Philadelphia Phillies take long term view with Spencer Howard
It is easy to overreact to the Philadelphia Phillies‘ decision to send Spencer Howard to their alternate site. He had not received much action, with just 4.1 innings pitched this season, and had been ineffective when he was in the game. Considering his demotion, and sporadic usage, one could even extrapolate that manager Joe Girardi had minimal confidence in Howard.
However, that is not the case. The Phillies are planning on building Howard up to a starter’s workload with the idea that he will contribute to the rotation by the end of May.
Philadelphia Phillies taking long term view with Spencer Howard
The original plan was for Howard to get his feet wet in the majors by spending the entire season in the bullpen. It is a plan that had worked for other pitchers, as they were able to get to see what it was like to be a major leaguer, and how to prepare, without having to take on a major role right off the bat.
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But that plan requires the competence of the major league staff. To this point, the Phillies have not had much success there. Chase Anderson has been mediocre at best, while Matt Moore has been completely ineffective. All of a sudden, the Phillies have a potential need in the rotation that they were not anticipating.
Enter Howard. He could be the answer that the Phillies had been searching for, a consensus top 100 prospect for the past two seasons with a solid minor league track record. His fastball and changeup are both considered plus pitches, playing well off of each other. He has a slider and a curve as well, with the slider a viable swing and miss offering. His curve could use some work, but may develop into a plus offering as well.
Chances are, he will have the opportunity to work on both his slider and curve while at the alternate site. There, he will be able to get that needed time to not only build up his endurance, but to work on those other offerings enough to make them the weapons they should be. Such a plan will not only help for this year, as the Phillies hope to return to the postseason, but in the future as well.
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The Philadelphia Phillies are taking a long term view with Spencer Howard. Sending him to their alternate site may be a blessing in disguise.