Spencer Howard struck out eight and allowed two hits and one run in four innings of work yesterday afternoon against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Howard, as we all know, is Major League Baseball’s No. 32 prospect and the Phillies’ top prospect in the minor leagues.

After yesterday’s performance by Chase Anderson, who allowed seven runs in 1 1/3 innings yesterday, the Phillies could turn to Howard to be a new option as the fifth starter in the rotation. Anderson has a 6.96 ERA over eight starts and has pitched five or fewer innings in each.

Anderson, who was doing what fifth starters should do the previous three starts, had a 3.77 ERA in that span and the Phillies won all three games. However, the Phillies are getting Howard ready to join the rotation, it’s really only a matter of time. Howard has pitched nine innings across three starts with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. He’s allowed one run on three hits and five walks, while striking out 13 opposing batters.

The Phillies need to move forward with Spencer Howard and give him consistent starts in the major leagues. I know they are doing their best to build Howards pitch count while keeping him healthy so he can throw deeper into ballgames, but at this point the Phillies don’t really have much of a choice. The back half of the rotation has been struggling. Vincent Velasquez has pitched well in the four spot. It’s time to see what Spencer Howard can do.

Up Next: The Phillies have a much needed off-day today and will return home for a three game series against the Miami Marlins starting tomorrow night at 7:05pm.

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