Vance who?
Vance Worley was selected in the third round of the 2008 MLB Amateur Player Draft.
He became one of the Phillies’ top pitching prospects, and perhaps the top pitching prospect after Kyle Drabek, son of former Cy Young Award Winner, Doug Drabek, was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in the Roy Halladay deal.
After pitching his way through the minor leagues, he made his major league debut in a relief appearance v. the Colorado Rockies, pitching a scoreless ninth inning and recording two punch-outs. In his first major league start he was a victim of lack of run support even though he only allowed two earned runs with six hits.
In his short big-league career he is 1-1 with a 1.38 ERA.
Worley features a two-seam and four-seam fastball, a slider, curve ball, and cutting fastball. He’d be in a rotation with four great starters to take the pressure off him. He’d learn from great starters and be the young infusion that the aging Phillies may need.
The choice of the fifth spot could be an inconsistent Joe Blanton, or a very inconsistent Kyle Kendrick. Blanton and Kendrick had a combined 20-16 record with 218 K’s. However, each had a ERA over 4.70 (Kendrick—4.73 and Blanton—4.82).
Big Joe Blanton is 30 years old and Kyle Kendrick is 26, but Worley could be a better pitcher in the long run, but only time would tell.
On a side note, if you don’t put him in the rotation, put him in the ‘pen. I mean, anyone—or anything—is better than Danys Baez.
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