Philadelphia Phillies: Midseason grades for starting pitchers

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher midseason grade for Kyle Gibson: C+

On some pitching staffs, Kyle Gibson’s first half performance would be perfectly acceptable. In his 18 starts, the veteran righty was 5-3 with a 4.35 ERA. It’s not great. It’s not bad either. It’s what you would want from your number four or five guy depending on the situation your team is in.

Gibson has a tendency to completely dominate on the mound one start and flounder in the next. He hasn’t been anywhere close to the pitcher he was in the first half of the 2021 season when he was an All-Star for the Texas Rangers. Since joining the Phillies, he is the average arm he has been throughout his career.

A C+ grade isn’t horrendous but it does push the Phillies into the need for an upgrade. Two starters isn’t nearly enough to do anything significant in the postseason. With Gibson owning the third best grade of the starters, they may need to think about making a move.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher midseason grade for Zach Eflin: C

The performance the Phillies got out of Zach Eflin in the first half was on-par with what we should have expected. In 15 starts, Eflin was 3-5 with a 4.37 ERA. Limited to just 13 starts due to injuries, it has become clear he will never develop into a frontline starter for this ball club.

Eflin remains one of those guys coaches may praise but the results never come around on the field. He is good at times and some lingering injuries might be part of the cause as to why this season hasn’t gone so well.

When looking at a C grade, we need to remember this is what is supposed to represent averageness. And that’s exactly what Eflin was through the first part of the season: average. The Phillies would like him to be much more. It doesn’t appear, outside of the occasional start, that he will be anything more.

What grades do you think the Phillies starting pitchers deserve from the first half of the season?