August Report Cards for All 25 Philadelphia Phillies Players

Is that a faint glimmer of hope on the horizon? 

The Philadelphia Phillies rolled into the month of August surrounded by fans already focus on the 2013 season, but in a lot of ways, the Phillies themselves were already gearing up for next year. 

By the final day of July they had traded away two of their key cogs coming into the season in Shane Victorino and Hunter Pence. 

They added some quality minor league talent in guys like Tommy Joseph and Ethan Martin while adding some players that could help at the MLB level next season in Josh Lindblom and Nate Schierholtz. 

The month of August wasn’t going to be one that the Phillies had become accustomed to in years past, but it was going to be an interesting one nonetheless. A lot of guys on this club still had something to play for. 

Now, the Phillies find themselves in a unique situation. Hovering right around 10 games out of a Wild Card spot, they seem like a distant threat to the leaders. 

But you know that this club can’t help but realize that they’re in nearly the exact same predicament as the St. Louis Cardinals were at this time last season, and that train ran right through Philadelphia on its way to a World Series. 

August was a pretty good month for the Phillies. They’re going to finish with a record north of .500 and an unlikely dream of recreating the Cardinals’ dramatic run at the postseason. 

So in order to determine whether or not they even have a shot, we’ll look back at each player’s month of August and grade them on their performance. Who needs to improve and who needs to stay the course for the Phillies to make an improbable run at October in the month of September? 

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Philadelphia Phillies Need to Replace Charlie Manuel in 2013

Charlie Manuel will finish his career in Philadelphia as the winning-est coach in Phillies history. Whether his star-studded roster was the reason for his success will be for you, the fan, to decide.

The Phillies went from the best team in baseball to a team 17.5 games back of the first-place Washington Nationals in less than a year.

The team has also regressed every single season since they won the World Series in 2008. The more money the Phillies spent, the shorter Charlie led the Phillies into the postseason. 

Ruben Amaro Jr. has had a lot to do with the team’s dismal 2012 season, but any development at the major league level has simply not happened in 2012. Players are not improving and continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. That lays on the manager and his staff.

The only life in this team comes from players who were in Triple-A affiliate Lehigh Valley at the start of the 2012 season, aside from Carlos Ruiz’s stellar year. The clubhouse is slipping away from Charlie at a rapid pace. 

Charlie has done such a poor job with the 2012 Phillies, the home sellout streak was lost. With the fans leaving, so does the money. Fans need to be shown the Phillies’ organization is dedicated to winning. Without the fans, the Phillies will lose the money to sign free agents and soon return to mediocrity. 

Charlie has nothing left to accomplish in Philadelphia, and leaving him as the head coach for the Phillies in 2013 for good graces will only deter this team from making progress. A manager needs to be a leader, a man who makes tough choices not always to popular demand.

Manuel is not that man, never has been, never will be. He lets things play out in order to earn the respect of his players instead of making educated, precise decisions that lead to improving a ball club.

Instead, Charlie leaves his veteran players in roles they can no longer manage and refuses to give young players a chance unless he is forced to by trades or injuries. Jimmy Rollins is batting .243 and his OBP a lowly .303.

They are not a lead-off hitter’s numbers. A person who bats first has to be a player who avoids outs, not make them 70% of the time. His lack of respect for Charlie and the rest of the Phillies’ team was on display Thursday, when Rollins decided to dog it down to first base on a fly ball that was dropped and he was stuck at first base because of his lack of hustle.  

Manuel has been nothing short of horrendous in managing his pitching staff in 2012. He leaves worn-out starters in too long and makes even worse decisions when he decides who to bring into pitch from the bullpen. It seems every string that Charlie pulls turns into another late-inning Phillies loss.  

If Ruben wants to get back on top of the NL East, he will cut ties with Charlie Manuel and start a new Phillies dynasty.

It all starts with Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg. Kevin Frandsen and Erik Kratz, who both have put up torrid numbers after being called up from Triple-A have publicly raved about Sandberg. If the Phillies let him slip away again, it will be a mistake they pay for, for years to come. 

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Philadelphia Phillies: 10 Ways Ruben Amaro Jr. Can Fix the Phillies for 2013

True to form, your 2012 Philadelphia Phillies followed up its spirited sweep of the division-leading Washington Nationals by promptly dropping another series to the New York Mets.

Vance Worley is finished for the season. The better question is why Worley was not shut down long before now. In his last five starts, Worley got out of the sixth inning just once. He went 0-3 in those turns. Something clearly was not right; Now, he’s finally going to have the surgery he should have had a month ago.

