After the debut the Phillies got from Andrew Painter, it\u2019s easy to think about how strong this rotation can be from top to bottom.<\/p>\n
Part of that depth, of course, still depends on the return of Zack Wheeler, who is currently on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Rob Thomson made the path a little clearer for when the 35-year-old right-hander will take the mound next \u2014 and what the buildup should look like from here.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s going [to Durham] today,\u201d Thomson said. \u201cSo he gets in there for tomorrow, play catch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wheeler will make his second rehab start Friday against the Durham Bulls for the IronPigs. Thomson said the Phillies are hoping Wheeler can get through four innings this time around, with a pitch count in the 50-to-55 range.<\/p>\n
And while Thomson had previously said Wheeler would make a start for Double-A Reading, he corrected himself Wednesday, noting Wheeler is expected to make another outing in Allentown after this one. There\u2019s no firm date yet on the third start, but it will likely come sometime next week.<\/p>\n
Wheeler looked sharp in his first rehab appearance, when he had a 45-to-50 pitch cap. He went three scoreless innings, struck out three \u2014 all in the first inning \u2014 and threw 38 pitches. Afterward, he said he had a good feel for his splitter, and the curveball looked sharp as well.<\/p>\n
Asked whether Wheeler might need a fourth rehab appearance, Thomson kept it open-ended.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll just read it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Still, a Wheeler return by the end of April remains a realistic expectation.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCole Weintraub, who was in Lehigh Valley for Zack Wheeler’s first rehab start on Saturday, shares his takeaways from what he saw from Wheeler.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
KERKERING WORKING BACK<\/p>\n
Also on rehab assignment at Triple-A is Orion Kerkering, who threw a scoreless inning in his first outing. On Tuesday, the Phillies reliever allowed one earned run over an inning of work.<\/p>\n
He also broke out his new splitter, which shows up as a sinker on Statcast. Kerkering threw it four times, three for strikes, though he did allow an RBI single on the pitch.<\/p>\n
The sweeper has remained an effective weapon so far during the rehab assignment, and his fastball has topped out just under 97 mph.<\/p>\n
Kerkering is scheduled to throw again Wednesday as part of a planned back-to-back.<\/p>\n
NOTHING NEW ON TOP FARMHAND<\/p>\n
Rob Thomson told reporters Wednesday there is no new update on Aidan Miller, the Phillies\u2019 top-ranked prospect.<\/p>\n
Miller, who is dealing with a back issue, missed most of spring camp. His activity has ramped up, but there still isn\u2019t much to report beyond that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe report was his activities have increased, but no swinging,\u201d Thomson said.<\/p>\n
Obviously, the Phillies would love to see Miller get back on the field as Triple-A games are already underway. But they\u2019re also making sure to do their due diligence and give the 21-year-old infielder time to feel like himself again. It\u2019s an issue that dates back to the end of last season.<\/p>\n
EYE-POPPING METRICS<\/p>\n
Brandon Marsh has been the Phillies\u2019 hottest hitter in the early sample. He\u2019s 6-for-15 (.400) through his first five games, with a pair of extra-base hits and two walks.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Marsh has yet to barrel a ball up.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t necessarily mean much for him. Good things have long happened when Marsh puts the ball in play. He owns a historically strong .371 BABIP for his career, and with the platoon in left field a major X-factor on this roster, any kind of early production matters.<\/p>\n
Adolis Garc\u00eda launched his first homer as a Phillie on Tuesday night. A spring training adjustment to his stance has helped him get into a better hitting position before contact, and the early underlying numbers are noticeable.<\/p>\n
In the small sample so far, Garc\u00eda\u2019s launch angle sweet-spot percentage \u2014 a batted ball hit with a launch angle between 8 and 32 degrees, plus hard contact \u2014 sits at 64.3 percent, which is in the 99th percentile.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s squaring up the ball,\u201d Thomson said Wednesday.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s very early, but an adjustment is an adjustment. Last year, Garc\u00eda\u2019s LA Sweet Spot % was just 33.2. It\u2019s something worth watching as the Phillies continue to rely on him in the middle of the order.<\/p>\n
Both Marsh and Garc\u00eda are in the Phillies\u2019 lineup for the series finale against the Nationals, when they\u2019ll face right-hander Cade Cavalli.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After the debut the Phillies got from Andrew Painter, it\u2019s easy to think about how strong this rotation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":660536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2397],"tags":[5,4,144,25,4216,40,16702],"class_list":{"0":"post-660535","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia-phillies","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-philadelphia","11":"tag-philadelphia-phillies","12":"tag-philadelphiaphillies","13":"tag-phillies","14":"tag-phillies-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=660535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/660535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=660535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=660535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=660535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}