Therrien’s rapid rise results in quick call-up
PHILADELPHIA » A year ago, Jesen Therrien was closing for the Clearwater Threshers in Class A.
So when he walked into Dusty Wathan’s office at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown Thursday night after an IronPigs game, he wasn’t exactly expecting the news his manager was about to deliver.
“He told me right away when I walked into the office,” Therrien said of his call-up to the Phillies Friday. “He told me right away and he told me to enjoy it and to be happy and to be proud of myself and what I accomplished.”
Therrien’s rise has been rapid, the 24-year-old right-hander leaping three classes in less than 365 days. The 6-foot-2 native of Montreal has posted a 2-1 record in 39 games this season split between Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley, with a 1.41 ERA in 57.1 innings. He’s converted nine of 10 save opportunities with a WHIP of 0.84. He’s only allowed nine earned runs all season.
Therrien’s contract was selected to replace All-Star Pat Neshek, who was dealt Wednesday to Colorado in exchange for three prospects.
Therrien scuffled through three difficult seasons, two of them while jockeying in and out of the rotation, after being selected in the 17th round of the 2011 draft. His breakthrough came in 2015, a 5-0 season with a 1.43 ERA in Clearwater and Lakewood as a reliever. His call to Double-A arrived Aug. 2, 2016.
He owes that transformation to the development of a slider that Pete Mackanin is eager to see on the bigleague stage.
“(There’s) the fact that he didn’t show any fear when he pitched, even in spring training,” Mackanin said. “He came in and threw strikes. He pitched like he belonged, which is important. He wasn’t spraying the ball all over the place, wasn’t nervous. So hopefully it will be the same way up here.”
“For me, this year was just pounding the strike zone and that’s what happened to me,” Therrien said. “It helps me a lot. I use my secondary pitches to throw strikes.”
Therrien steps into what Mackanin dubbed a bullpen dilemma but more resembles a conundrum. Neshek owned the seventh-inning role, making 24 of his 43 appearances there, 16 with a lead or the game tied. He performed magnificently with a 1.12 ERA, including no runs allowed in 23 games at Citizens Bank Park.
Luis Garcia, who has tossed 17 consecutive scoreless appearances, is the logical successor, but Mackanin respects his comfort in the sixth inning. Joaquin Benoit has excelled in the eighth, accounting for 30 of his 43 appearances, even if that’s the inning where erstwhile closer Hector Neris appears most effective.
“I’d prefer to have options, which I felt I had,” Mackanin said. “And once Neshek was pitching so well in that seventh inning, for example, even though there were times that maybe I could switch that, but I didn’t want to upset the apple cart at that time because he was so comfortable in that role. I felt that was one piece of the puzzle that I didn’t have to worry about.”
Whether or not Therrien pushes his way into the conversation remains to be seen. His recent trajectory shows a penchant for the unusual, though the elated Therrien isn’t looking past his first appearance yet.
Of the many things he’s changed, one that can stay constant is the fearless approach Mackanin lauded.
“In every level, the thing in my mind was to pitch like I was facing big leaguers,” Therrien said. “I was thinking that during the season and kept doing the same thing. … I’m excited to be here and I want to have the opportunity to pitch and make the best out of it.”