Left-hander Jesse Biddle entered the 2014 season as the Phillies’ top pitching prospect and ranked somewhere between 50-100 in overall prospect rankings depending on who you read. (MLB.com #53, Baseball America #71, Baseball Prospectus #94.) The 22-year-old has, however, taken a step back in his second season with Double-A Reading.
In Monday’s start which lasted only three innings, Biddle surrendered ten runs on eight hits (including two home runs) and three walks while striking out only two. He has struck out three or fewer batters in five of his last six starts. Overall, he carries a 5.03 ERA with a 1.45 WHIP and 76/40 K/BB ratio in 78 2/3 innings of work.
The Phillies decided to place Biddle on the temporary inactive list to give him a mental break. As the Reading Eagle’s Mike Drago reports, Biddle seems pretty down on himself:
Jesse Biddle, on his recent slump: “I’m miserable out there. I’m very unhappy. And I don’t know why.” More on http://t.co/ihGRQnZ5lg shortly
— Mike Drago (@mldrago) June 26, 2014
“Nothing feels fluid on the mound, nothing feels natural,” said Reading’s Jesse Biddle, who has been placed on the temporary inactive list — Mike Drago (@mldrago) June 26, 2014
Not exactly what you want to hear from the top arm in your organization if you’re the Phillies. The club is already tenuously thin even on back-of-the-rotation depth. For the second game of Saturday’s double-header against the Braves, the Phillies will send Sean O’Sullivan, author of a career 5.89 ERA in 218 2/3 major league innings, to the mound.
