28-year old righty swinging outfielder Ben Francisco is one of the better 4th outfielders in the major leagues. He has played in 85 games this year for the Phillies and he is 46 of 170 (.271 avg, .779 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 6 homers, 25 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Francisco could play a big part in the post-season as one of the top Phillies’ pinch hitters off the bench. He also could be a starter for the Phillies in the outfield next year if Jayson Werth leaves the Phillies as a free agent.

29-year old switch hitting CF Shane Victorino is a big part of the glue that holds the team in the field together for the Phillies. He plays the game all-out, all of the time. Victorino has played in 137 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 146 of 550 (.265 avg, .770 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 17 homers, 66 RBIs and 34 stolen bases. He has set a career high in both homers and RBIs already with two weeks to go in the season which is impressive. He also needs four more steals to set a career high and it will be interesting to see if the Phillies keep giving him the green light the rest of the regular season.

29-year old righty reliever Ryan Madson started this season as the closer as Brad Lidge had a late start to the year. But he was injured after blowing a game and it kept him out of action for quite a while. Upon his return though, he has really dominated giving the Phillies a reliable set-up man to Brad Lidge. Madson has pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the Phillies this year and he is 5-2 with 5 saves, a 2.47 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He has only given up 37 hits in 47 1/3 innings while whiffing 59 batters showing how dominant his stuff is. He also has razor sharp control this year as he has only walked 10 batters. Madson will likely be the Phillies’ closer at some point again down the road as long as he keeps his head on straight.

The Phillies have claimed 26-year old righty starting pitcher Cesar Carrillo off waivers from the Padres. Carrillo started 3 games for the Padres this year and he was 1-2 with a 13.06 ERA and a 2.71 WHIP. He also started 27 games in AAA-ball for the Padres this year and he was 5-14 with a 5.60 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Too make room on the roster for Carrillo the Phillies have designated 32-year old lefty Nate Robertson. Robertson pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Phillies this year and he was 0-0 with a 54.00 ERA and a 7.00 WHIP.

UPDATE: (9/13/2010) - The Phillies have designated Cesar Carrillo for assignment.

UPDATE: (9/15/2010) - The Padres have claimed Carrillo back off waivers from the Phillies.

The Phillies have placed 26-year old righty reliever Scott Mathieson on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right lat muscle. Mathieson has pitched in 2 games (0 starts) for the Phillies this year and he is 0-0 with a 10.80 ERA and a 4.20 WHIP. The Phillies won’t miss Mathieson too much as he was pitching pretty awful for them.

33-year old righty starting pitcher Roy Oswalt has been outstanding for the Phillies. He has started 8 games for the Phillies so far and he is 5-1 with a 2.30 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Oswalt has only given up 38 hits in 54 2/3 innings for the Phillies while whiffing 48 batters. He is also pounding the strike zone as he has only walked 16 batters in his 8 starts with the Phillies. Overall this year, Oswalt has started 28 games for the Phillies & Astros and he is 11-13 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. The Phillies need Oswalt to finish the season strongly.

31-year old switch hitting Jimmy Rollins needs to get his act together if the Phillies are going to catch the Braves in the A.L. East. Rollins has been gimpy this season dealing with quite a few injuries but he’s healthy now and they need him. Rollins has played in 73 games for the Phillies this year and he is 72 of 299 (.241 avg, .690 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 6 homers, 33 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. The Phillies need Rollins to step up soon as time is running out on the 2010 season.