Down on the Pharm

It's the day you all (meaning I) have been waiting for!
Before we get into it, we've already had one of my players to watch come on up to the majors in Lou Marson. He's only hitting .235 with 4 hits in 17 at-bats, but he has looked pretty solid behind the plate in my opinion. We will be finding out sometime over the weekend whether he will be staying up once Ruiz returns or if he'll be sent back down to AAA Lehigh Valley.

If Hamels' arm doesn't fall off by August as I predicted, I am sure some other part of his body will completely stop working in the 5th inning of his next start. So who knows how long he will be around. Along the same lines, Brad Lidge is having some type of knee problem, and we will find out Friday how bad that is and if he needs to be put on the DL. We would be looking for bullpen help either way. If Hamels goes down, we would just move Happ into the rotation I believe. If that were to happen, we'd probably want another lefthander. If Lidge is out, I don't think it will matter if the pitcher we get is righthanded or lefthanded. Here's a look at some pitchers who could possibly replace either one of them:
- Michael Stutes, RHP, Reading
He's 3-0 in 3 starts this year with a 1.59 ERA. He's 22 years old, so he might be a little bit young at this point, but he has very solid numbers. Opposing hitters are batting just .196 against him
- Vance Worley, RHP, Reading
Opposing hitters are batting just .176 against him in 24.1 innings this season. Only 21 years old, and I'm guessing we'll keep him in down either way so he can continue to start games. His ERA is 2.22
- Matt German, LHP, Reading
Like I said, I don't know if righthanded or lefthanded matters if Lidge is out, but I think German would definitely be at the top of the list if the Phils don't mind bringing up a lefty. He has pitched 11.2 innings in 8 appearances, giving up just 6 hits and 0 runs. He has 16 strike outs and has walked 6, and the opponents' batting average is .146. With those numbers and being 24 years old, I would put my money on him coming up. He's 6'8" too, which is awesome.
- Antonio Bastardo, LHP, Reading
He has numbers almost as good as German. He had 4 relief appearances before starting his last game and pitching 5 shut out innings. He's pitched 12.1 innings and given up 1 earned run and 6 hits. More impressive is his 1 walk in those innings, compared to German's 6 walks. The Phils may lean towards him because of his control.
- Carlos Carrasco, RHP, Lehigh Valley
I think Carrasco has to be the most likely candidate at this point. It seems like we've been on the brink of calling him up for about a year now. He has not been his sharpest this season. He's 0-2 with a 4.57 ERA. He does have only 3 walks in 21.2 innings along with 23 strikeouts, and I think when looking at people to call up control is a big thing. Because odds are that will only get worse once they get called up.

In the lower levels, 18-year-old Jason Knapp has been sharp in Lakewood. He is 1-2 but has a 1.85 ERA, opponents are hitting .150 against him, and he has 37 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. He won't be in the big leagues any time soon, but hopefully he keeps those numbers up and can move up through the system as the year goes on.
On the other end of the spectrum, Australian Drew Naylor has struggled with an 11.05 ERA and an opponents' batting average of .385. Despite his awesome Australianness, I may have to scratch him from my list of people to watch if he doesn't improve. It's obviously early though

As for hitters to look at, I've already replaced PJ Whateverhisname was from Clearwater with Dominic Brown in Clearwater. PJ wasn't even playing. I don't know what his deal was. And Brown is someone I kept an eye on last year and he has decent numbers so far this season.

Miguel Cairo has done all of nothing with the Phillies this season, and I would not be surprised to see him sent down or cut or whatever we need to do at this point. We still only have 4 outfielders, and I think we are happy with how they have all been hitting, but I am still uncomfortable with Matt Stairs actually playing in the outfield when we give someone a day off. Here are my most likely candidates to be called up at some point to provide outfield help (and hopefully replace Cairo).
- John Mayberry, OF, Lehigh Valley
There's really little doubt in my mind that he would be the one if we called up an outfielder. Through the first 9 games of the year he was hitting just .206, but in the past 8 he has brought it up to .277. He has 7 doubles and 5 home runs in those 17 games along with 13 RBIs. The only problem is his 18 strike outs. He was somebody who was one of the last people to be left off the major league roster, and we just got him in a trade in the off season. He's 25 years old, so his time is probably coming soon to be up. He's also a righthanded bat, which is an added bonus for our "lefty heavy" lineup. The only thing holding him back is that he would not be playing every day, and the Phillies probably want to have him playing more often. We don't have a need for a starting outfielder, just someone off the bench.
- Jeremy Slayden, OF, Lehigh Valley
He started off well but is hitting just .171 right now including being 2 for his last 25. I don't think he would have a chance at coming up right now, but later in the year if he gets hot I would not be surprised

Here are some other notable players:
- Michael Taylor, OF, Reading
He is currently my favorite Phillie. I can never pick a major leaguer to be my favorite, and it's so much easier to say that a minor leaguer is because I don't actually have to see him and others play every day. He started off slow, but in his last 10 games he's hitting .378 with 1 double, 1 triple, 2 home runs, and 3 stolen bases. He's hitting .317 on the year.
- Jason Donald, SS, Lehigh Valley
Donald is high on our prospect list, but he has struggled so far. He's hitting just .244 with 22 strike outs in 19 games. But if we decide to do a Brett Myers experiment on Jimmy Rollins and send him down, expect Donald to come on up. (I realize I've been really hard on Jimmy this season, and I don't feel bad about it. I have learned over the years that tough love is the only thing these guys respond to)

And finally, here is some trade bait for later in the season:
- Harold Garcia, 2B, Lakewood
He's hitting .317 with 3 triples and 6 stolen bases in 17 games. We don't need a second baseman for like 23 years because I honestly believe Chase will be consistently good for that long. So goodbye Harold, or else learn to play 3rd.
- Brian Stavinsky, 1B, Reading
First base is another position we do not have a need for at all. Stavinsky is hitting .300 though, and last year he hit .312 with 16 home runs. If it weren't for Howard, I'd take a .300 hitter at first. Hopefully another team feels the same way.

There are a few more players that I'm keeping track of, but these were the most worthy of being mentioned here. Pay attention to injury news the next few days, because Hamels and Lidge are both getting checked out on Friday to see how good they are to go. Although Hamels should be fine, who knows with Lidge. Also, keep an ear out for the decision regarding Ruiz/Coste/Marson. And cross your fingers that Miguel Cairo gets hurt.