When will pitching prospect Spencer Howard’s bright future in Philly begin?
Like everyone else in the Phillies organization, new pitching coach Bryan Price has been impressed with right-hander Spencer Howard.
“If this kid is the guy we think he is – and we do – then he’s going to have a really nice future in Philadelphia,” Price said.
So when will that future begin?
Months ago, before baseball was shut down by the coronavirus pandemic, Phillies officials envisioned Howard getting to the majors at some point in 2020.
It wasn’t going to happen at the start of the season – for a couple of reasons. First, after pitching just 92⅓ innings and dealing with shoulder tendinitis last season, Howard’s workload was going to monitored closely in 2020. The Phillies were going to pull him back early in the season so he could use his bullets – in the majors – later in the season. Pulling in the reins on Howard early in the season would have also allowed the Phillies to push back the pitcher’s potential free agency by a year. That’s not a popular practice with players – and it might be addressed by the union in negotiations for the next Collective Bargaining Agreement – but it makes sense from a front-office perspective.
Baseball’s shutdown has eliminated the need to limit Howard’s workload for 2020. If he was part of the Phillies’ starting rotation for the entire 60-game season, he would make about a dozen starts. No problem.
But the whole service-time, extra-year-of-control matter still exists. That’s why the Phillies might decide against putting Howard on the active, 30-man roster when the season opens a week from Friday night. The team could hold Howard back six days before adding him to the roster and therefore preserve the extra year of control. In those six days, Howard would probably pitch once and with early-season innings limits on all pitchers, he’d probably max out about 65 pitches or four innings in that outing. Trading a year of control for four innings – even in a short season when every game is magnified – makes little sense. So, it won’t be surprising if Howard continues to build innings with the satellite club in Lehigh Valley for at least a week or so when the Phillies start the season.
But that doesn’t mean Howard won’t be around for the bulk of the season.
He’ll get here.
Probably quickly.
And if he performs well, he’ll stay – possibly with a significant spot in the rotation.
“I would really hope and expect to see him pitching here if not on opening day, then at some point in time because he really needs the work and I think he’s ready to compete at this level,” said Price, who was previously pitching coach in Seattle, Arizona and Cincinnati. (He also managed the Reds.)
Howard, who turns 24 in two weeks, has been touted as having top-of-the-rotation potential.
Price, however, is reluctant to comment on Howard’s ceiling and that’s probably wise. Howard was selected in the second round of the 2017 draft. He has reached 100 innings in the minors just once. He will control his own career trajectory. And he needs to be on the mound to do that.
“You don’t really want to talk about repetitions or the importance of workload, but you can’t turn a blind eye to it either,” Price said.
“I stay away from (commenting on a pitcher’s ceiling) and I’ll tell you why. Because when you start talking about assigning expectations, especially if you rank like No. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 – we don’t know what these guys are until they come up here and perform.
“We know that (Howard) would be a top-end prospect in any organization because he has power, he throws strikes, he’s athletic, he has a really, really good changeup and breaking ball. The key component there is stuff with strikes, stuff with command. So the sky is the limit.
“In the same respect, you have to get to the big leagues and perform at this level before you define where you are: starter or reliever, No. 1 or No. 5, or somewhere in between. I’ll reserve judgment on that and let him pitch his way wherever he gets to.”
In other words, the ball is in Howard’s hand and he will control the trajectory of his career.
He next gets the ball on Thursday when he’s scheduled to pitch three innings in an intrasquad game.
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