Going into the 2019 season many analysts across baseball pinned Phillies starter Nick Pivetta as a darkhorse Cy Young candidate. Pivetta has been anything but Cy Young quality, making multiple trips back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after posting a 5.38 ERA for Philadelphia this year.
Pivetta is among several young Phillies players who underperformed this year after the front office appeared to give him and others one last opportunity to prove they belong on a winning team.
Through his first 18.1 innings, Pivetta allowed 18 earned runs off 31 hits, five of which were home runs. Philadelphia sent him to Lehigh Valley in for the later part of April and May to refine his craft, and he did show signs of life after coming back, posting a 1.