With the 2012 season rotting slowly like tomato left out in the August sun, a fan’s attention turns to 2013. If you were Ruben Amaro Jr., how would you fix this team? 

Let us count the ways.

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Would Chase Utley Moving to Third Ruin Phillies’ Chances to Land David Wright?

Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley could be returning to the place from whence he came:

The hot corner.

According to a report from the Associated Press, Utley was spotted taking ground balls at third base several hours before the Phillies took on the New York Mets on Wednesday night.

This doesn’t mean that Charlie Manuel is about to pencil Utley into his lineup at third base as quickly as he possibly can, mind you, but such a move may be an option in the near future.

Said Utley:

I figured I’d give it a try just to get back over there, get my feet wet, just get a feel for the position again. It could be an option in the future. It’s way too early to have an opinion either way on how it’s going to go. I might take some more ground balls in the future. But I think if I’m able to play over there, it could create some more flexibility as far as the organization is concerned. It’s just something I wanted to give a try and I may do it again.

Essentially, Utley may be willing to take one for the team by moving to third base, a position where the Phillies lack a solution both in the short term and the long term. He also could have it in mind to do his balky knees a favor by establishing himself at a position that doesn’t require him to patrol the middle of the field or put himself at risk covering second base on double plays.

In theory, anyway. Third base is a position that requires much quicker footwork, which Utley’s knees may not be able to handle day in and day out. In addition, opponents would no doubt take to testing Utley by sending a few bunts his direction.

But according to the Philadelphia Daily News, Utley isn’t acting on his own. He’s approached Phillies GM Ruben Amaro, Jr. and asked him whether some playing time at third base is a realistic eventuality.

From the sound of things, Amaro did little more than shrug.

It makes sense that Amaro wouldn’t jump at the possibility. Utley hasn’t played third base on a full-time basis since he was in Triple-A in 2002, and he didn’t exactly play well at the hot corner. In 123 games, he made 28 errors. He moved to second base the next season.

Plus, there’s the possibility Amaro may have a better solution for the Phillies’ third-base quagmire. In a perfect world, he’d acquire New York Mets six-time All-Star David Wright and stash him at the hot corner for the foreseeable future. Moving Utley to third base could complicate matters as far as that possibility goes.

Wait, what? Isn’t this a little random?

Not entirely. It was less than a year ago that ESPN’s Jayson Stark told Mike Missanelli on 97.5 FM in Philadelphia (via MetsBlog.com) that the Phillies were practically drooling over the idea of acquiring Wright:

The Phillies like David Wright. They have talked about David Wright. Are they really going to be able to make a deal for David Wright? Are the Mets really going to deal him to the Phillies? I mean, those are big questions. But, I’ve heard David Wright’s name for some time. Whether it happens is another story. But, the Phillies like him. … It would have to be a gigantic deal. And, where are the pieces left in the Phillies system to make that deal? … It’s unlikely, but don’t ignore it, because the Phillies have talked about it.

The Phillies should be coveting Wright. He has an .856 OPS against them in his career and an .891 OPS in his career at Citizens Bank Park. Considering the kind of pitching the Phillies have had in recent years, numbers such as these are impressive.

Obviously, nothing happened this winter, and one assumes the Mets don’t regret the fact that nothing happened. Though he’s cooled as the season has gone along, Wright is in the middle of his best season in years. He entered Thursday’s matinee against the Phillies hitting .315/.408/.511 and is presently tied with Andrew McCutchen for second in the National League in WAR, according to FanGraphs.

But choosing to keep Wright around in 2012 was easy. Keeping him around in 2013 and beyond will be a little more problematic.

The Mets hold a $16 million option on Wright for 2013, and they’re all but assured to exercise that. If the Mets want to keep Wright beyond 2013, however, they’ll have to hammer out a contract extension.

Mets GM Sandy Alderson recently told a gathering of season-ticket holders that extending both Wright and R.A. Dickey, who also has an option for 2013, is a top priority.

“It’s not our intention to simply rely on those options and go into next season and deal with their free agency after 2013,” Alderson said, via the New York Daily News. “We’re going to deal with it up front while we still have a little bit of room to maneuver. But we’re committed to trying to bring those two back. I hope they’ll both be back and I’m excited about the possibilities they will be.”

If something is going to get done, it’s going to have to get done this winter. According to the New York Post, Wright isn’t going to negotiate a new deal during the 2013 season, as has been the case throughout the entire 2012 season.

