The Phillies got "about as good of news as we could have hoped for" regarding Vince Velasquez's elbow injury, GM Matt Klentak said Friday.
Velasquez has a minor, Grade 1 strain of his flexor pronator in his right forearm/elbow area. He won't throw for three weeks and then the Phillies will gauge his progress.
The hope is to have Velasquez back some time around the All-Star break. The final two months of the season are extremely important for him because the same questions that existed last season about pitch efficiency and breaking ball command are still there.
Velasquez is 2-5 with a 5.58 ERA this season. He left his last start on Tuesday after 1 1/3 innings.
Velasquez also missed three weeks last season with a biceps strain.
In 34 starts with the Phillies, he's 10-11 with a 4.52 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. He's struck out 205 and walked 66 in 181 innings.
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Meanwhile, another piece of the Ken Giles trade is opening eyes at Triple A. Right-hander Tom Eshelman pitched a five-hit shutout for Lehigh Valley on Wednesday to improve to 6-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 10 starts.
