Phillies pitcher David Buchanan has a couple of nice starts under his belt in 2015. But beyond that, Buchanan has many terrible starts. One of them came last night, where Buchanan allowed an unheard of 11 earned runs in one-third of the second inning last night. The 11 runs in one inning was not a Phillies record, but it was really close: the last Phillies pitcher to give up 11 runs in one inning was Al Jurich in 1947. For the Diamondbacks, it was a new record for runs scored in one inning.
After the outing, Buchanan's record stands at 2-7 with a 9.00 earned run average. That means that for every inning he has pitched, Buchanan averages one earned run. After 10 starts and 49 innings, the Phillies cannot possibly continue to pitch Buchanan. The same could be said for Aaron Harang, whose second-half incarnation is not even close to the the first half. That could mean some early opportunities for some up and coming players.
Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reported that a promotion for pitching prospects could come soon:
A roster move could be coming soon, if for no other reason than the Phillies might want a fresh arm in the bullpen. But the Phillies also might want to have Buchanan, who has allowed 18 runs in 5 2/3 innings in his last two starts, work on a few things in Triple-A. If that happens, the Phillies could see one of the prospects they acquired in July a little earlier than anticipated.
"We're probably going to discuss it [Wednesday]," Phillies interim manager Pete Mackanin said. "We'll figure something out."
The one most likely to get a promotion could be Jerad Eickhoff, acquired for Cole Hamels from the Rangers.
Matt Provence of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs broadcast notes that Eickhoff has had sustained success at AAA:
Since 6/15, RHP Jerad Eickhoff @Eickough19 is 7-1, 2.70 in 11 G, 10 GS in AAA. He's now 12-4 overall in '15 – 44-26 (.629) in career #winner
— Matt Provence (@PigsRadio) August 11, 2015
Going 2-0 with a 0.65 ERA earned Eickhoff International League Player of the Week honors.
A more immediate concern is the Phillies bullpen. Give Justin De Fratus some credit. After De Fratus struggled badly on Tuesday and was declared "unavailable", he sucked it up and gave the Phillies the final two innings last night on a night where the bullpen had to pick up all but one and one-third innings. But the bullpen is tired and could use a boost in the immediate future.
The Phillies could go without a fifth starter until August 22, since the team is off both tomorrow and Monday. In the interim the Phillies could call up an arm for the bullpen. Nefi Ogando could be a candidate. Acquired in exchange for a month of utility man John McDonald, Ogando is on the 40-man roster, unlike many of the AAA arms. Ogando is 1-2 with a 2.95 ERA since a promotion to AAA in 13 appearances.
While the Phillies might prefer to wait until a September call-up for some of these players, they may not have a choice.
