24-year old righty starting pitcher Vance Worley has made the Phillies’ rotation into the Big Four. He has started 4 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Worley has whiffed 27 batters in his first 25 innings this year, which is pretty impressive. He has now pitched in 34 games (27 starts) in his first three years with the Phillies and he is 14-5 with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. The Phillies hope that Worley continues to roll.

The Phillies have placed 25-year old righty reliever Michael Stutes on the 15-day disabled list due to right shoulder inflammation. Stutes has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 6.35 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP. The Phillies have called up 26-year old righty reliever Michael Schwimer to replace Stutes in the bullpen. Schwimer has pitched in 7 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 1-0 with 2 saves, a 1.04 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He got his first taste of the majors last year with the Phillies when he appeared in 12 games (0 starts) in which he was 1-1 with a 5.02 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. The Phillies hope that Schwimer is better for them this time around.

UPDATE: (6/23/2012) - Michael Stutes is likely down for the year after he had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder last Tuesday.

28-year old righty swinging OF/1B John Mayberry had a breakout year for the Phillies in 2011. He played in 104 games for the Phillies last year and he was 73 of 267 (.273 avg, .854 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 15 homers, 49 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. The Phillies had high hopes for Mayberry in 2012. Mayberry has played in 17 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 9 for 44 (.205 avg, .455 OPS) with 0 runs scored, 0 homers and 2 RBIs. He has been completely lost at the plate so far this year as he has whiffed 14 times without walking. The Phillies better hope that Mayberry gets into gear because the offense has been horrible so far this year.

The Phillies have released 32-year old lefty swinging 2B Joe Thurston. Thurston played in 11 games in AAA-ball for the Phillies this year and he was 6 for 29 (.207 avg, .723 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 2 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He did show a good eye as he walked 7 times while only whiffing 4 times in AAA for the Phillies. The handwriting was on the wall for Thurston when the Phillies signed infielder Mike Fontenot. The Phillies won’t miss Thurston too much going forward.

The Phillies have placed 33-year old lefty starting pitcher Cliff Lee on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to April 19th due to a left oblique strain. Lee has started 3 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.70 WHIP. He has only given up 14 hits and 2 walks, while whiffing 18 batters in his first 23 innings this season. Lee will be replaced in the starting rotation by 27-year old righty Kyle Kendrick. Kendrick has pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He should do a solid job filling in for Cliff Lee. That being said, the Phillies hope that Lee is ready to return to action soon.

Righty swinging outfielder Greg “The Bull” Luzinski was a masher for the Phillies. He played in 1,289 games in his 11 years for the Phillies and he was 1,299 of 4,630 (.281 avg, .852 OPS) with 618 runs scored, 223 homers, 811 RBIs and 29 stolen bases. Luzinski finished 2nd in the MVP Voting in the National League in both 1975 and 1977. In 1975, Luzinski played in 161 games in which he was 179 of 596 (.300 avg, .934 OPS) with 85 runs scored, 34 homers, 120 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. In 1977, Luzinski played in 149 games in which he was 171 of 554 (.309 avg, .988 OPS) with 99 runs scored, 39 homers, 130 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Luzinski is #6 in Phillies’ history with his 223 homers and he is also #10 in RBIs in franchise history with 811 of them. Luzinski was a very underrated player in his time with the Phillies and he was literally as strong as a bull.

34-year old lefty swinging Juan Pierre has stood out so far in LF for the Phillies. He has played in 12 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 12 for 38 (.316 avg, .702 OPS) with 3 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. This should come as no surprise as Pierre has a career batting average of .296 in his first 13 years in the majors and he is major league baseball’s active leader in stolen bases with 557 of them. He might just be able to win the full-time starting job in LF if he continues to hit the ball like he is so far this year.

23-year old righty reliever Phillippe Aumont came into this season as the Phillies’ #5 prospect according to Baseball America. He has pitched in 5 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 0-0 with 4 saves, a 1.50 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. Aumont has only give up 2 hits and 2 walks while whiffing 9 batters in his first six innings pitched as he has been downright nasty. He has now pitched in 134 games (29 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 11-26 with 30 saves, a 4.15 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. If Aumont keeps pitching like he is right now, the Phillies are going to give him a shot at some point in 2012.

The Phillies tried to deal 31-year old righty starting pitcher Joe Blanton over the winter, but found no takers. He pitched in 11 games (8 starts) last year for the Phillies and he was 1-2 with a 5.01 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP, as his season ended early to a barking elbow. Blanton has come out of the gates looking pretty solid in 2012. He has pitched in 2 games (1 start) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP. If Blanton can stay healthy, he will give the Phillies a solid starter at the back end of the starting rotation in 2012.

The Phillies have signed 31-year old lefty swinging 2B/SS/3B Mike Fontenot to a minor league deal. He played in 85 games for the Giants last year and he was 50 for 220 (.227 avg, .681 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 4 homers, 21 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Fontenot has now played in 535 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 346 of 1,316 (.263 avg, .738 OPS) with 162 runs scored, 26 homers, 158 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. I don’t see Fontenot spending much time in the minors as the Phillies need infield help right now.