With Ryan Zimmerman’s injured hamstring forcing him to the disabled list, NatsTown was abuzz Saturday afternoon when the Nationals announced they were summoning uber-prospect third baseman Anthony Rendon to Washington to take Zimmerman’s place on the roster.  Rendon, the Nationals 1^st round pick, sixth overall in the 2011 draft, left Rice University with the reputation as an injury-prone player with one of the most advanced collegiate bats in the past ten years.  In fact, there were quite a few now-unemployed scouts who preferred Rendon to Bryce Harper as amateur players. 

Ever since he signed with the Nationals, fans have been eager to get Rendon’s bat to Washington to bolster the lineup.  Rendon did nothing to stifle fan’s fervor by hitting .375/.412/.875 with 4 home runs and 11 runs batted in over 32 at-bats during spring training, and continued to impress by hitting .292/.462/.500 with 2 home runs and 14 walks against only 9 strikeouts in 48 Double-A at-bats thus far in 2013.  Due to his picturesque swing and excellent pedigree, I was eager to watch Rendon’s major league debut Sunday against the New York Mets and figured what would be better on a beautiful afternoon than staying inside and Armchair Evaluating his first major league game. 

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1^st At-Bat – Situation: 2^nd Inning, O outs verses RHP Dillon Gee

In his first major league at-bat, Rendon lead off the second inning taking a first pitch fastball for strike one, then pounced on the next pitch, another fastball, and just missed it, hitting a deep fly ball to left field.  Rendon showed a good approach at the plate swinging at a meager fastball in the middle of the zone, flashed impressive bat speed and quick wrists in his swing, and just missed a potential extra base hit.  This was an aggressive, but good at-bat for a young man who must have been anxious in such a pressure moment. 

2^nd At-Bat – Situation: 4^th Inning, 2 Outs verses RHP Dillon Gee

After seeing only two pitches in his first at-bat, Rendon showed more patience this time up, watching two fastballs, two curveballs, and a changeup to work the count to 3-2.  On his sixth pitch, he fouled off a good fastball to right field before finally hitting a medium fly ball to center field on his next pitch, a 91mph fastball low and away.  This was a good at-bat for Rendon, as he was able to see seven pitches from Gee and swung at two fastballs in the strike zone; unfortunately he did not get a hit but credit him for a good approach. 

3^rd At-Bat – Situation: 7^th Inning, 0 Outs verses RHP Brandon Lyon

Anthony again showed excellent patience at the plate, watching two fastballs pass to make the count 2-0 before watching two questionable fastballs be called strikes to get the count to 2-2.  On the next pitch, Rendon was badly fooled by an 82mph changeup in the dirt and swung over it for a strikeout.  Good at-bat to work the count to five pitches, but showed his youth and exuberance by getting himself out on an off-speed pitch outside the strike zone. 

4^th At-Bat – Situation: 9^th Inning, 2 Outs verses RHP Bobby Parnell

Rendon again worked the count against Parnell, seeing four consecutive fastballs from him to work the count to 2-2. However, it appeared as though he was sitting fastball again, as he was locked up by an 85mph curveball and watched as the pitch caught the outside corner for strike three looking.  Anthony showed good patience in a difficult situation but probably should have been, in hindsight, more wary of an off-speed pitch after four straight fastballs. 

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Defensively Rendon had a quiet day at third base, as he was involved in only two plays and both took place early in the game.  In the first inning, Rendon made a terrific play catching a foul pop up over the railing of the Nationals dugout, flashing some impressive range, good speed, and soft hands in making the play.  This was an above-average play for a major league third baseman. 

Conversely, later in the fourth inning Rendon was charged with his first major league error as he was unable to catch a difficult, low throw from Ian Desmond on a close play at third base.  Although Desmond did give him a chance to catch the ball and make a spectacular play, the official scorer could have easily given the error to Desmond or called the play a hit, but Rendon was charged with a tough luck error.  Two defensive plays, including zero throws, in one game gives us little insight into his skills, but Rendon has the label as a strong defensive player and he did nothing to hinder this reputation in his debut. 

