Philadelphia Phillies: Spencer Howard set to debut on Sunday

After months of waiting, we’re finally going to get to see Spencer Howard pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies.

It was heavily hinted at earlier in the week, but now it’s official. The Philadelphia Phillies number one pitching prospect, Spencer Howard, is set to make his major league debut this Sunday against the Atlanta Braves. The Phillies are scheduled to play a seven inning double header, with Howard expected to start one game while Vince Velasquez takes the other.

Howard is the most talked about Phillies pitching prospect since possibly Cole Hamels. He’s absolutely torn through the minor leagues, with some projecting him to even be better than Aaron Nola. Howard caught national attention during his time in Clearwater last year, where he recorded an ERA of 1.35 through 35 innings. He also put up a 2.35 ERA with Reading, and a 2.11 ERA during the Arizona Fall League.

Overall, Howard recorded a 2.03 ERA and a 0.831 WHIP across 15 different starts in the minor leagues last year. He posted 94 strikeouts compared to just 16 walks, and had a K/9 rate of 11.9. Simply put, Howard absolutely dominated the minor leagues in 2019.

Howard’s go-to pitch is his four season fastball, which he regularly throws in the high 90s while generating a ton of swings and misses. He works in both a changeup and a slider as well, with his slider being his primary “strikeout pitch” He technically has a curveball as well, but he rarely threw it in 2019. Pretty much across the board, all of Howard’s pitches generate more whiffs than the average MLB pitcher.

Considering how much natural movement and velocity Howard’s pitches already have, a lot of scouts and analysts have already started to project him as a future “ace” for the Phillies. This is not necessarily a knock on Nola or Zack Wheeler, more so just an indictment of how good Howard has looked the last year or so.

Howard is listed at 6-3 210 lbs, and just recently turned 24 years old. He has your stereotypical MLB pitcher build, and is surely developed enough physically to take on major league hitters. Ranked as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, anticipation for his debut has been rising for well over a year know.

The Phillies are expecting Howard to slot in as the team’s third pitcher in their rotation if all goes according to plan. He’s undoubtedly better than guys like Jake Arrieta and Zach Eflin, and would give the Phillies one of the top three-man rotations in the league. As long as he doesn’t completely “bust”, Howard will instantly make the 2020 Philadelphia Phillies a better baseball team.

Howard definitely has his work cut out for him on Sunday, as the Braves currently have the most wins in the NL East. Elite batters like Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr. could spoil Howard’s much anticipated debut just a tad, but overall, having Howard in the majors is something every Phillies fans should be beyond excited for.