PHILADELPHIA — There will be some excitement in the locker room this week because the Phillies might finally be complete with their pitching rotation.
Taijuan Walker, who was expected to regain his form after returning from a “right shoulder impingement” injury, has declared himself ready to play for the first time this season.
Walker made a comeback on Tuesday night for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs against Yankees affiliate Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after a long rehabilitation stint. According to Phils manager Rob Thomson, he threw 78 pitches at 90-92 mph.
“He was mostly accurate,” Thomson said. “We’ll wait and see. He is going to have a bullpen session on Friday and then we’ll decide the next step.”
Asked why he thought Walker’s original recovery schedule could be moved up by at least a week, Thomson said it was because, “he’s feeling really good.”
While the potential return of Walker raises questions about its impact, projected No. 5 starter Cristopher Sanchez impressed on Wednesday night by keeping the Colorado Rockies' offense relatively quiet over six innings, helping the Phillies to a 7-6 victory and series sweep at Citizens Bank Park.
Sanchez held the Rockies to five hits and only an unearned run over his six innings, striking out 10 Colorado batters and walking only one in a 97-pitch outing.
“(Sanchez) was excellent tonight,” Thomson said afterwards. “Throwing strikes, locating his fastball, and using sliders and change-ups effectively – a lot of swings and misses. Great composure, he pitched really well.”
Usually reserved in his self-evaluations, Sanchez essentially agreed with the manager this time.
“I relied on the sinker early; my slider and change-up were also effective,” Sanchez said. “That's why I think it worked. I felt sharper in this outing; it's because I continue to work on all my pitches and focus on attacking the hitters early.”
Sanchez’s improvement this season, along with a strong performance by Ranger Suarez, has shown the Phillies that they can have confidence in the middle of their rotation, which now appears quite solid alongside top starters Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, even before Walker joins the mix.
As for the offense, everything went well on this night. Kyle Schwarber hit two home runs, Trea Turner also homered, and Johan Rojas, the No. 9 hitter, had two hits.
“We were hitting well,” Thomson said. “We had a few hits to the opposite field, too, which tells me they’re staying on the ball. We hit the ball into the gaps, down the line, it was a good night offensively.”
The offense was just good enough to compensate for the five-run, three-hit subpar performance by Gregory Soto which almost erased an early 7-1 lead for the Phillies.
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Walker will need to increase his pace from what he did against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, aiming to reach closer to the mid-90s in velocity rather than the 90-91 range.
Thomson said that in the big league, the intensity goes up due to the level of players, and it's more about the quality of the pitches and the ability to throw accurately.
Walker may take the rotation spot, moving Turnbull to long relief, or he may initially join as a piggyback starter or in a six-man rotation later in the season, suggested Thomson.
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After going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, Castellanos' batting average dropped to .159, and he hasn't had any extra-base hits this season.
Castellanos is the only outfielder to have played all 19 Phillies games, while Merrifield had played 10 going into Wednesday’s series finale with the Rockies.
Maybe it was time for Castellanos to take a break?
Thomson has considered giving Castellanos a break, as he knows everyone handles slumps differently. He checks in with him daily to ensure he's mentally and emotionally okay, and Castellanos feels he can push through it.
In addition to Castellanos, designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Alec Bohm, and Bryson Stott have played 19 games. Stott had two games in which he didn’t start but appeared as a pinch-hitter, Bohm one.
But for Castellanos, this might be similar to other slumps he’s had.
Thomson thinks Castellanos is jumping at the ball and getting off balance, which affects his performance. He plans to see how the bullpen session goes and how Castellanos feels.
