On Tuesday night, Phillies’ pitcher Vance Worley struggled through another start.
Worley lasted just 4.1 innings, surrendering four earned runs on nine hits to the New York Mets. It was third time he failed to go at least five innings in his last five starts, and he’s also given up a combined 18 runs in his last 24 innings.
Worley’s second year in the major leagues hasn’t gone nearly as smoothly as his rookie campaign. One year after going 11-3 with a 3.01 ERA, the righthander has struggled through the 2012 season with an underwhelming 6-9 record and a 4.20 ERA.
For Worley, the 2012 season has been filled with starts like the one he turned in on Tuesday. He hasn’t been able to go deep into games all season, and he’s been surrendering a ton of hits, putting a lot of runners on base. In 2011, Phillie fans affectionately nicknamed him “The Vanimal” after witnessing his major league success, but now much of the fanfare and hype surrounding him has faded, and he’s currently the least dependable pitcher in the rotation, even falling behind Kyle Kendrick (who has pitched very well as of late).
However, even though this season has been a rough ride, there’s no reason to sour on Worley’s potential impact on the team in 2013.
Remember that since returning from the disabled list in early June, Worley has been pitching with a painful bone chip in his elbow. He’s been gutting out the injury, but clearly its taken a toll on his effectiveness. Before going on the DL, he was 2-1 with a 1.97 ERA after five starts in April, two of which he lasted at least seven innings.
Once he rejoined the rotation, Worley managed to pitch well in June (going 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA), but as the season has gone on he’s become less effective. Since July began, the 24-year old has only pitched into the seventh inning twice, and has given up seven or more hits in eight of his 10 starts.
While he may not use the injury as an excuse, it’s easy to imagine the pain from a lingering issue like that building up over time and taking away from a pitcher’s effectiveness. Right now, Worley appears to be at the end of his rope in terms of tolerance, and he’s currently laboring through his final starts of the season.
It may be the right time for the Phillies to put Worley on the shelf for the rest of the year, and start getting him healthy for 2013. He’s no good to the team in his current state, and they could fill his spot in the rotation with a guy like Tyler Cloyd (who has questionable skills, but deserves a couple of big-league starts after his great season at Triple-A).
Worley is going to be counted on to be a key member of the 2013 rotation. Cliff Lee isn’t a lock to return to the team at this point, Roy Halladay can’t be counted on to consistently regain his top form, and Kyle Kendrick is nothing more than a fifth starter. The Phillies need Worley to be a stable presence as a third or fourth starter next year. The best thing they could do to make sure that happens is to shut him down and start getting him healthy and focused for the role he’ll have to play to get this team back into playoff contention.
A – Hit Wonder I am afraid just like Bastardo and Stutes were in 2011 when all 3 Pitchers flew under the radar with littinfo on their weaknesses and no pressure to really do much.. fast foraward to 2012 When the Phils werwe counting on all 3 to Perform at a high-level and all 3 struggled.. ( you can add Mayberry Jr to this list too though he’s picked it up lately..but it not consistent enough to be an everyday player like they were hoping
Should have been a “1-Hit Wonder”
I will now refer to him as 1 Hit .. He will be a 10-12 Game Winner with and Era of 4 to 4.5 and a slight updgrade that Joe Blanton was.. His stuff is really of what a 5th/Back-end Starter of a Rotation has..
I don’t know that he’s a 1 hit wonder, but I don’t know that he’s a starting pitcher. If the Phillies would put Kendrick and Worley in the bullpen the long term outlook for both pitchers would be vastly superior.
He’s pitching with freaking bone chips, floating around in his arm. He should have been shut down a month ago. This season ended then. Cloyd SHOULD have been called up, TOO!!! Go ahead, keep pitching him, until it gets even worse, or causes more damage! Amaro is an incompetent, STUPID, F^#@ING IDIOT!!!!
test
If the phils need to rely upon Worley in 2013, then they are in trouble, his stuff is average, lack of command, hitters now have a book on him, unless he figures it he will be a poor man’s version of Kendrick
Yeah, I am not ready to give up on him yet. No one here knows how much that injury is affecting him. I am very comfortable with him at the 4. Who else are they going to sign that is better and with what money? Pitching isn’t going to be a priority. I agree with DCAR though, they need to see what Cloyd can do in the show
A junk ball Pitcher who may actually be better suited for the Bullpen for an Inning or 2 similar to what Chad Durbin used to do for the Phils a couple years back.. He relies on getting batters out with his curve ball and if he does not have full command of it, he’s in trouble since his Fastball is mediocre and only in the
mid-upper 80’s which is not going to get MLB Hitters out a 2nd and 3rd Time thru the line-up…
Paulman, worley’s stuff is not below average as you have described it is MLB average, he needs to command his two seam fastball, which has decent movement, right now, no command, and then as you say the hitters feast on his fastball when he gets behind in the count when he tends to groove the pitch
Let’s dig deeper on Worley’s performance in 2012
in 23 Starts – 133 Innings Pitched (5.8 Innings Average per Outing)
154 HIts given up, (not good), 12 HR’s (not bad), 47 Walks and 107 Strikeouts
Worley is not a power Pitcher so his Strikeout #’s wll never be high..But his Walks and Base Hits given up are not very good.. He also averages about 95 Pitches thrown a Start adn when your pitching less theen 6 Innings and throwing that many means you are inefficient and don’t have control issues which puts the Batters into better COunts to sit on his average Fastball
This is how I look at it Jake.. He’s more of a #4/#5 PItcher on aStaff who will compile close to .500 Win-Loss Record, an ERA in the 4.25 – 4.50 Range which are a dime a dozen when you rellay think about it.. Very similar to Kyle Kendrick in my opinion..
paulman, you would complain with 10-12 wins from your 4th starter? worley is not an ace, and is a 4th or 5th starter type pitcher with 3rd starter upside.
why does everyone have to be steve carlton ?
No I would not Zolteck for a Team Wnng 90-95Games, Problem i, te Phils are not that type Team anymore and and more of a 80-85 Win Team which means your 4th & 5th Pitchers are probably more like 7-8 WIns as Wins come harder to getfor all the Pitchers
Again, how in depth do you need to get? He has had a bad season, but he needs surgery. One good year and one bad. That is why I want to see what he can do next year.
Paul, what part of, he was pitching with bone chips & loose bodies in his arm, don’t you understand?!? Last year, he was a breath of fresh air, & very good, especially for a rookie. You are over thinking, & overreacting, waaaay too much. His stats are nearly identical from last year. The differences are, he’s hurt, he’s nibbling, he lost MPH on his FB, has given up 40 more hits, thus 20+ more runs, & the team around him BLOWS!!!! Other than that, his stats are nearly identical. He will be fine, once he gets his arm cleaned out, rests, & rehabs. He is a very good, young, 3-4 starter.