If something doesn’t get done this winter, all sorts of possibilities open up. One of them involves the Mets falling out of contention and choosing to get what they can while they can for Wright in the form of a trade.

Naturally, that’s a possibility that third base-needy, Wright-coveting teams like the Phillies are hoping for.

This leads us, admittedly, in a roundabout way, back to Utley.

Though Amaro and even Utley himself seem to be on the fence about the idea, it’s not hard to imagine Utley playing third base on a full-time basis (as full-time as his knees will allow, anyway) in 2013. The move could help keep him healthy, and stashing him at third base would allow Freddy Galvis or—more likely—a free-agent acquisition such as Kelly Johnson to play second base.

If the Phillies do stash Utley at the hot corner for the 2013 season, they could be in a position where they would still have the desire to trade for Wright if he were to become available, but without a place to put him. 

Add that to the fact that the organization is still light on prospects even after its recent activity at the trade deadline, and you have a foundation for a highly unlikely trade.

Factor in the fact that the Phillies and Mets play in the same division, and you’d have a trade that’s simply not going to happen.

If Wright is going to end up in a Phillies uniform, it’s going to happen after the 2013 season is over. If he and the Mets can’t hammer out an extension this winter, Wright will become a free agent at the end of next season and the Phillies will be one of many teams with his agent’s phone number on speed dial.

And conveniently for the Phillies, Utley will also be a free agent after the 2013 season is over.

Utley is signed through 2013 at $15 million, and that’s likely to be his last season in a Phillies uniform. The only way the Phillies are going to invite him back is if he shows in 2013 that he can stay healthy for a full season, and even then they’re not going to bring him back unless he agrees to a short-term deal worth significantly less money than he’s being paid now.

It’s more likely that the Phillies will wave goodbye to Utley and look to use the $15 million they had committed to him toward Wright. There’s a chance that they’ll have an additional $20 million available if Roy Halladay’s option for 2014 doesn’t vest (see Cot’s Baseball Contracts for the details). Either way, Halladay will be gone by 2015. Jimmy Rollins could be gone by then too if his option doesn’t vest.

So contrary to the way things are right now, the Phillies are going to have the financial wiggle room they require to pursue Wright as a free agent in 2013. They won’t have as much wiggle room as the Boston Red Sox now have, to be sure, but they’ll have enough to pursue Wright.

In a nutshell, here’s the answer to our big question: Moving Utley to third is not going to take the Phillies out of the Wright discussion.

Moving Utley to third base in the near future or in 2013 is not going to compromise the Phillies’ chances of signing Wright as a free agent. And since a trade between the Mets and the Phillies in 2013 is highly, highly unlikely to begin with, the Phillies shouldn’t worry about effectively blocking such a trade by installing Utley at the hot corner.

So if they think he can handle third base, they should go ahead and move him there. The Wright factor may as well be a non-factor.

Truth be told, whether or not Utley will even be able to hold his own at the hot corner is the bigger question here. 

…And I suspect you all feel the same way.

 

If you want to talk baseball, hit me up on Twitter.

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5 Philadelphia Phillies Who Need a Big Finish to Avoid Being Let Go

With the dismal 2012 season approaching its end, there are several Philadelphia Phillies players auditioning for jobs on the 2013 25-man roster. Some faces will stay the same, but a lot will change by opening day, 2013. It’s time for players to step up or step aside, because mediocrity will not be tolerated in this town.

With contracts expiring and try-outs already taking place, who will sink and who will swim are the questions Phillies fans are asking themselves. The Phillies front office has the last month of the season to figure out a lot about its team moving forward into the 2013 season.

Who will stay and who will go? The next few weeks should tell us a lot about the Phillies moving forward.

Here are five current Phillies who must have a big final month of the season or find themselves in the unemployment line in 2013.  

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Philadelphia Phillies: Vance Worley Shut Down for the Rest of 2012

Following another poor outing from Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Vance Worley on Tuesday night, the club announced that he would be out for the remainder of the 2012 season on Wednesday morning. 

Worley will undergo surgery within the next two weeks to remove loose bodies from his throwing elbow. Assuming no further complications, he will be fully ready when pitchers and catchers report for spring training.

The 24-year-old, as of Tuesday night, has posted a 6-9 record on the year with a 4.20 ERA and 107 strikeouts.

With the sub-par numbers and the fact that they are 10 games out of a playoff spot with September right around the corner, the Phillies won’t be missing much with Worley’s absence.

