The Phillies have acquired 34-year old lefty reliever Stephen Randolph from the Astros for a player to be named later. Randolph will likely be in AAA for the Phillies as an insurance policy. Randolph has pitched in 11 games in AAA this season and he is 0-1 with 2 saves, a 1.23 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has whiffed 21 batters but he has walked 11 batters in only 14.2 innings. He has pitched in 109 games (6 starts) in his major league career and he is 10-7 with a 5.52 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. The thing that has held Randolph back in his major league career is walks as he has walked 136 batters in 155 career innings in the show.

21-year old righty starter Carlos Carrasco is the #1 rated prospect in the Phillies’ system according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook and he could be in Philly soon. Carrasco has started 6 games in AA-ball so far this season and he is 3-2 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He also has whiffed 39 batters in only 36 innings. If he keeps pitching like he is now he will likely make it to Philly before September.

New closer Brad Lidge has been flawless so far this season. He has pitched in 15 games this season for the Phillies and he is 1-0 with 7 saves, a 0.00 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. Lidge has also whiffed 15 batters in only 13 innings this season which shows that his stuff is coming back. If Lidge can keep focused and aggressive this season the Phillies are going to have a nice season again in 2008.

Ryan Howard is off to another slow start this season for the Phillies. Howard has played in 32 games this season and he is 19 for 114 (.167 avg, .645 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 6 homers and 14 RBIs. Howard has also whiffed an amazing 45 times this season. It’s way to early to panic as Howard got off to a very slow start last season as well. When Howard gets going the Phillies are going to really score a ton of runs.

Chase Utley and Pat Burrell are both off to great starts to the 2008 season. Utley is the best player on the Planet Earth right now. He has played in 32 games for the Phillies and he is 45 for 126 (.357 avg, 1.194 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 13 homers and 26 RBIs. Almost as impressive as Utley’s start is how well Pat Burrell has played this season. Burrell has played in 32 games this season for the Phillies and he is 35 for 106 (.330 avg, 1.148 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 9 homers and 30 RBIs. Burrell has been much more selective this season as he has walked 26 times already this season which explains his bump in batting average.