Think back to last season, and the names that crowded the Phillies roster under the position “SP.” Sure we had Cole Hamels and, later, Aaron Nola, Adam Morgan and Jerad Eickhoff. Yes, “consistent” and “durable” Aaron Harang was there, too.
In all the 63-99 2015 Phillies enlisted 14 starting pitchers. They didn’t, as a group, perform well, a typical result when you need 14 people to field five open spots during the season.
But the 2016 Phillies have so far enlisted just seven starting pitchers: Nola, Morgan, Eickhoff, Zach Eflin, Vince Velasquez, Charlie Morton and Jeremy Hellickson.