If you’ve been following MLB closely over the last few years, you are well aware of the general lack of starting pitching depth around baseball. There are quite a few teams who struggle to field four good options in their rotation, let alone five or possibly more to fill in as substitutes over a long season.
The Phillies are no exception, although they are a little better off than most. In theory, they have six starting pitchers on their staff in Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Andrew
Painter, Zack Wheeler, and Taijuan Walker. Of course in reality right now, they only have five, as Wheeler is still working his way back from thoracic outlet surgery. He is healthy by all accounts, but his latest rehab start at Triple-A was a bit concerning. As Matt Gelb illustrated in a recent piece, Wheeler’s velocity is heavily down across the board, with his fastball averaging around 93 MPH so far. Granted, this start should be treated as if it were Wheeler’s second start of spring training, as he is still in the process of ramping up for the season. It’s possible that some more of his velocity comes back as he rounds into form.
But as Gelb mentions, one concern is that Wheeler lost some weight due to his surgery/recovery and that could be playing a part with the decreased velocity. There’s also the fact that he is a soon to be 36-year-old pitcher coming off of major surgery. Maybe these concerns are remedied in his next start. But as is, it is something to monitor.
Meanwhile in the majors, Taijuan Walker has not had a great showing so far. He allowed six runs in his first start and four in his second start. He was not hit hard in that first start, but he surrendered three home runs in his second start. Credit where it’s due though, Walker did rebound from a rough beginning in that most recent start to finish five innings with four runs allowed in Colorado. That is essentially right in line with what you can expect a fifth starter type like Walker to allow, especially at Coors Field. The Phillies offense meanwhile didn’t help him as they scored one run on six hits.
Philadelphia won’t need Walker in the rotation past Wheeler’s return, but his possibly regressing from 2025 casts doubt on his ability to serve as a depth starting option. It is early, but Walker is showing another decrease in the quality of his stuff than its already diminished state from last season. He didn’t miss many bats in his first start, then generated more whiffs in his second but got hit much harder overall.
If Walker cannot be a competent spot starter, the Phillies don’t have many other options. The next starters on the depth chart would likely be either Bryse Wilson or Jean Cabrera, assuming Jonathan Bowlan wouldn’t be stretched out. It is inevitable that the team will need at least a handful of spot starts throughout the season, as it is next to impossible to get an entire rotation through the season fully healthy. If another long-term injury in the same vein as Wheeler’s was to crop up, or if Wheeler himself returns as a shell of himself, suddenly Walker’s importance grows as does the necessity to get quality innings out of him, something that hasn’t quite happened yet in 2026.
So, are you concerned about the Phillies’ starting pitching depth?
