Philadelphia Phillies

Young Phillies to close out series with Angels (Aug 03, 2017)

Published Aug. 3, 2017 3:18 a.m. ET

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Having a deep well of promising young players is no guarantee of success, but the Philadelphia Phillies at least have a decided advantage over other clubs when it comes to the depth of young prospects who are playing in late 2017 and will compete for jobs in 2018.

After a weekend of trades, the Phillies have the youngest team in the major leagues, with an average age of 26. The Phils have only three players over 30: right-handed pitcher Luis Garcia (30), infielder Andres Blanco (33) and outfielder Daniel Nava (34).

What remains of the 2017 season, including Thursday's series finale against the Los Angeles Angels, are auditions for 2018. And the team has competition across the board.

On Tuesday, Aaron Nola (8-7) ran his string of quality starts to eight, allowing two runs in six innings. Nick Pivetta (4-6), Vince Velasquez (2-6) and Thursday's starter, Jerad Eickhoff (2-7, 4.56), give the Phillies a young rotation that should only get better.

Eickhoff was acquired as part of the 2015 Cole Hamels trade, and he went 3-3 with a 2.65 ERA with the Phillies that season. He was 11-14 with a 3.65 ERA last season, throwing 197 1/3 innings. He struggled early this season, losing his first seven decisions and then going on the disabled list with a back injury in late June. But he is 2-0 with a 2.79 ERA and 27 strikeouts in his last five starts.

"I'm trying to go into it as a clean slate," Eickhoff said after his last start. "I try not to worry too much about anything that happened prior to the injury. I've really worked hard to be strong in games this late in the season. To be able to string a few together to keep us in a game is all I can ask for."

Manager Pete Mackanin has had to remake his bullpen after trading three pitchers last week, which really gives him a chance to see more young players competing on this level. That includes Adam Morgan, Jesen Therrion, Hoby Milner, Mark Leiter Jr. and Drew Anderson. Morgan (two) and Therrion (one) had shutout innings Wednesday in a 7-0 loss.

Neris has a team-high 10 saves. Morgan has a strikeout rate of 9.64 every nine innings. Therrion had a 1.41 ERA and nine saves in the minors before his recall. Milner is holding hitters to a 1.54 ERA with runners in scoring position.

Before the season ends, Mackanin hopes to see prospects such as catcher Jorge Alfaro, shortstop J.P. Crawford, first baseman Rhys Hoskins and outfielder Dylan Cozins get some major league experience.

On Thursday, the Angels will start Parker Bridwell, who is a perfect example of a team sometimes not knowing how good a player can be until he shows up. Bridwell is 5-1 with a 2.83 ERA in nine games (eight starts). The Angels are 7-1 in games he has started.

Bridwell, who turned 27 on Tuesday, was purchased from Baltimore in April and sent to Triple-A Salt Lake. He made an emergency start in May, getting a win with six strong innings, and found himself in the rotation largely because the Angels' staff had been inundated with injuries. He has allowed two runs or less in seven of his nine appearances.

"We didn't know anything about him," manager Mike Scioscia said. "Billy (Eppler, the Angels' general manager) knew of him from his days with the Yankees and thought he could help. He thought Bridwell would prosper in a new system."

Neither starter has ever faced the opponent.