Through the month of June, the right-hander was living up the to the expectations he had put on himself with his brilliant rookie campaign a year ago. Through those first three months, including a short DL stint, Worley started a total of 12 games. Though winning only four of those starts, with four losses to match, he recorded a 2.92 ERA.

Once July rolled around, Worley’s season started spiraling downward fast. In his 11 starts since the end of June, he put up a 2-5 record with an ERA of 5.80 over that time. 

Worley has the potential to be a very good middle-rotation man for a long time. If the injury was the only thing wrong with him, as he insists, then expect him to bounce back to the potential he showed through his first year-and-a-half in the league. 

Tyler Cloyd, who made his major league debut on Wednesday night, will likely fill the empty spot in Philadelphia’s rotation as the season enters its homestretch. 

Cloyd went six strong against the Mets, allowing three earned runs with five punchouts and two walks on 102 pitches. 

 

 

*Stats are from MLB.com and ESPN.com. 

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How Would a Chase Utley Move to 3B Affect Philadelphia Phillies Going Forward?

It appears that the Philadelphia Phillies may have another option on the table when it comes to third base following this season.

According to an article by David Murphy on philly.com, Chase Utley and Phils’ general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. have recently spoken about the nine-year veteran, who has started 1,075 career major league games at second base, making the move across the diamond and playing third base at some point.

The article says that Utley fielded ground balls at third base today, and contains a quote in which he says playing third base could be a future option for him. Utley also talks about a potential move to third base as possibly giving the team as a whole more options.

“I think if I’m able to play over there it could create some more flexibility as far as the organization is concerned,” Utley said.  “It may not.  It’s just something I wanted to give a try.”

So, what kind of flexibility would a possible move to third base by Utley actually give the Phils?

For one, if Placido Polanco’s option is not exercised following this season, the Phillies will be left with Kevin Frandsen as their only third baseman. Frandsen has played great for the team since being called-up, batting .337 in 28 games. But would the team enter next season with Frandsen as their starter at third base?

Furthermore, Kevin Youkilis and Chase Headley may be the best available third baseman during the offseason, via free agency or a trade, respectively. However, both will likely cost the Phils, either in payroll spending or in the number of prospects asked for in a trade.

If the Phillies decide to move Utley to third base, Frandsen could then fill a reserve role while still seeing a number of starts to help Utley ease into his new position.

Meanwhile, what will the Phillies do with Freddy Galvis?

Galvis was starting regularly prior to his injury/suspension, so would the Phillies have him start the season at Triple-A or place him in a reserve role at the major league level? If Utley were to play third, Galvis could spend more time at second base. The Phillies would then have more power offensively from their third baseman and still receive above-average defense from their second baseman.

Murphy’s article also notes that the position change could help with Utley’s knee problems that have caused him to miss the starts of the past two seasons. Utley has yet to appear in a major league game at the position.

If Utley did move to third and an internal option was used at second base, the Phillies could then focus on improving their outfield and bullpen during the offseason.

Although the Phils still may not target any of the high priced free agent outfielders, having extra money to spend would help if a bidding war was started, or if a player was made available through a trade.

Or, the Phillies could choose to monitor their spending and wait until the player they desire becomes available rather than spending all available cash on this offseason’s free agent market.

Of course, this is all dependent on Utley and the Phillies agreeing to such a position change.

But with limited opportunities to upgrade third base available through free agency and trades, Utley may become the Phils’ best option at third base.

If the Phillies keep their payroll under $189 million next season, they will only have to pay the luxury tax one time before the threshold is raised. However, if the right players aren’t available, having spending money will do them no good.

But narrowing down their to-do list this offseason could help greatly.

The Phillies would have to take a risk if they went into next season with Utley as their third baseman without having seen him play there in a game. If the team is hesitant to spend big on a 34-year-old (as of Opening Day 2013) free agent in Youkilis, or deal more prospects while competing to acquire a third baseman who is made available during the offseason, the risk could be one worth taking.

If it works out, the Phillies would have saved money on their infield, and either used it to upgrade their outfield or kept it for the first available upgrade that appears on the trade market.

If it doesn’t work out, the Phillies could simply move him back to second base and use Frandsen at third while they use any money or prospects they saved to upgrade the position mid-season.

Such a position change could prove unnecessary if the Phillies would rather keep Utley at second base. But when a player such as Utley pitches an idea, the least the team could do is listen.

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Philadelphia Phillies: Could Tonight Be the Beginning of the Tyler Cloyd Era?

