Through his first two starts with the Philadelphia Phillies, Vince Velasquez has displayed a mid to high 90's fastball that he has an excellent ability to command. The 23-year-old righty hasn't allowed an earned run in his first two starts of 2015, and caught the attention of the baseball world with his 16-strikeout, complete game Thursday.
While Velasquez has caught the attention of many with his right arm, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe recently told an interesting story of a time when Velasquez was forced to pitch lefthanded.
Interesting story: While a high school junior in Pomona, Calif., he had bone spurs in his right elbow so he pitched lefthanded the entire season.
Stats were not immediately available for Velasquez's junior season in high school, but judging off of the fact that he was a second-round pick out of high school, it seems fair to guess that he held his own.
While the story of Velasquez pitching an entire season lefthanded is cool, it is another example of one of the many injuries he had in his ascension to the major leagues. In his time in the Houston Astros farm system, he had Tommy John surgery, in addition to a couple leg injuries.
It should be noted that many pitchers have Tommy John Surgery and go on to have successful careers after. More than half a decade removed from the surgery, Velasquez seems to have made more than a complete recovery. And other pitchers, such as Cole Hamels, have a slew of injuries in their minor league careers and then go on to have successful and healthy major league careers. For the sake of the Phillies future, the club better hope Velasquez follows the career arc of Hamels more than someone like Mark Prior, who had tremendous stuff for a short time but ultimately had his career derailed by injuries.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is managing editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
