Whatever Cliff Lee's neck issues are, they seem to still exist as it has just been announced that Ethan Martin will have his contract purchased from Triple-A Lehigh Valley and make his major league debut tomorrow night. Martin came over in the Shane Victorino trade last summer and pitched well for Double-A Reading down the stretch. He instantly became a top ten prospect in the Phillies organization.
Martin's season for the Iron Pigs has been a bit of a mixed bag but lately he has been quite durable. In 21 starts this season Martin has 115.2 innings, a 4.12 ERA, 107 Ks, 67 BBs, and a 1.30 WHIP. If you buy into the quality start statistic (and hey, it stands for something), then Martin is your guy. Seven of his last ten starts have been such. He's mostly fastball, slider. His fastball sits mostly in the mid 93-95 mph but has hit as high as 97. I've tuned in to a few of his starts and it seems like he gets in pitch count trouble sometimes but for the most part, he's kept the team in the games he's pitched. Interesting to see a trade the Phillies made almost a year to the day ago coming to blossom now.
A corresponding move will be announced prior to tomorrow's game. My guess is it will be a DL stint for Cliff Lee which can be set back to his last start meaning if this is just a mild issue, he could be good to go by his next scheduled start. Hopefully nothing too serious.