Typically an 0-4 afternoon with two strikeouts and an error is difficult to paint as a positive debut, but Rendon showed a patient batting eye at the plate seeing 19 total pitches in four at-bats, and gave us a glimpse of his impressive bat speed on his swing in his first at-bat.  While the results were not good, give him credit for having a plan at the plate and showing good patience in executing it.  He did not look overwhelmed by the moment or by major league pitching, and if he continues focusing on his plan, he should be a productive major league hitter. 

The major question that still exists in Rendon’s game is his ability to stay healthy, as he has spent much of the previous three seasons struggling with injuries.  Certainly Rendon could use more seasoning in the minor leagues to improve against quality off-speed pitches as this weakness was exposed in his last two at-bats, but his skills and approach at the plate should translate to the big leagues immediately.  Rendon is an outstanding prospect with the reputation as a professional hitter, and though the box score may say otherwise, he more than looked the part Sunday in his debut. 

What has happened to Phillies ace Roy Halladay – many baseball fans, including much of the city of Philadelphia, have been asking themselves this very question.  While many assumed his troublesome spring would not carry over into the regular season, Halladay’s first two starts this season were disastrous, allowing five earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched in his first start in Atlanta followed by giving up seven runs in his home debut against the Mets.

The two-time Cy Young award winner and eight-time All-Star currently sports a 14.73 ERA after his first two starts of 2013, and with over 2,650 career innings on his now 35-year-old arm, questions exist if his days as a superstar pitcher are now coming to an end.  After reports of declining velocity and his abnormally poor results, I wanted to scout his third start of the season Sunday against the Miami Marlins to see what is currently ailing Doc Halladay.

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Beginning the season with two woeful starts, if there was ever an opportunity to rebound it would be against the struggling Marlins lineup without Giancarlo Stanton in their pitcher-friendly home ballpark.  Halladay was much more successful Sunday afternoon, allowing only one run on five hits and one walk with two strikeouts over eight innings pitched.  He threw 86 total pitches, 57 for strikes, and by my count, 33 of which were either 2-seam or cut fastballs (38.3%), and the remaining 53 pitches were off-speed, either his splitter, curveball, or changeup.  I assume he threw such a large percentage of off-speed pitches to take advantage of the young and overaggressive Marlins lineup, but it was surprising to see Halladay throw so few fastballs.

Although a pleasant box score, before getting overly excited by these results, one must temper this exuberance as there are still plenty of warning signs from his start as well.  The first noticeable thing is his lost fastball velocity, as Halladay averaged only 89.4mph, topping out at 91.3mph, on his 2-seam fastball, which is down almost two miles an hour from last season’s average of 91.1mph. (Thanks BrooksBaseball.net)
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Secondly, Halladay struggled to get ahead in the count, only throwing 15 of 29 (51.7%) first pitch strikes, which forced him to pitch from behind much of the game.  This did not come back to haunt Halladay due to the weak hitting Marlins lineup, but as he pitches against stronger competition, he must throw more strikes or he will struggle like he did in his first two starts. Finally, his fastball command needs to improve as he threw only 21 of 33 (63.6%) for strikes, a mediocre number and unusually low for a pitcher with such excellent control such as Halladay.

Conversely, the Phillies and Roy Halladay should find reasons for optimism from Sunday’s start as well.  After scuffling early with his command, Halladay threw first pitch strikes to 9 of the final 13 (69.2%) batters he faced and found his groove in the 4^th inning, needing only 50 pitches over his final five innings.  Finally, as the cliché goes, results matter, and allowing only five hits, one walk, and inducing five pure swings-and-misses, the Marlins hitters are telling you he still has quality major league stuff.

I am glad I took the opportunity to chart Halladay’s start Sunday, as I was surprised by what I saw from the two-time Cy Young award winner: Halladay has long been known for his patented, clean throwing motion and impeccable command, but instead I was treated to a more laborious delivery, mediocre fastball control, and stuff lacking the same amazing movement within the strike zone it had a few seasons ago.  His positive results mask what was a decent outing against a poor major league lineup.

However, if Halladay can continue to throw strikes early in the count to set up his quality off-speed stuff, as he did in the middle innings, he should continue to be successful and at times, dominant.  Perhaps his stuff has regressed enough to no longer properly call him an Ace, but his smarts, moxie, and stuff should continue to allow him to be one of the best #2 or #3 starters in the National League.