8/18/25 : Pitching Thoughts
- Steve Potter
- Aug 18
- 5 min read
A common thing :
Andrew Painter’s “struggles” to find his pinpoint command isn’t out of the ordinary. He’s just over two years removed from his elbow surgery in July of 2023. If one were to research the history of pitchers returning to form after TJ recovery it’s very clear that while the typical recovery time is 12 to 18 months to return to game action not many hurlers are back to command form in their first season of actually pitching. In fact some pitchers have actually missed two seasons before returning to game action at all. One need look no further than Atlanta where Spencer Strider has went thru similar issues this season re-finding his command. To me it’s all part of the recovery process and the only way thru it is to log innings and garner repetitive experience. To blame any coach or development process is ridiculous in my humble opinion and those that do just aren’t cognizant of or are being intentionally blind to the reality of the history of pitchers who’ve returned from this type of surgery and had similar experiences - just sayin.
Philly says they like to “keep it real” - well can’t get any more real than that. Painter will eventually be Painter like again but the process has to run its course.
Sixth Starter Possibility :
If the Phillies decide to stay with a six man rotation no starter in the upper minors is throwing the ball better than Griff McGarry has in his last couple of outings at Reading. He’s always had big league quality stuff and when he stays square to the target is very capable of getting major league hitters out. Making the jump from Double A to the Majors is not without precedent - when the Phillies needed a center fielder to play defense a few years back Johan Rojas was called up directly from Reading. Rob Thomson said that whomever is throwing the ball best would be considered - well that fella is McGarry at present.
Thinking about the Arizona Fall League :
Reliever Daniel Harper had two very good outings this past week for Lehigh Valley. The twenty six year old right hander allowed just one walk in his two innings pitched. He’s spent a good bit of time on the IL this summer, from my view he’s a very good candidate for the Arizona Fall League this year. Daniel has quality stuff - mid to upper nineties heat and a hard slider are his primaries with the slider having the “gyro” knuckleball tumble to it. With the lost time to injury this year the AFL could serve a twofold purpose - making up innings and seeing how he fares against some top hitting prospects. Just sayin 🤓
Right hander Alex McFarlane pitched two games out of the bullpen this past week for Jersey Shore after having recent good results (July pitcher of the Month) as a starter. Alex is also in his first season of action returning from TJ surgery in September of 2023. He’s thrown 69 innings to date and like Painter struggled to find his command and control early on but then went on a tear producing a 2.12 ERA in July in four starts (17 IP). Alex has an upper nineties fastball along with a sinker, slider and splitter. He’s another fella that I think fits for an AFL assignment this fall perhaps out of the bullpen where he can leverage two put away pitches in shorter stints - makes sense to me 🤔.
International Arms :
LH Angel Liranzo, LH Juan Amarante and RH Ramon Marquez all pitched this season as starters for the FCL Phillies and while the team struggled (particularly on defense) they showed skillsets that prompted promotions to Clearwater. All three have continued to pitch well for the Threshers - Liranzo was part of a no hitter this past week and Marquez allowed just one run over five innings his last time out. From my observations all three have upper level upside with multiple scouts sending positive notes to their leadership on each, Marquez in particular has gotten reviewers distinct attention.
Clearwater relievers RH Orlando Gonzalez, RH Luis Avila, RH Danyony Pulido and RH Josbel Garcia are each high velocity hurlers who have shown upper nineties heat (97 to 99 mph) and have pitched in both backend innings along with having the capabilities to pitch multiple frames. Gonzalez’s fastball ticked up a couple notches after moving to the bullpen - he’s been both a starter and bulk reliever in the past but has now become a closing option.
Saul Teran (Jersey Shore) and Jean Cabrera (Reading) are both slender builds with smaller frames but each competes like warriors and generally garner good results. Teran has always had a put-away slider which this season he’s commanded better than ever as a closer and is sneaky fast with the heat - his ball jumps at hitters looking faster than the mid nineties it approaches at. Cabrera in my opinion is a candidate once again for the Paul Owens Award - he won it as a teenager in the Dominican Summer League and was near the top of the list last season. Every time he takes the ball he will battle, has a very good change up and consistently shows the ability to pitch late into games.
Just throws strikes and gets outs :
RH Braydon Tucker (Jersey Shore) pitched six scoreless innings on Sunday. In his last three outings (all in August) he has pitched 18 innings (0 R, 10 H, 6 BB, 9 K’s) with an 0.88 WHIP! Braydon is 26 years old and was signed as a non-drafted free agent on 7/19/23 from Lipscomb University - on the season he’s posted a 3.19 ERA in 19 games (12 starts) in 84.2 IP with a 1.06 WHIP and .223 BAA with a 66% strike percentage. A very solid pitcher who just gets batters out 👀. By the way he will pitch his first game for Reading later this week.
Back at the Complex :
I am in Clearwater this week and will make a daily journey to the complex - I expect to see some of the 2025 draft picks in either side bullpens or live BP. Will report back on my impressions.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
Braydon Tucker - photo by Michael Dolcemascolo
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