Philadelphia Phillies: Predicting the 2020 rotation
By Ben Fadden
The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of talent yet again going into the 2020 MLB season, so what will the starting rotation look like?
Joe Girardi was hired to be the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, and he will have a lot of great players in the lineup. Didi Gregorius was added to a squad that includes Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, and J.T. Realmuto. But what about the pitching?
The back end of the rotation will be up for grabs in Spring Training, so without further ado here are the five starters who I believe will be in the Opening Day rotation at the end of March in Miami.
6. . . . Vince Velasquez. 5. player
The fifth spot in the rotation in my mind is going to come down to Vince Velasquez and Nick Pivetta. Velasquez would be the guy I would go with because he is more durable than Pivetta.
Nick Pivetta had a lost season in 2019, as he had an ERA above five and started just 13 games after being named the #2 starter at the beginning of the 2019 season.
The Phillies would go with Velasquez because of his potential. Despite some inconsistency, he does have a good fastball and if he could work on his breaking ball he could be a reliable pitcher.
I think that the Phillies have a good enough lineup that all the five starter in the rotation has to do is keep his club in the ballgame for five or six solid innings.