RADIO
Spencer Howard 2020 Outlook: Potential Sleeper Stud for 2020, If Healthy
5 years agoHoward is a dark-horse candidate to be an impact pitcher for Philadelphia as a rookie in 2020. Injuries kept him to just 71 innings last season and he made just six starts above A-ball. But in those Double-A games, Howard posted a K-BB of 38-9 in 30.2 innings and held hitters to a .180 batting average. The former second-round draft pick has all the ingredients necessary to be a top-of-the-rotation arm — if he can stay healthy. He has a fastball that can reach the upper-90s and he backs it up with a breaking ball that shows an excellent break to it. Howard also has a very easy delivery which should help him compensate for modest size (6-foot-2, 205 pounds). A third reliable offering will help him take his game to that next level. The Phillies will enter the 2020 season with some solid starting pitching depth but, if Howard can stay on the mound, he should be able to push his way into the rotation. Very few pitchers on the club can match Howard’s raw stuff and potential.
