Former Philadelphia Phillies Top Prospect Dominated Them on Tuesday

A former top prospect of the Philadelphia Phillies went out to prove himself against the team that drafted him.

D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies suffered a tough extra innings loss on Tuesday, and to top it off, one of their former top prospects cruised against the team in relief.

Spencer Howard made his San Francisco Giants debut, against the Phillies after he was called up prior to the game on Tuesday. It was his first time facing Philadelphia since leaving the team, and he made sure they remembered who he is.

In four innings of work, he allowed five hits, struck out four and didn't allow a run. Howard maxed out at 96 mph and got seven whiffs from Phillies hitters, with all four strikeouts being swinging.

He was dealt to the Texas Rangers in the trade where Philadelphia received Kyle Gibson back in 2021. Howard was the Phillies' top pitching prospect in both 2020 and 2021, and even a top 100 overall minor leaguer on MLB Pipeline's list.

That being said, trading Howard when Philadelphia did made sense.

Even though he was such a highly regarded prospect, he had a near-6.00 ERA in 52.2 innings pitched with the Phillies. After the trade, his ERA with Texas was even worse, which is why he only got a minor league deal with the Giants.

In 2020, Bryce Harper was streaming on Twitch when he said "If Spencer Howard isn't starting in our rotation by Game 6 in New York against the New York Yankees, then there's a problem. That's all I'm saying."

Harper was clearly a fan of Howard, and the 2020 Phillies needed rotation depth.

Jake Arrieta and Vince Velasquez were both struggling mightily, with ERAs both over 5.00. At the time, Howard was the best in-house option and had a lot of hype surrounding him.

And while it didn't work out between him and the Phillies, the team has faired well in the following years.

However, Howard did make the team that drafted him pay, three years after trading him away.