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Falter Reached a Big Milestone in His Last Start

Bailey Falter’s last start for the Philadelphia Phillies turned out to be a big game for the young left-hander.

Author:
Leo Morgenstern
Jul 1, 2022 5:15 PM EDT

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Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies recalled 25-year-old southpaw Bailey Falter from Triple-A Lehigh Valley this afternoon. He is filling in for the injured Zach Eflin, who is on the IL with a bruised knee.

As the sixth starter on the 40-man roster, making the occasional spot start is Falter's job. He made his first start of the season on May 11, three days after a doubleheader and during a span in which the Phillies played nine games in eight days. His second start came sixteen days later, during another very busy stretch for the team. His third start also came during a doubleheader.

Falter is not going to get very many opportunities to start for this team. The Phillies already have five reliable starters, and they need Falter to be playing regularly at Triple-A so he is properly stretched out to make spot starts as needed. It's not a role anyone dreams of, but Falter has done a commendable job thus far.

Philadelphia has won two of the three games he has started, and his ERA as a starting pitching is a respectable 4.26. He has done a particularly good job of limiting walks in his three appearances as a starter.

In his most recent start — game two of a doubleheader in Washington — Falter accomplished something he had previously yet to achieve in his big league career: pitching five full innings in a game.

It wasn't a no-hitter, or a shutout, or even a complete game. It's not going to go in any record books or receive any attention from the national media. Falter's teammates might not even be aware of this accomplishment. Who could blame them?

The fact of the matter is, it's not usually newsworthy when a pitcher goes five innings in a start. In fact, it's pretty unremarkable. But that's exactly why it's such a big deal in this case.

Over the past three seasons, starting pitchers have averaged almost exactly five innings per game (4.99 to be precise). In modern baseball, five innings is the benchmark of an adequate start. In his last start, therefore, Falter was truly adequate for the first time in his big league career. It may not be glamorous, but it's still pretty impressive to be an adequate MLB pitcher.

For a player like Falter, who isn't a top prospect and who doesn't have a clear path to a full-time big league job, it's especially important just to prove that he can be good enough.

Falter is not going to be a major contributor in Philadelphia this season. If he is, something has gone pretty seriously wrong. Thankfully, he seems to be embracing his role as an occasional starter.

His next opportunity to help out the team comes Friday night against the St. Louis Cardinals. If he can provide another solid, five-inning appearance, the Phillies will be very happy.