By Jack Fritz, Sports Talk Philly editor 
When Jake Thompson got called up by the Philadelphia Phillies a couple weeks ago, most were a bit confused.
Thompson has been billed as a guy with some of the best raw stuff in the system with the potential of being a top three starter in a rotation. Bringing him up to just as "emergency relief" didn't really make much sense. But when you think a little deeper, the team's long-term plan for Thompson might have been shown in his brief return to the team.
The organization may have gotten cold feet on Thompson's chances to be a front-of-the-rotation starter, so they may be considering him as a possible future bullpen ace.
A few years ago, this would be laughed at and most people would be upset with this resolution for Thompson. But, baseball has changed dramatically, and the Phillies President, Andy MacPhail, was really one of the pioneers of this movement in Baltimore.
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During his reign in Baltimore, MacPhail had a quick trigger when converting his starters into bullpen pieces. His most notable converts? Koji Uehara, Brian Matusz and that Zach Britton guy. Uehara turned into one of the best relievers in baseball, Matusz had a couple good years for the Orioles out of the bullpen and, as we all know, Britton is one of the top three closers in the sport.
In this day in age, the "failed starter turned bullpen piece" is no longer a punchline. It's become paramount to find guys that have the ability to pitch during innings five through eight, throw multiple innings and get the ball to your closer. This movement became romanticized by Terry Francona and his use of Andrew Miller out of the bullpen last year. Miller, who is another failed starter, and was once the centerpiece of the Miguel Cabrera-to-the-Tigers trade, was creatively used as a multiple inning weapon by Francona unlike any pitcher before. Miller was already one of the top relievers in baseball going one inning, but what vaulted him into being arguably the most valuable reliever in the game was how Francona used him last postseason for the Cleveland Indians. Miller had the experience of going multiple innings from his days as a starter and that translated last season.
With starters not going as deep into games as they used to, finding guys that can effectively pitch the middle innings has never been more important and in today's game, the best pitcher out the bullpen may not even be your closer.
Where else has this caught on? Well, the Astros have turned Chris Devenski into an innings eating machine and Archie Bradley has gone from busted first round pick to the anchor of the Diamondbacks bullpen.
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That has to be the Phillies hope with Jake Thompson, now it's on him to deliver.
This year at Triple-A, Thompson has a 5.46 ERA in six starts. He didn't fair well last year at the MLB level, either, as he posted a 5.70 ERA, a 6.17 FIP and a 5.64 xFIP (per FanGraphs). His main problem? Locating that fastball. Inconsistent fastball location doesn't allow you to set up your other pitches and it forces you into bad counts which in turn leads to walks. Not being able to command your fastball is no bueno at the big league level and during his last two major league stints, Thompson has never shown the ability to consistently spot his fastball.
So, why Thompson?
Simply put, he is still only 23, and still has some major upside if he can ever find his fastball. He's not a total lost cause at this point and can still make this transition without it being too late to change him.
Also, I feel as if he's kind of getting the first crack at this from an organizational standpoint. Finding a guy that can thrive in this role is something every team should be looking for. Nick Pivetta showed some flashes as a starter so it's probably not his turn and no, this isn't a role for Adam Morgan. If not Thompson, I could see Mark Appel getting a look this way. Maybe if Appel transitioned into a bullpen role it could save both his arm and his career. Also by working in shorter bursts, we could see an even more explosive fastball from him. The only other pitcher I could see getting a shot at this right now would be Ben Lively. I don't know if he's ever going to be a major league starter but I think there's something there and maybe this is how he sticks at the big league level. But Thompson may get the first shot.
So, it looks to me like the Phillies have pretty much given up on "Jake Thompson the front-end starter" and are now transitioning him into what can hopefully be a valuable bullpen piece. MacPhail has employed this strategy before and was the main architect of some of the best bullpens in the game while in Baltimore. Now, with a major emphasis on the middle innings in major league baseball right now, hopefully the Phillies can do the same with Thompson.
