30-year old righty swinging Jayson Werth had a true breakout season for the Phillies in 2009 and they hope he can repeat or improve on it in 2010. Werth played in 159 games for the Phillies last season and he was 153 of 571 (.268 avg, .879 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 36 homers, 99 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Werth made 4 errors in 146 games in RF for the Phillies last season but he showed good range. Werth has a cannon in RF as he had 10 assists there last season. Werth has the potential to put up a 30/30 season in 2010 for the Phillies.

28-year old righty swinging Ben Francisco will be the Phillies’ top backup in RF in 2010. He played in 18 games in RF last season and he didn’t make any errors while showing average range. Francisco also had 1 assist from RF last season.

26-year old switch hitting John Mayberry will be #3 in line in RF in 2010. He played in 39 games for the Phillies last season in which he was 12 of 57 (.211 avg, .724 OPS) with 8 runs scored, 4 homers and 8 RBIs. Mayberry whiffed 23 times for the Phillies in 2009 and that’s way too many. He played 4 error-free games in RF for the Phillies last season while showing average range and he had 1 assist while playing RF. Mayberry needs to make his move in the majors soon.

22-year old lefty swinging Domonic Brown is the Phillies’ top position prospect left. He played in 106 games in Rookie+A+AA ball in which he was 118 of 395 (.299 avg, .880 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 14 homers, 64 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Brown will be ready for the show soon but the Phillies will likely take it slow with him in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE RF IN 2010: B+

29-year old lefty swinging Shane Victorino will be the starting CF for the Phillies in 2010. He is fun to watch as he loves to get his uniform dirty. Victorino played in 156 games for the Phillies last season and he was 181 of 620 (.292 avg, .803 OPS) with 102 runs scored, 10 homers, 62 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. Victorino played in 149 games for the Phillies in CF last season and he only made 1 error but he showed pretty poor range. He does have a good throwing arm as he had 8 assists last season. Look for Victorino to be a very valuable player for the Phillies once again in 2010.

28-year old righty swinging Ben Francisco will likely be Victorino’s top backup in 2010. Francisco didn’t make any errors in 40 games in CF last season while showing good range. Francisco showed off a cannon in CF last season as he had 6 assists there last season. If anything were to happen to Victorino where he had to miss a lot of time the Phillies are confident that there wouldn’t be a huge dropoff.

32-year old lefty swinging DeWayne Wise will try to make the Phillies in 2010. He played in 84 games for the White Sox last season and he was 32 of 142 (.225 avg, .628 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Wise only made 1 error in 35 games in CF last season and he showed outstanding range. Wise also had 2 assists from CF showing a decent throwing arm.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CF IN 2010: B

37-year old lefty swinging Raul Ibanez really swung the bat well last season for the Phillies and they expect that to continue in 2010. Ibanez played in 134 games for the Phillies last season and he was 136 of 500 (.272 avg, .899 OPS) with 93 runs scored, 34 homers and 93 RBIs. Ibanez only made 2 errors in 129 games in left field for the Phillies last season but he showed below average range. Ibanez did show off a good throwing arm last season as he had 9 assists from LF. Ibanez will be a big asset to the Philles in 2010.

28-year old righty swinging Ben Francisco will be the 4th outfielder for the Phillies in 2010 and he can handle all three spots defensively. Francisco played in 37 games for the Phillies last season and he was 27 of 97 (.278 avg, .843 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 5 homers and 13 RBIs. He played in 126 games overall last season for the Phillies & Indians in which he was 104 of 405 (.257 avg, .779 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 15 homers, 46 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Francisco played in 61 games in LF last season and he made 1 error while showing outstanding range. Look for Francisco to get a lot of action as a defensive replacement in LF in 2010.

33-year old lefty swinging Ross Gload could also play some LF in 2010 for the Phillies. He played in 125 games for the Marlins last season and he was 60 of 230 (.261 avg, .729 OPS) with 33 run scored, 6 homers and 30 RBIs. Gload will get most of his at bats as a pinch hitter this season where he will really help the Phillies in 2010. Gload played in 1 error-free game in LF for the Marlins last season.

26-year old switch hitting John Mayberry will be in spring training trying to win a bench job. He played in 26 error-free games in LF for the Phillies last season and he showed outstanding range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE LF IN 2010: B

The Phillies have signed 32-year old lefty swinging OF/1B Brad Wilkerson to a minor league deal. Wilkerson only played in 2 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 1 for 9 (.111 avg, .311 OPS). Wilkerson last played in the majors in 2008 with the Mariners and Blue Jays. He has now played in 972 games in his major league career and he is 788 for 3,187 (.247 avg, .790 OPS) with 500 runs scored, 122 homers, 399 RBIs and 53 stolen bases. Wilkerson has whiffed 947 times in his major league career so don’t look for him to hit much better than .250 in the event that the Phillies give him a call to the show at some point in 2010. I still like this signing for the Phillies as they have nothing to lose in giving him a shot this spring.

34-year old righty swinging Placido Polanco was signed during the winter to take over as the starting 3B for the Phillies in 2010. Polanco played in 153 games for the Tigers last season and he was 176 for 618 (.285 avg, .727 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 10 homers, 72 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Polanco will be a nice improvement offensively over Pedro Feliz for the Phillies in 2010. Polanco only made 2 errors in 151 games at 2B for the Tigers last season and he showed great range. He should be a asset for the Phillies defensively also in 2010.

31-year old lefty swinging Greg Dobbs will backup Polanco in 2010. Dobbs played in 97 games for the Phillies last season and he was 38 for 154 (.247 avg, .679 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 5 homers and 20 RBIs. The Phillies are hoping that Dobbs rebounds from last season and hits his career norms of a .271 batting average with a .741 OPS. Dobbs played in 16 error-free games at 3B for the Phillies last season while showing pretty good range.

37-year old righty swinging Juan Castro will also likely get some P.T. at 3B for the Phillies in 2010. He played in 8 games at 3B for the Dodgers last season and he didn’t make any errors there while showing good range.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 3B IN 2010: B