Vince Velasquez has only started two games for the Philadelphia Phillies, but the man now affectionately nicknamed ''Vinny from Philly'' seems to have taken on a sort of folk hero status with the team's fans.
Through two games, Velasquez has a 0.00 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP, largely propelled by his 16-strikeout complete-game-shutout Thursday afternoon.
While Velasquez is off to a red-hot start — pun definitely not intended or related to their new alternate jerseys — the man that he was the key piece in a trade for this off-season, Ken Giles, if off to a rough start with the Houston Astros.
Giles, who had just a 1.49 ERA in his first two big-league seasons with the Phillies, has a 12.27 ERA in his first four appearances for his new team, and has already allowed three home runs this season. This comes after Giles, who entered Spring Training as a seeming heavy favorite for the team's closer role, posted a 6.75 ERA this spring and lost the team's closing job to Luke Gregerson.
While Velasquez was in the midst of one of the more exciting starts in recent Phillies memory yesterday, Giles, as noted by MLB.com's Brian McTaggart, gave up the eventual game-winning home run in an Astros loss to the Kansas City Royals.
Ironically, part of the reason that the Astros traded for Giles was that they had the same Royals on the ropes in the 2015 ALDS, before their bullpen blew a lead late in what would have been a clinching game. The Royals would go on to win the game and eventually the World Series. Giles was brought in an attempt to emulate the late-inning depth that has made the Royals back-to-back American League champions.
As manager A.J. Hinch told McTaggart, it's pretty early to pull Giles even from his eighth inning role. But it does appear that for the first time in his big league career, Giles is really struggling to open the season.
The nuggets
- Though their recent pace is unlikely to last throughout the course of the season, the Phillies appear to be really well set-up in terms of their future starting rotation. Velasquez, Aaron Nola and Jerad Eickhoff all appear to be long-term rotation pieces, and Jake Thompson and Mark Appel are among the young arms that the Phillies still have in their farm system. They also hold the No. 1 pick in June's draft, where it appears likely they will take a starting pitcher.
- Peter Bourjos is an MLB player, but he actually would have more value to a contender than to the Phillies. He shouldn't be starting every day, but he makes sense as a one of the last guys on contending team because he's a very good fielder at all three outfield positions and could be a late-game fielding replacement or pinch-runner.
- I haven't exactly hidden my distaste for the Phillies new red alternate jerseys, and yesterday did little to change my opinion. Though the game ended up being a memorable one, the Phillies looked as though they were playing a Spring Training game sponsored by Forman Mills.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
