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.

The Phillies have only scored 15 runs in their first five games this year, but you can’t blame Hunter Pence for that. Pence has played in all 5 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 7 for 19 (.368 avg, 1.008 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 1 homer, 4 RBIs and 1 stolen base. I think that Pence is going to have a monster year with the bat in 2012, and he will be the main man in the batting order until Ryan Howard returns to action.

Shortstop Jimmy Rollins is on fire against the Cardinals in the N.L.D.S. He has played in 3 games for the Phillies so far in this series and he is 7 for 12 (.583 avg, 1.449 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 3 doubles and 2 stolen bases. Rollins has been giving the Phillies a good jolt from the top of the lineup as the Cardinals have been a very serious challenger so far. The Phillies need Rollins to keep up the good work.

With Chase Utley and Jimmy Rollins gimpy, 33-year old righty swinging infielder Wilson Valdez has stepped up. Since August 1st, Valdez has played in 25 games in which he is 23 for 80 (.288 avg) with 15 runs scored, 1 homer, 13 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Valdez has now played in 94 games this year for the Phillies and he is 65 for 261 (.249 avg, .638 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 1 homer, 29 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Phillies need Valdez to keep up the good work until Utley and Rollins are ready to return to action.

27-year old righty swinging outfielder John Mayberry has been really hot since August 1st for the Phillies. Since August 1st, Mayberry has played in 27 games for the Phillies in which he is 20 for 70 (.286 avg) with 16 runs scored, 7 homers and 19 RBIs. Overall this year, Mayberry has played in 89 games for the Phillies in which he is 59 for 224 (.263 avg, .840 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 13 homers, 45 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Mayberry has not only earned himself a place on the playoff roster with his performance this year, but he might get some starts in LF against lefty starters.

28-year old righty swinging RF Hunter Pence has been on fire since getting dealt from the Astros to the Phillies. Pence has played in 33 games for the Phillies so far and he is 40 for 126 (.317 avg, .933 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 7 homers and 20 RBIs. He has now played in 133 games overall this year for the Phillies & Astros and he is 163 for 525 (.310 avg, .853 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 18 homers, 82 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Pence has given Ryan Howard awesome protection in the lineup and he fits in perfectly in Philly due to his all out effort on the field, running the bases and batting.

31-year old lefty swinging 1B Ryan Howard is still providing a lot of thump in the middle of the batting order for the Phillies. He has played in 128 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 121 for 483 (.251 avg, .827 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 29 homers, 102 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Howard has played in 22 games so far in August and he is 20 for 84 (.238 avg, .867 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 8 homers, 21 RBIs and 34 whiffs. Howard has now played in 1,003 games in his first 8 years with the Phillies and he is 1,023 for 3,720 (.275 avg, .929 OPS) with 623 runs scored, 282 homers, 850 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Howard is still the most important hitter in the Phillies’ lineup as he produces a lot of runs with his bat.

28-year old righty swinging RF Hunter Pence has been electric since coming over from the Astros in the big trade deadline deal. Pence has played in 14 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 18 for 55 (.327 avg, .926 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 3 homers and 11 RBIs. He has now played in 114 games for the Astros & Phillies so far this year and he is 141 for 454 (.311 avg, .840 OPS) with 56 runs scored, 14 homers, 73 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. Adding Pence at the trade deadline was another great move for Phillies’ GM Ruben Amaro. The Phillies are for sure the team to beat now.

27-year old righty swinging outfielder John Mayberry has been really hitting the ball well lately. In July and August, Mayberry is 19 for 61 (.311 avg) with 8 runs scored, 6 homers, 19 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Mayberry has now played in 65 games so far this year for the Phillies and he is 43 for 165 (.261 avg, .825 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 9 homers, 31 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Mayberry has pushed Ben Francisco to the bench and maybe even AAA with the way he has played. Francisco has played in 80 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 47 for 213 (.221 avg, .677 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 6 homers, 31 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

30-year old switch-hitting CF Shane Victorino won MLB’s Final Vote, so he will be the fifth All-Star for the Phillies. The Flyin Hawaiian has played in 68 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 81 for 267 (.303 avg, .900 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 9 homers, 34 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. This will be Victorino’s second All-Star appearance and he deserves it. His all out style is perfect for the city of Philadelphia as he’s sure to get his uniform dirty in next week’s All-Star Game.

UPDATE: (7/8/2011) - Shane Victorino will miss the All-Star Game as he has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a sprained right thumb. The Phillies have called up 32-year old lefty swinging infielder Pete Orr to replace Victorino on the active roster. Orr played in 26 games earlier this year for the Phillies and he was 14 for 61 (.230 avg, .577 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base.