When John Lannan went down with a knee injury last week, there was a lot of speculation of who was going to take his next scheduled start. While many fans including myself would have liked to see Adam Morgan take Lannan’s start it just wasn’t possible giving the way the Ironpigs rotation goes. Another potential roadblock for Morgan is that he is not on the 40 man roster. The pitcher that the Phillies chose would have to be on the 40 man roster in order to keep from out righting a player off the roster. That only left a handful of pitchers available to make the start.
The choices for the Phillies who were included on the 40 man roster were Tyler Cloyd, Ethan Martin, B.J. Rosenberg, and Jonathan Pettibone. Cloyd, who spent part of last September starting for the Phillies. He posted a 2-2 record with a 4.91 ERA with 8 home runs allowed in 6 starts. Cloyd also has not gotten off to a great start this year in AAA either, posting a 7.07 ERA in 3 starts. Ethan Martin still might be a little raw in his development to be able to make a start for the big club at this point. We all got to see B.J. Rosenberg work out of the bullpen and while he has a good fastball, he has yet to prove himself to be a viable starting option for the Phillies. That leaves only one person to make that start and his name is Jonathan Pettibone.
Pettibone, on the heels of a great 2012 season that saw him be tabbed as the Phillies 4th best prospect heading into the 2013 season. He is a 22 year old right handed pitcher whose fastball sits between 90-94 mph. He also throws a slider and changeup and has recently added a cutter to face left handed hitters. Scouts have said that he needs to improve on his swing and miss percentage to make it on the big league level. So far in 2 starts he is 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA. Pettibone, to be effective tomorrow with have to throw strikes and stay away from the free pass. He has been effective at every level thus far in his professional career, I think Pettibone can have success in the Major Leagues.
He will face the Pittsburgh Pirates who are coming off taking 3 of 4 from the scorching hot Atlanta Braves. He will be opposed by A.J. Burnett who is coming off a 1 hit outing over 7 innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Phillies will look to get some run production early to help the youngster Pettibone succeed.
As always, keep Phighting!
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