Can you name me five #5 starters across Major League Baseball, without including the Phillies?

If you can, I’m impressed. 

The Phillies have a 5th starter problem right now, but they’re right there with every team in the league. Taijuan Walker has been a disaster. Tyler Phillips had three good starts before everything went downhill. Seth Johnson got rocked in his first career start. Kolby Allard has been the best option this year, but he isn’t eligible to return to the active roster until Tuesday.

The last starting pitching role is strictly a regular season issue. Your 5th starter doesn’t touch the field in a playoff series. Kyle Gibson and Taijuan Walker didn’t sniff meaningful playoff innings the last two seasons. Remember when Bailey Falter pitched against the Padres in the NLCS? He didn’t make it out of the first inning. 

When your biggest issue with 19 games to go is your 5th starter, you’re in really good shape. If the rotation isn’t flipped around for the rest of the regular season, that slot should only have three more starts. 


The Seattle Mariners lead all of Major League Baseball in team ERA and they’ve been an exception to the trend this season. Bryan Woo, the starter with the 5th-most innings, has a 2.99 ERA. Elsewhere, Bryce Elder is pitching in AAA for the Braves. Spencer Arighetti has a 4.82 ERA in 25 starts for Houston. The Boston Red Sox, who led the league in team ERA for a good portion of this season, now have just one starter with an ERA under 4. The Dodgers have just two starters with more than 100 innings pitched.

The Taijuan Walker contract from Dave Dombrowski was a massive failure, no secret there. He didn’t perform this year in the opportunities he had, and he’s now turned into the long-man out of the bullpen. Dombrowski has said that Walker will have to compete to get his spot back for the 2025 season. 

Luckily for the Phillies, the four starters at the top of their rotation have held it down in 2024. Zack Wheeler has continued to pitch like the ace he is. Aaron Nola, although the occasional struggles still linger, is having one of the best seasons of his career. Ranger Suarez has been great at times, and really good the others. Cristopher Sanchez has been one of the best home starters in all of baseball:

There isn’t a starting rotation in baseball I’d take over the Phillies this season if you’re talking about the top four guys, and that’s what matters the most. 

The Phillies have seen injuries to Alec Bohm, Bryce Harper, and J.T. Realmuto over the last month, and still hold a 20-14 record in August and September. Kyle Schwarber went nuclear the last few weeks, while Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh have combined to hit over .300 over the last 30 days.

Don’t put too much stock into the 5th starter games. They’re experimenting with what they have, and an early-season division lead gave them the opportunity to do so. The Phillies currently hold a 7-game lead over the Mets and Braves in the division, who are battling it out for one of the wild card spots. They lead the Brewers by three games, which is really four when you include the season series, which the Phillies have. 

Allard should start these last three games in the 5th slot once he returns from the minors. He’s been the best option, holding a 3.50 ERA in 18 innings.

When you sit there and watch this team on the 5th day, just remember that nearly every team in baseball is going through the same struggle. Once the calendar hits October, that worry goes out the window.