The only drama in the Philadelphia Phillies‘ starting rotation being played out this spring training is the jockeying behind ace Aaron Nola. The No. 2 spot could be down to a thumb, as Jerad Eickhoff found out that he had a small fracture on the outer part of his right thumb in early February and just started throwing last week. If all goes well, though, he should be the No. 1 choice for No. 2.
The way these injury things go, it could be problematic. Eickhoff injured his thumb in a bunting drill and those around the team expected him to throw the next week; but that was three weeks ago. He threw live batting practice last week and looked just fine, but real hitters are another story and that progression comes this week.
He has a whole month to regain his 2015 form, which was impressive. After coming over to the Phillies in the Cole Hamels trade, Eickhoff, 25, had eight starts and posted a 2.65 ERA for the worst MLB team. In his final two starts, Eickhoff struck out 20 batters, evenly split over two games. He’s just what the Phillies need, a lively young arm after the failed business model of former GM Ruben Amaro produced over-the-hill rotation starters like Aaron Harang and A.J. Burnett.
Eickhoff’s competition for the No. 2 spot is Jeremy Hellickson, but Eickhoff showed enough over eight real starts last year that he should be the choice. If the thumb is good, the Phillies should not hesitate to make Eickhoff the second starter.