The International League’s (AAA) Most Valuable Pitcher of the Year, Tyler Cloyd, will finally get his chance to prove to all of those in the baseball world that his insane minor league numbers are more than just a fluke.

It was reported earlier this morning by several sources including Matt Gelb and Bob Brookover at Philly.com that the Phillies have pushed back the scheduled start for Cole Hamels tonight because of an illness. In scratching Hamels, the team has finally decided to give the start to Cloyd, who in this past year has done nothing but prove he is ready for the chance.

The 25-year-old righty has been an interesting story to follow this past year, starting with the fact that he practically came out of nowhere.

 

There’s the Baby Aces, the Baby, Baby Aces and Then There’s Tyler Cloyd

It is no surprise to anyone that closely follows the organization that the Phils best pitching prospects are currently in the Gulf Coast and Class A teams of their farm system. This was the design as the expectation is that when Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay are done, some of these guys can step right in. So far, this has worked out to plan as the baby, baby aces of the future in Jesse Biddle, Austin Wright and the recently promoted Adam Morgan, all shined as part of a fearsome threesome with the Clearwater Threshers. With Morgan already in AA, it would be surprising if these two didn’t join him.

That said, the Phils also have the baby aces to think about. Trevor May was expected to make his major league debut sometime around 2013-14. He pitched well at the beginning of the season for Reading but stumbled recently, giving some reasons to be nervous if he is major league ready. He has yet to be promoted to Lehigh Valley.

Then there is Cloyd, who at 25 years old, was not ranked among the best in the Phillies organization. In fact, seen as just a marginal prospect, he was not protected last season during the Rule Five Draft. Still under the radar, Cloyd put together a 2012 season that has him and not May or Jonathan Pettibone making the major league start in place of Hamels. 

 

The Early Years in Clearwater

Cloyd was drafted in the 18th round of the 2008 MLB Amateur Player Draft. He began his career in the Gulf Coast League and then was moved to the NY/Penn League for further development. Here he struggled a bit posting an ERA over 4.00 and a K/BB ratio of just under 3.00.

It was really at this stage that people following the organization could pinpoint Cloyd’s strengths and weaknesses. He wasn’t going to be a power pitcher. His velocity wouldn’t break 90 MPH and at the time he had control issues.

Since Cloyd didn’t have the speed, he needed that command if he hoped to have any sort of major league career. When he received the promotion to Reading at the end of the 2010 season, it began to show that his command was improving. He was starting to throw his fastball with more accuracy even if it only topped out at 88 MPH.

 

The 2011 Breakthrough

The Phillies decided to keep Cloyd at Reading for the 2011 season and finally Cloyd’s career began to take off. The man who pitched to a 9-4 record with a 2.77 ERA was a different pitcher than the guy the team saw in the developmental stages. In almost all areas of his pitching, Cloyd improved.

Typically, to see a player have career best numbers at AA such as Cloyd did is exactly what an organization wants to see. Because Cloyd’s numbers improved when he reached the AA level, it showed that his time in the developmental stages were working. Upside was discovered and Cloyd really began to pinpoint his strengths and pitch to them. He was becoming a better pitcher right under the still-not-so-watchful eyes of the Phillies organization.

 

2012: An Unforgettable Season for the Ages

In 2012, Cloyd was slated to begin the year with Reading. All of that changed, however, when a day before the Lehigh Valley IronPigs’ season was about to start, Cloyd got the call. Dave Bush was on suspension and the team needed Cloyd to step in.

It was just expected to be a spot start. When Bush came back from suspension, Cloyd would go back to Reading. That is unless he proved he had a reason to stay, which as it turns out, is exactly what he did.

With a perfect 3-0 record and 1.80 ERA in four starts at Reading sandwiched in between, Cloyd has gone on to have one of the best seasons for a minor league pitcher. His numbers are incredibly impressive as he posted a 15-1 record, 12-1 at AAA and has an ERA of 2.26.

On top of this, Cloyd was named the International League’s Most Valuable Pitcher, the equivalent to a minor league Cy Young. In a sign of his continued improvement, he also was voted to have the Best Control in the same league.

With numbers this monstrous and control issues left in the past, Cloyd finally forced the organization to watch and to put him on the radar.

 

Is He Major League Ready?

Despite the numbers, the progress and the way he has improved at every level, the question still has to be asked if Cloyd is in fact major league ready.

Obviously before today, the Phillies didn’t think so. If they had, they would have opted to start Cloyd instead of pitch a bullpen game earlier this season, knowing that the bullpen has been nothing but terrible. If they had, Cloyd could have gotten a chance to start when Kyle Kendrick was struggling or when Vance Worley was on the DL.

