Carlos Silva
| IP | 1241 |
|---|---|
| ERA | 4.678 |
| WHIP | 1.397 |
| BB/9 | 1.726 |
| SO/9 | 4.018 |
- Full name Carlos Silva
- Born 04/23/1979 in Bolivar, Venezuela
- Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 280 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School U.E. General Ezequiel Zamora Bolivar
- Debut 04/01/2002
Top Rankings
Organization Prospect Rankings
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The story remains the same on Silva. He has had one of the organization's best arms since signing at age 16, yet has never dominated hitters. He has established himself as a workhorse and finished second in the Eastern League in 2001 with 180 innings. Silva throws a heavy 93- 94 mph sinker from a three-quarters angle, and the pitch moves on a tough downward plane. He'll touch 95-96 on occasion and offers a fringe-average changeup that helps him get tons of groundouts. He's around the plate too much with his fastball. He lacks confidence in his secondary pitches and allowed opponents to settle in and hit him at a .284 clip with 20 home runs in 2001. There had been some discussion of moving Silva into the bullpen due to his lack of a consistent breaking pitch, but that was shelved after he made encouraging progress with his slider in instructional league. The Phillies once again are encouraged that Silva will be a 200-inning starter in the majors. He'll have to use his 84-mph slider and his changeup well in the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre rotation in 2002 to avoid being banished to the bullpen. -
Silva's live arm rivals those of the system's best. But since signing five years ago, he hasn't developed the secondary pitches and polish to accompany his blazing fastball. For a guy who consistently blows his fastball in the mid- to upper 90s, Silva has been surprisingly hittable. He also has averaged a mere 4.9 strikeouts per nine innings. Last year, he led the Florida State League in innings pitched, losses and complete games, and it may have been his last experience as a starter. The Phillies liked what they saw from him in shorter relief stints during instructional league and think he could have a future in that capacity. Silva's changeup is showing signs of coming around. He has experimented with a curveball and slider that he's struggled to throw consistently. A shift to the pen could prove to be the turning point in his career.
Minor League Top Prospects
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The scouting report on Silva entering 2001 was that he had a live arm, a mid-90s fastball and the ability to eat innings, but couldn't put hitters away because he lacked secondary pitches. While that combination resulted in leading the FSL in losses a year ago, this summer he topped the EL in victories. "He fits right in there with Nate Cornejo," Freiling said. "He's a big, strong guy with a heavy sinker. His ball really runs into righthanders. That sinker just eats up hitters. He looks smooth for such a big guy." Silva's future may be in the bullpen, though the Phillies have resisted that move to this point. "He has trouble with his offspeed pitches," a scout said. "But he has that heavy, hard fastball that will make him very tough in relief."
