Pitcher Eflin continues to show confidence, improvement

Zach Eflin has pitched well during stretches in each of his first five MLB seasons.

One example of that is Eflin being tied for second among National League pitchers with five complete games since 2016 and tied for the league lead with two in ‘19, according to Phillies Nation.

The abbreviated 2020 campaign was Eflin’s best, as evidenced by his 3.97 ERA and 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings that helped establish him as the Phils’ No. 3 starter.

But if the Phillies are going to contend for a playoff position this year, they’re going to need Eflin to do more. He went six or more innings and allowed three or fewer runs, which is known as a quality start, in just three of the 10 games he started last season.

Manager Joe Girardi is counting on Eflin to close the gap on co-aces Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler.

“What I expect from Zach is to build off of last year and I think he can even be better,” said Girardi during a Friday Zoom call from spring training in Clearwater.

“I don’t want to put a limitation on him because I feel his stuff is that good and he can continue to grow … I look at [it like] we got 1A and 1B and we can have a 1C. That’s how I feel about Zach Eflin.”

Eflin shares Girardi’s optimism about his abilities.

“I view myself as a No. 1,” Eflin said. “I really believe, truly inside of me, that the sky’s the limit for me. … Pitching at the top of the starting rotation is my clear goal.”

For that to happen, Eflin needs to go deeper in games after averaging 5.6 innings as a starter last season. In an effort to make that happen in what is expected to be a full season coming off of a 60-game slate, Eflin began throwing one month earlier than he usually does and had more than twice as many bullpen sessions prior to reporting to spring training Wednesday with the rest of the pitchers and catchers.

The way Eflin sees it, he should be capable of a 95-pitch outing once the regular season begins. He projects as the starter for the April 4 series finale against the Atlanta Braves.

Establishing his curveball was a key reason for Eflin’s progress from 2019, when he was sent to the bullpen for two weeks in August, to last year. He has confidence in all of five of his pitches, led by a sinker (51.6% of the time in ‘20), slider (20.3%) and curve (13.1%). He used the four-seam fastball (9.6%) and changeup (5.4%) less frequently.

Eflin emphasized his change-up and slider during this offseason.

“I feel like I’m in a good position with those two pitches, so to be able to combine that with [my other pitches] is going to be huge for me,” Eflin said. “I feel like I really have a good feel for the zone with every pitch.”

Things like setting up his pitches, backing hitters off the plate, getting ahead in the count, inducing early contact and hitting the corners of the strike zone will go a long way toward determining what kind of year Eflin has.

As for the other two starting spots, Girardi mentioned Spencer Howard, veterans Chase Anderson and Matt Moore (the only lefty), and holdover Vince Velasquez as the primary candidates.

The first Grapefruit League game scheduled for Feb. 28 against the Detroit Tigers.

The plan is to utilize a fiveman rotation, which Nola and Eflin fully support, with Girardi saying he’ll consider adding a sixth for a few starts if he notices “some fatigue in our guys.”

Eflin’s not thinking about any of that at the moment. He’s eager to get the ball every fifth day to show that he can be more consistent and handle more innings.

“I’m just in a really good spot,” Eflin said.

The Phillies would love for him to stay there.