It has been a few weeks since we have checked in on some former Phillies from the last couple of years. The biggest ones of course being Jimmy Rollins, Marlon Byrd, AJ Burnett, Antonio Bastardo, Kyle Kendrick among others. When the Phillies traded Rollins, Byrd and Bastardo, they received some talented young pitching in return and for the most part, that talent has been performing well in the minor leagues. The kicker is that most of the players the Phils parted ways with aren't finding too much success with their new teams. Let's take a look at how some of the ex-Phillies are doing a little more than a month into the regular season.
A.J. Burnett (6 GS, 1-1, 1.66 ERA) - After battling through a hernia last season for the Phillies, posting a 4.59 ERA in 34 starts, Burnett has been a big bright spot in the Pirates rotation this season. The 16-year veteran hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his six starts this season and has lasted six or more innings in five out of the six. In addition to that, Burnett has struck out seven or more in half of his outings thus far this season. Burnett's most recent outing came against the Reds on May the 7th. In seven innings, the 38-year-old right-hander gave up two runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out four. The Pirates (13-15) currently sit in fourth place in the NL Central, eight games back of the Cardinals (21-7).
Kyle Kendrick (6 GS, 1-4, 8.73 ERA) - Oh how the mighty have fallen. Kind of. After shutting out the Brewers over seven innings in the Rockies opener, the former Phillies back of the rotation starter has fallen back to earth….quickly. In his five starts since the season opener, Kendrick has given up eight runs twice, six runs twice and four runs once. His last start was on May 3rd against the new-look Padres. Kendrick suffered his fourth loss after going five innings, giving up six runs in Colorado's 8-6 loss in San Diego. Kyle never blew anyone away when he was in red pinstripes, but I certainly wasn't expecting him to be this bad for the Rockies. At this point, he might want to see if they're willing to trade him to Japan for a hot dog eater.
Jimmy Rollins (.162/.246/.305) - After looking at that slash line, there's no doubt the Phillies won this deal, even if the prospects don't pan out in the long run. J-Roll has been unable to get anything going at the plate, tallying just 17 hits in 105 at-bats, driving in 11 runs and striking out 22 times. His defense has also taken a step back. Rollins has committed five errors so far this season. He had seven through the entire 2014 campaign with the Phillies. His fielding percentage sits at .949, well below his career .983%. Fortunately for the Dodgers, Rollins slow start hasn't kept them from sitting atop the NL West standings at 18-10, four games ahead of the Padres (15-15).
Marlon Byrd (.221/.257/.432) - Though a .221 average may be nothing that grabs the eye, it is a big improvement over where his was back in the middle of April, in the mid .100's. Back on April 23rd, Byrd was hitting .127 and has since raised hit average nearly 100 points. He's had a great month of May so far, hitting .444 (8-for-18) with a double, triple, three home runs and six RBI's. Four out of the five games he's played in May have been multi-hit games for the 37-year-old outfielder. The Reds sit seven games behind the first place Cardinals at 14-14.
Antonio Bastardo (6 IP, 0-0, 7.50 ERA) - With Jake Diekman struggling to be effective as the left-handed setup guy in Philadelphia, a former southpaw of the Phils bullpen is also having issues this season for the Pirates. In just six innings pitched this season for Pittsburgh, Bastardo has given up five earned runs. Most of his appearances have been less than an inning on the mound and he has not been very impressive even then. In his 10 appearances for the Bucs, only three of them have been Pirates victories.
Ryan Madson (15 IP, 0-0, 1.80 ERA) - After missing a ton of time due to elbow issues, Ryan Madson seems to have completed his goal of a comeback with the Royals. He's been effective for them out of the bullpen, allowing just three earned runs in 15 innings of work. His command is something to note as the former Phillies closer has struck out 16 and walked just three. Of the three runs he's given up, two of them have come via the long ball. Opposing hitters are averaging just .143 against him. Madson has found himself on a good team as well, with the Royals on top of the AL Central by 0.5 games with an 18-10 record.
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
