30-year old righty swinging RF Jayson Werth finished 17th in the MVP Voting in the N.L. He played in 159 games for the Phillies last season and he was 153 for 571 (.268 avg, .879 OPS) with 98 runs scored, 36 homers, 99 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. Werth has now played in 619 games in his 7 years in the majors and he is 520 for 1,965 (.265 avg, .827 OPS) with 327 runs scored, 93 homers, 321 RBIs and 64 stolen bases. Werth is a late bloomer but he should be a good player for the next few years for the Phillies.

30-year old lefty swinging 2B Chase Utley finished 8th in the voting for the N.L. MVP Award. He played in 156 games for the Phillies last season and he was 161 for 571 (.282 avg, .905 OPS) with 112 runs scored, 31 homers, 93 RBIs and 23 stolen bases. Utley has now played 7 years for the Phillies appearing in 891 games in which he is 978 for 3,310 (.295 avg, .902 OPS) with 602 runs scored, 161 homers, 585 RBIs and 83 stolen bases. Utley picked his game up even higher in the post season as he is currently in his prime right now. As long as Utley is batting right in front of Ryan Howard he will continue to put up huge numbers.

30-year old lefty swinging 1B Ryan Howard finished third in the MVP voting of the N.L. behind only Albert Pujols and Hanley Ramirez. Howard played in 160 games for the Phillies last year and he was 172 for 616 (.279 avg, .931 OPS) with 105 runs scored, 45 homers, 141 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. He has now played in 732 games in his six years in Philly and he is 750 for 2,687 (.279 avg, .961 OPS) with 465 runs scored, 222 homers, 640 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. There is no reason to think that Howard won’t compete for this award every year that he stays healthy for the next at least 4-5 years as he has the most power of any hitter in all of baseball.

Chase Utley and his bat have been keeping the Phillies alive this entire World Series against the New York Yankees.  Utley is hitting .333 (6/18) with 6 runs scored an 8 RBIs.  Five of Utley’s six hits have left the yard, and he has now tied Reggie Jackson for the most homeruns in a World Series.  Utley had 2 HR’s in game one, 1 HR in game four, and 2 HR’s in game five.  The Phillies are going to need Utley’s hot bat if they want to come back and win this series.  The last two games are in New York though, so they have a big challenge on their hands.  If the Phillies can comeback, Utley has almost assured himself the World Series MVP award.

Chase Utley exploded last night cranking a homer in the first inning and he finished with 3 hits in this game. When Utley is hitting well the Phillies’ lineup in virtually unstoppable. Last season he didn’t do much in the playoffs but this year appears to be different and the Phillies have to love that. He is 5 for 12 (.417 avg, 1.129 OPS) with 4 runs scored, 1 homer, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base. Starting catcher Carlos Ruiz appears to save all of his hits for key spots just like he did last October. He is 3 for 9 (.333 avg) with 3 RBIs against the Rockies in this series. The Phillies expect Ruiz to hit well in the post season but he needs to bring his same bat from April through September in 2010.

The Philadelphia Phillies have a few hitters swinging hot sticks right now against the Rockies. Jayson Werth was really good in the Phillies’ run to the World Championship last season and he is at it again. He is 3 for 7 (.429 avg, 1.643 OPS) with a triple, homer, 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Raul Ibanez has also been off to a hot start for the Phillies as he is 4 for 8 (.500 avg, 1.125 OPS) with a double, 1 run scored and 4 RBIs. Ryan Howard has been solid as usual with the bat in this series as he is 4 for 8 (.500 avg, 1.250 OPS) with 2 doubles, 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. Shane Victorino has been a sparkplug at the top of the lineup for the Phillies as he is 4 for 9 (.444 avg, 1.000 OPS) with a double and a run scored. The Phillies need to keep hitting the baseball well as the Rockies appear to be up to the challenge so far.

29-year old lefty swinging 1B Ryan Howard is having another great season for the Phillies. He has played in 156 games this season for the Phillies and he is 166 for 603 (.275 avg, .918 OPS) with 100 runs scored, 43 homers, 137 RBIs and 8 stolen base. Howard has also whiffed 186 times this season but with his production no one is ever going to try to change his swing. In his four years as a full time starter he has scored over 100 runs three teams, has hit at least 43 homers all four years and he has knocked in at least 136 runs in each of the 4 years. Besides Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard is the best 1B on the planet of Earth.

The Phillies gave 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Jayson Werth the opportunity to win the full time job in RF this spring and the results have been outstanding! Werth has played in 126 games for the Phillies so far this season and he is 124 for 458 (.271 avg, .893 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 29 homers, 79 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. The Phillies need Werth to finish strong to help them gain momentum for the post season.

30-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Greg Dobbs came to spring training before the 2007 season just trying to make the Phillies’ roster but he has done much more than that as he has been a big key to the teams’ success. He has really been a weapon off the bench for the Phillies this year. He has played in 85 games for the Phillies this season and he is 41 for 131 (.313 avg, .793 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 3 homers and 21 RBIs. It appears that Dobbs’ has found a home in Philadelphia. He has played in 227 games the last two years for the Phillies and he is 129 for 455 (.284 avg) with 60 runs scored, 13 homers and 76 RBIs. Dobbs has turned into one of the most lethal pinch hitters in all of baseball.

Chris Coste is pushing Carlos Ruiz for playing time behind the plate on the strength of his strong bat. Coste has played in 38 games this season for the Phillies and he is 36 for 115 (.313 avg, .921 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 6 homers and 17 RBIs. Coste hasn’t always been a catcher but he’s made himself into an at least average player behind the plate on defense. Carlos Ruiz had a solid year in 2007 establishing himself as the starting catcher of the Phillies but he just isn’t hitting at all this year. Ruiz has played in 47 games for the Phillies this season and he is 31 for 140 (.221 avg, .601 OPS) with 18 runs scored, 2 homers and 16 RBIs. Ruiz will start riding the pine more often if his bat doesn’t start coming around and soon.