It's an interesting night in the NL East with two of the Phillies division rivals giving their respective young studs a chance to make their mark in the Major Leagues. Stephen Strasburg, the most highly touted pitcher baseball has seen in years, will make his debut for the Nationals down in D.C. while the Marlins will give young slugging outfielder Mike Stanton the start tonight at Citizens Bank Park.
While Stanton certainly has a tremendous 6-5 / 205 lb. build that gives him a lot of power, the outfielder has also been described as a "whiff king in the making."
Philadelphia has certainly seen their share of players going down swinging as of late.
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With two of the NL East teams getting a boost today from young kids who have yet to play a game in the Majors, the Phillies are looking at a somewhat older core that has struggled mightily over the last month or so.
The two hopeful debuts coinciding with the Phillies struggles has not gone unnoticed. One local Phillies blogger sees today as a turning point of sorts, "Harper. Strasburg. Stanton. Phillies stinking up
the joint. This will be the day the lights started to dim on the
Phillies NL East dynasty."
That sentiment seems bit overly bleak, but the underlying point is certainly worth considering. To me, the Nationals and Marlins adding a shot to their respective arms in the form of a young stud should light a fire under the Phillies, a team that has seemed to lack it as of late.
If they don't naturally come out of their horrendous offensive stretch here, they may have to pull a similar move and add some life in the form of Dom Brown. You can only stand to watch the regulars look awful at the plate for so long.
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It's
Kyle Kendrick
(3-2, 4.62) vs. Chris Volstad (3-6, 4.08) from the Bank. The Phillies beat Volstad back on May 28th in the game that helped the Phillies out of their extended scoring drought. Hopefully he can help them out of a lull again.
Jayson Werth, who has been struggling, is not in the lineup.
First pitch scheduled for 7:05.