Phillies top pitching prospect Spencer Howard is getting the call to the show. The team "informed" Howard that he will be promoted to make his major league debut in the teams doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
To make room for him on the 40-man roster, the team will have to make a roster move. The question is after Sunday, what will his role be?
The Phillies began the season with Vince Velasquez in the starting rotation. But thanks to a week of delayed games and now a rain out, the Phillies need a sixth starter. So no longer is it an issue of whether or not the Phillies would remove Velasquez from his starting role.
But with Sunday being the second of seven doubleheaders on the Phillies schedule, the club will need a sixth starter again in this short season. In between: will Howard start? Try to help the struggling bullpen? That could depend on how Velasquez and Howard perform on Sunday.
Howard is among the top prospects in the game after putting up a 2.03 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 94 strikeouts across 71 minor league innings last year.
