Zach Eflin has a new outlook this spring
Entering his sixth MLB season, Zach Eflin is a lock to make the Phillies’ starting rotation for the first time. Health permitting, of course.
The 6-foot-6 right-hander, 26, has a firm grip on the No. 3 spot behind co-aces Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. Following an abbreviated 2020 campaign in which he posted 1.6 WAR, according to Baseball Prospectus, Eflin is poised to take the next step in what has been a long and winding journey to front end status.
“I view myself as a No. 1,” Eflin said Friday from Clearwater. “I really truly believe the sky’s the limit for me. I feel like I have a lot of feel and I can shape my pitches in any way I want to and really have a good feel for the zone with every pitch.
“Find the right times to throw certain pitches, setting pitches up, backing hitters off the plate (and) getting early contact when I need it; those are going to be the key factors for me to continue having good years.”
Last year Eflin averaged a career-high 10.7 strikeouts per nine innings with a 3.97 ERA across 59 innings. He had a few clunkers in between a strong start and finish.
“I thought he had a really good year for us and I think he can even be better,” manager Joe Girardi said. “I think he used his curveball a lot more effectively last year. Down the stretch he
pitched brilliantly for us. I don’t want to put a limitation on him because I feel like his stuff is that good, that he can continue to grow.
“I look at it as we have a 1-A and a 1-B and if we can have a 1-C, I mean, that’s how I feel about Zach Eflin. I’m excited about his year and really looking forward to getting started.”
MLB.com tabbed Eflin among the top breakout pitchers of 2021, alongside teammate Spencer Howard, who will compete for one of the two remaining slots.
“I show up to spring training every year fighting for a job and that’s the way I like to keep it mentally,” Eflin said. “The biggest thing for me is to stay healthy and making sure the ball is coming out good and really gear up for the season, to be able to throw 95-100 pitches the first time and second time out . ... I just have to keep my mentality that my job is not secure.”
Eflin ramped up for spring training about a month earlier than usual. The 2020 season, which cost starting pitchers their normal 175-200 innings, enabled Eflin to begin throwing off the mound sooner in the offseason, giving him a head start before exhibition games get under way next Saturday.
“I think I did a really good job last year creating an arsenal,” he said. “I refined my changeup and worked on my slider and I feel like I’m in a good position with those two pitches, and to able to combine a two-seam (fastball) and curveball, that’s a plus for me now. I think it’s going to be huge for me.”
Girardi said he informed right-hander Chase Anderson and lefty Matt Moore, who were signed to one-year contracts during the winter, they will compete with Vince Velasquez and Howard for the final two spots in the rotation. Girardi is not keen on experimenting with a six-man rotation early in the year.
“It becomes tricky,” Girardi said. “Some guys are going to go a long time between starts. I know there’s been a lot of talk about teams considering (six-man rotations), but right now we have not. We plan on having a five-man rotation. There’s days off that kind of create a sixth day at times.”