The Philadelphia Phillies have called up 25-year old lefty swinging outfielder Domonic Brown. He will likely replace Shane Victorino as the starting CF, starting tonight. Brown played in 65 games in Rookie+AAA-ball for the Phillies this year and he was 74 of 239 (.310 avg, .833 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 5 homers, 32 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Brown has played in 91 games in his first two years with the Phillies and he is 58 of 246 (.236 avg, .696 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 7 homers, 32 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Phillies need to let Brown start the next two months and see if he is going to be a big part of the future for them or not.

22-year old righty reliever Lisalverto Bonilla came into this season as the Phillies’ #12 prospect according to Baseball America. Bonilla has pitched in 31 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 3-2 with 4 saves, a 1.55 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. He has only given up 31 hits while whiffing 64 batters in his first 46 1/3 innings this year….which is pretty darn impressive. Bonilla has now pitched in 84 games (35 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 16-13 with 8 saves, a 2.50 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP.

25-year old righty starting pitcher Tyler Cloyd has pitched in 14 games (all starts) in AA+AAA-ball so far this year and he is 10-1 with a 2.21 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. He has now pitched in 123 games (80 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 43-22 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Cloyd could get his first shot at the show in 2012 with the Phillies if the need arises for another starting pitcher in the near future.

The Phillies have released 32-year old righty starting pitcher Dave Bush (he technically opted out of his minor league deal to sign with a team in Korea). Bush pitched in 11 games (all starts) in AAA-ball for the Phillies this year and he was 4-3 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has pitched in 210 games (187 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 56-69 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Bush lost his patience with the Phillies, but he likely would have gotten a shot at some point in 2012 with them.

23-year old switch-hitting outfielder Jiwan James came into this season as the Phillies’ #9 prospect according to Baseball America. James has played in 47 games in AA-ball so far this year and he is 40 for 161 (.248 avg, .680 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 4 homers, 20 RBIs and only 3 stolen bases. He has now played in 349 games in his first five years in the minors and he is 363 for 1,364 (.266 avg, .689 OPS) with 195 runs scored, 14 homers, 135 RBIs and 74 stolen bases. The Phillies are going to likely take things slowly with James as he has converted to the outfielder after injuring his elbow as a pitcher early on in his minor league career.

The Phillies have called up 25-year old lefty reliever Jake Diekman for his first shot in the majors. Diekman pitched in 13 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he was 1-0 with 5 saves, a 0.59 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. He gave up 13 hits in 15 1/3 innings while whiffing 22 batters and walking only 3….and those are awesome numbers. Diekman has now pitched in 183 games (39 starts) in his first six years in the minors and he is 12-16 with 10 saves, a 3.78 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP.

The Phillies have released 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Luis Montanez. He played in 17 games in AAA-ball for the Phillies this year and he was 6 for 44 (.136 avg, .423 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 1 RBI. Montanez has played in 129 games in his first four years in the majors and he is 68 for 305 (.223 avg, .586 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 5 homers, 32 RBIs and 1 stolen base. This is no loss for the Phillies.

22-year old righty starting pitcher Trevor May came into this season as the Phillies’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. May is dominating in AA-ball so far this year for the Phillies. He has started 5 games in AA-ball so far this year for the Phillies and he is 5-0 with a 2.40 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He has only given up 21 hits in his first 30 innings this year, while whiffing 33 batters and only walking 8. His control is vastly improved this year as the coaches at AA-ball have May attacking the strike zone and the results have been outstanding so far. May has pitched in 79 games (74 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 32-18 with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The Phillies are going to let May advance on his own timetable, as they have no need to rush him to the show.

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.

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.