Roy Halladay could be pitching for the Phillies soon, as he completed his first, of perhaps two, rehab start. He pitched six innings of three run ball for the GCL Phillies against the GCL Pirates. He threw 87 pitches, and 51 for strikes. His velocity sat in the mid-80s, and mostly sat at 86 MPH. Only good signs came out of Doc's start, as he looks to make another rehab start in a higher level.
But, what can the Phillies really expect from the former ace off this surgery? FanGraphs.com found pitchers 35 or older (Halladay is 36) who spent time on the DL with any shoulder injury pitched an average of 59 innings for their rest of their career. 32 of the 62 pitchers never pitched again. And, only six continued to pitch more than 100 innings following their injuries (P. Martinez, J. Smoltz, K. Rogers, J. Burkett, T. Wakefield, and Orlando Hernandez). If Halladay really wants to prove that he can be that type of a caliber of a pitcher, this is the time to do it. Halladay is a hard worker, and will do everything to make sure he can get back on the field and pitch at a high level.
Halladay, a two-time Cy Young award winner and eight time all star, is 201-104 for his career, and has a career 3.37 ERA. He is the active leader in shutouts and complete games. Doc has been with Philadelphia for four years.
I think Roy Halladay has a few good innings left in the tank, and will continue to pitch well. His contract expires at the end of this season, and may not be extended. So, he needs to give an "audition" to the Phillies and other teams who would like Doc to head their staff.
We'll have to see how Doc does for the rest of the season to truly know how good of a pitcher he is. All signs now point up.
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