In what is seen as a move to motivate the young righty, Phillies’ pitching coach Rich Dubee said Sunday that he believes the fifth starting position is Kyle Kendrick’s to lose.

“I can’t walk away from those 21 wins,” Dubee said of Kendrick’s success his first two years in the majors.

Kendrick has started in only 50 games, and has wins in almost half of them. Despite losing his spot in the rotation late last year, he is hopeful that improvements he has made to his changeup and slider will help him reclaim the job he lost.

That being said, many believed that the front runner coming into Spring Training for the fifth spot was J.A. Happ, who started three games last year for the Phillies, all wins for the big club. Also competing for the spot are newcomer Chan Ho Park, who signed with the Phillies with the understanding that he would be able to compete for a starting job, and the darkhorse Carlos Carrasco, who most likely still needs another year to develop in the minors.

“We’ll evaulate all of them,” Dubee said. “If someone is better, we’ll go with someone better.”

One way or the other, when your fifth starter is your biggest question coming into Spring Training, you’re in a pretty good spot.