De Los Santos another piece to pitching puzzle

NEW YORK » When Enyel De Los Santos took the mound Tuesday night for his Major League debut, Gabe Kapler thought of Curt Schilling.

No not like that, though the 22-year-old did subdue the moribund Mets over 6 1/3 innings in a 7-3 win to move the Phillies back into sole possession of first place in the National League East.

Instead, it was a nugget of wisdom that the former Phillie, as a teammate of the Phils skipper on the 2004 Boston Red Sox, shared.

“What first came to mind … was Curt Schilling in 2004, the year we won the World Series, very emphatically stating that in order to win a World Series, you need not 25 guys, you need 35,” Kapler said. “And I thought this was a very clear indication that you need to have guys come up

and make big starts for you. You need to have big guys come up and get big pinch-hits for you. And sometimes they have to be in your organization; you can’t always go out and get them.”

Before the April snow and May rain crowded the Phillies’ July schedule, Kapler had written only six names into his lineup card where it says, “starting pitcher.” Until 10 days ago, he could rely on four starters without a second thought, and the fifth in the crowd has been the surprise of the first half of the season.

But a 10-day road trip covering four cities and 11 games has tested that pecking order. It may offer a glimpse into a future where the Phillies elect to test their rotation depth on the trade market.

De Los Santos’ big league bow might mean more than just a solid turn in the rotation. It could signal a deeper attribute of an organization with a little more win-now mentality than they might have guessed.

Figuring out who gets the ball every day has been among the easier facets of Kapler’s job. Nineteen times, it’s been firsttime All-Star Aaron Nola. Once he got up to speed after a latespring signing, Jake Arrieta has been the No. 2. Nick Pivetta was there from the get-go, as was Vince Velasquez before a come-backer sent him briefly to the DL, though he’ll return for Wednesday’s start in the series finale.

That left one spot, vacated by Jerad Eickhoff’s ongoing lat injury, filled outstandingly by Zach Eflin, who went 5-0 with a 1.76 ERA in June.

In the last week, Kapler has handed spot starts to Drew Anderson, who pitched OK in a loss to Pittsburgh Sunday, and De Los Santos, who allowed five hits (three, including two triples, to Amed Rosario), walked three and struck out six. He added a slew of granular accomplishments — saving the bullpen, forcing swings from a lousy Mets lineup when spotted a 5-0 lead, even two sac bunts — that was truly impressive.

“We saw tonight, it’s a short arm stroke, hides the ball with his body well and leads to uncomfortable swings,” Kapler said. “That and the ability to fill up the strike zone, put the ball in the zone and force them to put the ball in play can equal success at the major league level, and I think we saw that today. Some uncomfortable swings out there and a very poised, confident individual out there on the field.”

“He looked like he’s not afraid, he’s not excited,” said third baseman Maikel Franco, who jacked a three-run homer in the second and drove in four. “He just goes out there and does whatever he does at Triple-A. He came in and did an amazing job. Fastball command, slider, changeup, everything was going well for him and it’s a good thing.”

In itself, muting a Mets squad that is 17 games under .500 isn’t the most herculean accomplishment. But by proving, for one night at least, that his minor league success translates to the bigs, maybe there’s a different conversation being had in the Phillies’ front office as the trade deadline nears.

Kapler said pregame that it’s difficult to read too much into a spot start, for better or for worse. De Los Santos offers a body of evidence via a 9-3 mark with a 1.89 ERA in 16 starts for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. So does the fact that the Dominican acquired from San Diego for Freddy Galvis is the fourthyoungest Phillie starter to debut in the bigs in the last decade (trailing Nola, Eflin and Jake Thompson).

As the Phillies weigh a postseason run, the rotation is a strength they can rely on to improve areas of weakness. They sit sixth in the National League in ERA, despite some early bullpen adventures being mitigated by returns to health for Pat Neshek and (soon) Luis Garcia. They entered Tuesday 12th in the league in batting average and 10th in runs scored.

Without firing up the trade scenarios for a certain someone currently employed by Thursday’s opponent (hint: that’s Baltimore), starting pitching depth is an asset of which you can’t have too much — to deal, to deploy, to stash.

With Ben Lively back on track at Triple-A, Mark Leiter and Thompson probably topping out as relievers and Eickhoff’s path back uncertain, De Los Santos could offer rotation insurance. He could make general manager Matt Klentak more willing to part with a young arm to land a big bat.

And as Kapler and his superiors wade into the market, they do so with a little additional confidence.

“It was really nice to have a guy come up in our organization,” Kapler said. “… I think that’s notable and an indication of a healthy organization, one where we believe in our player development staff and our player development staff trusts us to continue development of our young players, so I think that’s a demonstration of a cohesive unit.”

Matt DeGeorge Columnist