Tender or Non-Tender: Zach Eflin

Yesterday we took a closer look at Seranthony Dominguez and whether or not the Phillies should tender their injured reliever. The answer was yes. Today, we’re checking out starting pitcher Zach Eflin.

• Seranthony Dominguez – $900K
• Zach Eflin –$3.7MM
• Rhys Hoskins – $3.4MM
• Andrew Knapp – $1.0MM
• Hector Neris – $5.3MM
• Vince Velasquez – $4.0MM

During his introductory press conference, new Phillies’ pitching coach mentioned that the Phillies have “three potential Cy Young winners” atop of their pitching rotation. The first two pitchers are obvious. Both Aaron Nola and Zach Wheeler have Cy Young potential. The third is not so clear but given the way Zach Eflin pitched at the end of last year, it wouldn’t be crazy to assume that he is the third pitcher Cotham was mentioning.

Eflin pitched a total of 59 innings over the course of 10 starts during the 2020 season. He allowed 26 runs and finished the shortened year with an ERA of 3.97. He struck out 70 batters. This was by far Eflin’s best season of his career and he continues to make progression in the right direction.

The main change for Eflin was the pitches he had in his arsenal in 2020. Eflin began to use a sinker as his main fastball instead of the four-seam fastball he chose in 2019. He essentially abandoned the four-seamer in 2020 and mixed in more of his off-speed pitches.

In arbitration, Eflin will be owed $3.7 million. This one is a no-brainer for the Phillies. For a rotation that still doesn’t know who their starters are, Eflin is a lock as the third pitcher behind Nola and Wheeler. His price tag should prove to be an absolute steal if the 2020 season was any indication of what Eflin can be moving forward.

Mandatory Credit: Getty Images / NBC Sports Philadelphia