Top 5 In 2014: Breakout Performers in Philadelphia Sports (Slideshow)

Jun 15, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Ken Giles (53) pitches in the ninth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Citizens Bank Park. The Cubs defeated the Phillies, 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

2.) Relief Pitcher Ken Giles – Phillies 

For a team that won just 73 games, it was going to take something truly special to garner the 2nd spot on breakout performers in 2014. If there was one player on the Phillies who could have been described as such in another miserable season, that was Ken Giles. The only downside to Giles’ 2014 campaign was that he couldn’t have joined the major league team sooner. Not that a set-up man can turn around the fortunes of a team destined for failure, but it would have been a whole lot more fun to watch him as much as we possibly could have last year.

Giles started to make waves prior to spring training when word spread around about his triple-digit fastball. He did not make the Phillies roster out of camp, but rose through the minor league ranks almost as fast as his trademark pitch. After joining the team in early June, it became clear that there was nothing that could keep Giles from remaining at the highest level of his craft.

Giles allowed a home run to Yasmani Grandal in his first appearance in the majors. Oddly enough, it was the first batter he had ever faced. It felt like the most ‘2014 Phillies’ thing to possibly happen at the time. The most exciting prospect to join the team in what seemed like forever getting shelled in his first outing was the ultimate wet blanket. Fortunately, not even the calamitous bunch the Phillies had become could keep Giles from continuing his mercurial rise.

After his rocky debut, Giles was essentially untouchable. He allowed only two hits in seven appearances in June. By the time July rolled around, he had lowered his ERA to 1.29 from the 27.00 it stood at after allowing a home run in his first game. What was perhaps most impressive about Giles 2014 season was that, while hitters did their best to try and adjust to his fastball, he was busy developing an even more lethal pitch to stay ahead of the game. Giles’ slider, usually coming in the low-90s, is as close to un-hittable as I’ve ever seen. I can recall the early part of Brad Lidge’s career and seeing his slider carve up opponents the way Giles managed to in 2014. Lidge never threw as hard as Giles does, though.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the Phillies season was seeing Giles go toe-to-toe with some of the league’s best and set them down. Here’s just a handful of some of the victims of Giles in his first year as a pro: Carlos Gomez, Paul Goldschmidt, Mike Trout, Andrew McCutchen, David Wright, Giancarlo Stanton, Robinson Cano, Anthony Rendon, and Jayson Werth. Giles is a gamer and often performed his best when the stakes were at their highest.

Giles was also part of arguably the highlight of the Phillies season. The team’s combined no-hitter of the Atlanta Braves on the first day of September, a game started by Cole Hamels, featured a scintillating display by the Phillies bullpen. Giles, tasked with pitching the eighth inning, struck out the side on 15 pitches. Jason Heyward, Emilio Bonifacio, and Freddie Freeman all went down swinging as Giles took his part in a historical day during an otherwise miserable season.

All indications are that Giles is the closer of the future for the Phillies. Whenever the team manages to rid themselves of Jonathan Papelbon and his terrible contract, Giles will almost certainly take over the ninth inning role. Hopefully, the organization can right itself enough to where Giles can pitch in enough games to where we can truly appreciate his talents on the mound.