Rather than wait around for Velasquez to continue his struggles as a starter and possibly blow out his arm, it’s Gabe Kapler and this new regime’s job to adjust his role. The longer they wait, the more chance a worst case scenario comes true.