The Phillies have placed outfielder Jayson Werth on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right abdominal muscle. He has played in 40 games this season for the Phillies and he is 34 for 131 (.260 avg, .857 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 9 homers, 26 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Phillies have called up outfielder T.J. Bohn to replace Werth on the roster. Bohn has played in 7 games for the Phillies this season and he is 1 for 3 (.333 avg) with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs. The Phillies will miss Werth’s bat as he was off to a great start this season.

Cole Hamels is proving that last season was just the beginning of a very productive career. He has started 10 games this season for the Phillies and he is 5-3 with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He has only allowed 53 hits while striking out 65 batters in 72.1 innings which shows what kind of stuff he has. Hamels will be a contender for the Cy Young Award as long as he can stay healthy with the Phillies’ offense backing him up.

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.