Blue Jays 7, Phillies 1: Enyel De Los Santos impresses with power
De Los Santos struck out the three batters he faced and charged his fastball to 96 mph. He's a pitcher worth keeping an eye on.
The Phillies were able to envision their bullpen on Friday when they watched seven relievers piece together seven shutout innings by pumping velocity.
Saturday provided the chance to see the bullpen depth they could be stashing in Allentown.
Enyel De Los Santos struck out the three batters he faced in the fifth inning of a 7-1, seven-inning loss to the Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla.
De Los Santos, a 25-year-old who pitched 12 games for the Phillies in 2018 and 2019, is not expected to make the major-league roster. But his strikeouts of George Springer, Bo Bichette, and Marcus Semien — the heart of Toronto’s order — offered promise that De Los Santos could contribute at some point this season.
His fastball topped out at 96.7 mph, three ticks faster than his average in 2019.
The Phillies have moved De Los Santos, a 6-foot-3 righthander, between the rotation and the bullpen. Perhaps leaving him in a relief role could be his best path to the majors. His charged-up fastball and slider seemed to play well there on Saturday.
“He looked really good,” manager Joe Girardi said.
One up
Odubel Herrera went 1 for 3 and came a few feet from hitting his second homer in three days. His fourth-inning single was the hardest hit of the game as it left the bat at 111.2 mph. He flied out 357 feet to right field in the first inning. Both at-bats came against major leaguers.
Herrera played center field for the first time this spring and made a nice play to track down a line drive over his head by Bichette. Herrera is competing with Scott Kingery and Roman Quinn for the starting job in center. It’s early, but Herrera seems to be taking an early lead.
Two up
Alec Bohm made a nice play in the first inning to rob Lourdes Gurriel Jr. of a hit. Concerns about Bohm’s defense followed him through the minor leagues, but he seemed to settle in defensively for the final month of last season. He made two errors in a game last August against Atlanta, but made just one over his next 33 games. Saturday’s play was a good sign.
Three up
Adonis Medina needed just 11 pitches to finish his inning of work as he started in place of Aaron Nola, who stayed in Clearwater to pitch a simulated game.
Medina allowed one hit and retired three of the four batters he faced. He didn’t generate any swings and misses, but all three outs came against everyday players: Bichette, Semien, and Gurriel. The 24-year-old debuted last September and is expected to start the season at Allentown as rotation depth alongside Damon Jones, who pitched an inning Saturday.
Up next
The Phillies travel to Tampa on Sunday to play the Yankees. Zack Wheeler will start against lefthander Jordan Montgomery. Bryce Harper will be the DH. First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. and the game will be carried by WIP-FM and MLB Network.