For whatever reason, the organization was not sold on Cloyd, possibly because they believed his success wouldn’t translate at a major league level.

With Hamels sick, however, the team is finally wising up. Coupled with his age and level of improvement if Cloyd isn’t major league ready now, it is unlikely he will ever be. It only makes sense then for the Phillies who have nothing to lose to see what exactly he can bring to the table.

Now is also the best time for the Phils to tryout the Cloyd experiment. With Kendrick pitching well as of late, it seems like once again he will get a shot to earn the job in spring training. If he does, that only leaves one opening that will likely go to Worley. The thing about that, however, is that Worley has to get offseason surgery and may not be ready to start at the beginning of 2013. In this case, Cloyd, if he pitches well tonight, could get the nod to take over.

 

The Cloyd Era Begins

Regardless of whether he sticks or not, though, he at least deserves the chance. Who knows, maybe the Phils will have found a diamond in the rough? Maybe Cloyd will go on to be a solid major league pitcher. Maybe he could even win a spot on next year’s starting rotation.

The Phils will never know unless they try.

His potential may have been delayed if Bush never got suspended. Cloyd may have spent most of the season in Reading instead of being put on the fast track to the majors by going to Lehigh Valley. If Worley does in fact miss time or any of the other pitchers goes down to an injury, Cloyd could likely be the benficiary. And maybe just like when he received the promotion from Reading to Lehigh, he will make it stick.

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25 Most Intimidating Strikeout Pitchers in Philadelphia Phillies History

We can debate the things that make a pitcher great until we’re all blue in the face, but one fact that cannot be denied is that pitchers capable of striking out hitters in bunches are off to a good start on the road to greatness. 

Do strikeout pitchers always pan out? No, of course not. The chances of making it to the Major League is slim, let alone each and every pitcher who can strike a batter out with relative ease becoming a big league player. 

But great pitchers tend to be strikeout pitchers. It’s really not as complex as it seems. The better the pitches, the tougher they are to hit. The tougher they are to hit, the more likely it is for a hitter to strike out. 

Certain pitchers, however, do it with style. Some strikeout pitchers are intimidating. 

So what makes a pitcher intimidating? Well, the Philadelphia Phillies have plenty of examples in their history. Some pitchers, like Roy Halladay, are so good they’re intimidating. Some guys have reputations for being intimidating. Steve Carlton comes to mind. 

Some pitchers have the look, like Mitch Williams’ mullet, and some guys do a whole routine, like Jonathan Papelbon. 

But they’re fun to watch. 

The Phillies don’t have a ton of great, intimidating strikeout pitchers, but they have a few, and some of the names are kind of surprising. But that’s what keeps it interesting. 

Remember! There is a balance between being both “intimidating” and a “strikeout pitcher” involved in these rankings, so make sure to keep that in mind as you move forward!

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Philadelphia Phillies: Predicting the Team’s September Call-Ups

For the Philadelphia Phillies, this year’s September call-ups will likely take on a different meaning.

In the past, the Phillies used their September call-ups to bolster the team with needs they believed had to be filled before penciling in the final playoff roster. This year however playoffs are not on the radar and as a result, the way Ruben Amaro and company view their roster additions will be much different.

It is unlikely Amaro and the Phils will make many call-ups based on the fact that so many of their position spots for next year already have guys auditioning for the roles. There are several players such as Eric Kratz (back-up catcher) and Kevin Frandsen (starting 3B) that have shown they at least deserve a chance to fight to earn these roles in spring training. There are others still such as Domonic Brown who has shown improvement and who the organization really hopes can be the starting left fielder.

Essentially, the team has a lot on its plate when it comes to talent evaluation and as Amaro has said and demonstrated in the past, he will not bring up players if the team does not have plans to get them significant playing time.

For the Phillies this really does not leave many spots open for September auditions. Just like last season when just five players got called up to the major league roster, a similar situation could occur this year.

While it is necessary that Amaro looks at what he currently has in the farm system, the patterns of the team in the past have shown that there isn’t always willingness to call-up some of their prospects because being added to the 40-man roster officially starts their major league clock in terms of arbitration dues.

That said there are a few players already on the 40-man roster that the Phillies would benefit from giving a second look. There are also two other notable names that would certainly be worth adding to the 40-man roster just so the team can see if their minor league success can translate to the major league level.

Going off of last year’s model of just five call-ups, here are the five September call-ups the Phillies are likely to make in 2012.

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