34-year old righty swinging 3B Michael Young is off to a good start for the Phillies.  He has played in 9 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 12 of 32 (.375 avg, 1.053 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer and 3 RBIs.  It’s a good sign that Young is off to such a good start as he is coming off one of his worst years in the majors.  He played in 156 games for the Rangers last year and he was 169 of 611 (.277 avg, .682 OPS) with 79 runs scored, 8 homers, 67 RBIs and 2 stolen bases.

The Phillies worked 33-year old lefty swinging 1B Ryan Howard and 34-year old lefty swinging 2B Chase Utley hard in spring training to get them ready for 2013.  That was smart as Howard (71 games) and Utley (83 games) didn’t play many games for them last year due to injury.  Howard is off to a slow start, as he has played in 3 games in which he is 1 for 12 (.083 avg, 237 OPS) with 1 RBI.  Utley has been much better so far this year, working in 3 games in which he is 5 for 11 (.455 avg, 1.462 OPS) with 2 runs scored, a double, a triple, a homer and 6 RBIs.  Howard and Utley’s health are a huge key for the Phillies in 2013.

33-year old switch-hitting shortstop Jimmy Rollins has had a big month in September for the Phillies. He has played in 27 games for the Phillies so far this month and he is 31 of 108 (.287 avg, .913 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 8 homers, 17 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Rollins has now played in 156 games overall this year and he is 158 of 632 (.250 avg, .743 OPS) with 102 runs scored, 23 homers, 68 RBIs and 30 stolen bases. Rollins’ overall production numbers look good, but he did struggle quite a bit this year.

28-year old righty swinging outfielder John Mayberry has been ripping the ball lately for the Phillies. Since August 1st, Mayberry has played in 37 games in which he is 38 for 131 (.290 avg) with 18 runs scored, 6 homers and 16 RBIs. He has now played in 130 games for the Phillies this year and he is 95 of 374 (.254 avg, .731 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 14 homers, 41 RBIs and 1 stolen base. The Phillies need Mayberry to keep up the good work if they are going to make it to the playoffs as a Wild Card.

With Carlos Ruiz and Placido Polanco out of action due to injuries, opportunities arose for P.T. for 32-year old righty swinging catcher Erik Kratz and 30-year old righty swinging 3B Kevin Frandsen and they are taking full advantage so far. Kratz has played in 21 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 15 of 48 (.313 avg, 1.132 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 5 homers and 13 RBIs. Ruiz is going to be out a while, so the Phillies need Kratz to keep hitting well. Frandsen has played in 14 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 17 of 51 (.333 avg, .782 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer and 2 RBIs. Frandsen has only whiffed 2 and walked twice for the Phillies, so he has been swinging at everything. Placido Polanco is likely to return later this week, but Frandsen likely has secured a backup spot with the Phillies.

The Philadelphia Phillies are now 45-57 on the season, which has them in last place in the N.L. East, 16.5 games behind the Nationals. They are also 10.5 games out of the wildcard spot. But, you can’t blame any of this on 33-year old righty swinging catcher Carlos Ruiz, as he is having a career year with the bat. Ruiz has played in 93 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 104 of 304 (.342 avg, .976 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 14 homers, 57 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Phillies hope that Ruiz keeps up the good work the rest of the way in 2012 as he has been a huge bright spot for them in a dim season.

41-year old 1B/DH Jim Thome came off the D.L. at the right time, with the Phillies playing interleague road games. He has played in 8 games so far in June for the Phillies and he is 11 for 26 (.423 avg, 1.346 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers and 13 RBIs. Thome has now played in 20 games overall this year for the Phillies and he is 13 of 44 (.295 avg, .938 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers and 13 RBIs. The Phillies hope that Thome keeps up the hot bat when he returns to coming off the bench when they start playing at home against A.L. teams and when they start playing N.L. games again.

34-year old lefty swinging LF Juan Pierre has taken over as a starter for the Phillies. He has played in 54 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 58 for 180 (.322 avg, .732 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 0 homers, 12 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Pierre is currently MLB’s active stolen base leader (565 of them) and he is also #24 in major league history overall in stolen bases. The Phillies hope that Pierre keeps up the good work, because they are still having issues scoring runs.

33-year old righty swinging catcher Carlos Ruiz is ripping the ball so far this year for the Phillies. Ruiz has played in 35 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 41 for 113 (.363 avg, 1.024 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 7 homers, 27 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Ruiz has only walked 8 times this year, but he has only whiffed 12 times. So he is swinging at a lot of pitches and he’s hitting them really hard. Ruiz has career highs of 49 runs scored, 9 homers and 54 RBIs in his major league career and he’s likely to smash those numbers as long as he can stay healthy.

32-year old lefty swinging outfielder Laynce Nix is swinging a hot stick off the bench for the Phillies so far this year. He has played in 17 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 13 for 38 (.342 avg, 1.076 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 2 homers and 10 RBIs. If Nix keeps swinging the bat like he is right now, the Phillies are going to have to start playing him more….likely at the expense of Juan Pierre in LF. But, that might be hard to pull off as Pierre is also hitting well right now.