Longshot pitcher Herndon impresses Phillies early

CLEARWATER, Fla. - The new guy arrived in the Phillies' clubhouse 2 weeks ago. He wore a baseball cap and jeans and carried a bag. He walked through the door and glanced uncertainly around the room. A clubhouse attendant walked over and pointed to his locker, the one labeled "Herndon" in the corner of the room.

"Right now," the new guy, a righthanded pitcher named David Herndon, joked later, "I feel like a lost dog."

It is a feeling shared by many Rule 5 draft picks, thanks to the uncertain nature of their existence. Plucked off the minor-league roster of their former club during a draft at the winter meetings - any player not on the 40-man roster who has been in his organization for 4 years (if he signed at age 19 or older) or 5 years (if he signed at 18 or younger) is eligible - they suddenly find themselves dumped into a new organization to which they often have zero ties.

In Phillies camp, everybody seems to know somebody - returning veterans have their teammates, minor leaguers have their fellow minor leaguers, new veterans have their former teammates and competitors.

Herndon, meanwhile, has spent the previous 4 years in a different organization (the Angels), playing in a different set of minor leagues, in such different outposts as Orem and Cedar Rapids and Rancho Cucamonga.

Further, when the season starts, he could find himself back where he came from, thanks to the rule that requires his new team to offer him back to his old team if he is no longer on the active roster.

If all of this sounds like a difficult set of circumstances for a 24-year-old pitcher trying to make the transition from starter to reliever while honing his breaking ball, well, it is.

"I don't understand all of it myself," Herndon said.

Which is why he has narrowed his focus to the playing field, where the Phillies were intrigued enough by his heavy sinker and work-in-progress slider to add him to their 40-man roster.

On paper, Herndon's odds of sticking around might seem slim. The Phillies, who usually start the season with a seven-man bullpen, have six relievers under contract. The final spot is likely to go to a young lefthander, with Antonio Bastardo and Sergio Escalona fronting a group that includes Mike Zagurski. Closer Brad Lidge and veteran lefty J.C. Romero could begin the season on the disabled list, but both are expected to return within the first few weeks of the season.

But because he cannot be sent to the minors or minor-league camp without first being offered back to the Angels, Herndon, at the very least, will get a longer look than most.

"He's going to get more opportunity," pitching coach Rich Dubee said. "He's going to stay here longer. A younger kid that might have a chance and shows that he's probably not ready yet, we're probably going to move him to the minor leagues so he can continue with the development and be ready for their season. A guy like David Herndon, or any Rule 5 guy, is probably going to stay here until the end, until we have to make the final judgment."

The scouting report on Herndon at the winter meetings was simple: big frame; heavy sinker whose velocity seemed to increase when he moved to the bullpen late in 2008; work-in-progress slider.

He appeared in 50 games for Double A Arkansas last season, walking only 1.9 batters per nine innings while posting a 3.03 ERA. He had similar numbers in the Arizona Fall League, striking out eight in 17 1/3 innings, allowing five earned runs and five walks.

During live batting practice yesterday, Herndon's sinker broke several bats.

"He's a command guy, a very good sinker guy, and he showed it today," Dubee said. "A very, very good sinker. And he threw, from what I had read in reports, a better slider than I expected."

Herndon has concentrated on the slider for much of the past year, including a stint with Los Gigantes de Cibao in the Dominican Winter League, where he was coached by Phillies minor league pitching coach Carlos Arroyo.

"I'd say the last year, I made a lot of progress," Herndon said. "That was why I went down to the Dominican, to work on my slider . . . For me, it's consistency."

Herndon says he started to struggle with his breaking ball after suffering an arm injury while playing for Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Fla.

"It was nonexistent," he said of the pitch.

But when the Phillies called Arroyo before drafting Herndon in December, he gave them a good recommendation.

"He knows what he was down there for, to show a little sharper breaking ball," Arroyo said. "He has a good sinker. He's a contact pitcher. He comes in and throws strikes. That's the one thing he has going for him."

Another thing is his Rule 5 status.

Even if it means being the new kid in school.

Lefthander J.C. Romero is scheduled to throw off the mound today for the first time since having surgery in October to repair a torn flexor pronator tendon in his elbow . . . Rich Dubee complimented lefthander Cole Hamels for his reaction after bouncing a fastball during live batting practice. The young lefty, whose reaction to adversity last season was criticized by Dubee early in spring training, gathered himself and "threw a gem" on his next pitch . . . Manager Charlie Manuel laughed about the energy outfielder Tyson Gillies, acquired in the Cliff Lee trade, displays even when shagging fly balls. "He takes shagging to a new level," Manuel said. *

For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese.