Thursday, July 21, 2011

Phillies would be happy to give you Vance Worley

Buster Olney says the Phillies would prefer to build a package for Pence around pitcher Vance Worley.

Worley is the young (apparent-)phenom, 23 years old, 2008 3rd-round draft pick who is currently lighting up the National League.

So far in 2011, Worley is 6-1 with a 2.02 ERA/1.19 WHIP, with 48H/14ER, 48K:26BB in 62.1IP, and has posted a WAR of 2.0. This includes last night's ridiculous start against the Cubs, where he threw 4H/1ER, 7K:2BB in 8IP.

Perhaps you're worried that he's J.A. Happ, all over again. Happ enjoyed a favorable BABIP in the three years before joining the Astros (.266, .266, .262 in 2010 prior to joining the Astros). Worley's BABIP in 2011 is .254, but his FIP is 3.19 so far, so it's not terribly far off the mark. Worley is also getting batters to chase 29.4% of his pitches outside the zone, compared to 23.8% of Happ's pitches.

Crashburn Alley has a great post on Worley vs. Happ (captip to AstroBrit) where Bill says:
Everything about Worley and Happ, besides their handedness, is nearly identical, including their luck. Worley is due for the same regression that Happ went through, and it will not be pretty.