33-year old lefty starting pitcher Cliff Lee hasn’t been getting much help from his teammates this year. He has started 22 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 2-7 with a 3.78 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He has given up 156 hits (22 homers) and walked 25 batters in his first 154 2/3 innings for the Phillies this year while whiffing 151 batters. Lee has now pitched in 66 games (all starts) for the Phillies in his three years with the team and he is 26-19 with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. It’s amazing to me that Lee only has 2 wins this year based on how well he has pitched.

27-year old righty starter/reliever Kyle Kendrick has pitched well lately, which is good news for the Phillies, as he will be needed to replace Joe Blanton (traded to the Dodgers) in the starting rotation. Kendrick has pitched in 9 games (2 starts) since July 1st, in which he is 2-1 with a 0.95 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. He has now pitched in 26 games (14 starts) for the Phillies overall this year and he is 4-9 with a 4.45 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.

The Phillies are going to attempt to lock up 28-year old lefty starting pitcher Cole Hamels to a long term deal. If he rejects them, he is likely going to be traded by the deadline on July 31st. Hamels has pitched in 18 games (all starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 11-4 with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He has now pitched in 199 games (198 starts) in his first seven years with the Phillies and he is 85-58 with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. The Phillies could get an impressive haul for Hamels, but they would rather keep him around.

33-year old lefty starting pitcher Cliff Lee has been rock solid this year, but he’s not getting much help from the rest of the team. Lee has pitched in 12 games (all starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-4 with a 3.72 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. He has only given up 79 hits and 17 walks in his first 84 2/3 innings this year with 86 strikeouts, which is pretty darn impressive. He doesn’t have any wins, because the offense isn’t helping him much. Lee has been supported with 6 or more runs only twice so far this year. The Phillies have scored 2 or fewer runs five times so far this year with Lee pitching and they have also scored 3-5 runs five times when Lee was on the mound. Lee has now pitched in 56 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Phillies and he is 24-16 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Hopefully the Phillies start scoring runs more often for Lee in the near future, because it’s amazing to me that he has yet to win a game this year, despite pitching pretty well.

27-year old righty starter/reliever Kyle Kendrick is by far the best #6 starter in all of baseball. His season started slowly in April when he pitched in 6 games (2 starts) for the Phillies in which he was 0-2 with a 6.59 ERA and a 1.83 WHIP. But, he has really stepped up so far in May and June, pitching in 6 games (5 starts) in which he is 2-2 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Kendrick has now pitched in 12 games (7 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 2-4 with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The Phillies need Kendrick to keep up the good work as he is essentially replacing Roy Halladay in the starting rotation.

34-year old lefty reliever Raul Valdes has been electric for the Phillies so far this year. He has pitched in 6 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.55 WHIP. He has only given up 3 hits in his first 7 1/3 innings for the Phillies while whiffing 10 batters and walking only 1. Valdes has now pitched in 57 games (1 start) in his first three years in the majors and he is 5-4 with 1 save, a 4.15 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. The Phillies hope that Valdes keeps up the good work, that way he can team with Antonio Bastardo to give them a nasty pair of lefties out of the pen.

31-year old righty closer Jonathan Papelbon has been an outstanding addition to the Phillies’ pitching staff. Papelbon has pitched in 17 games (0 starts) for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-1 with 12 saves, a 2.20 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He has only given up 11 hits and 4 walks in 16 1/3 innings so far this year while whiffing 19 batters. Papelbon has now pitched in 413 games (3 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 23-20 with 231 saves, a 2.32 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Papelbon has been one of the very best closers in all of baseball in his career.

The Phillies are having a hard time scoring runs, but the starting pitchers are keeping them afloat so far this year. The Phillies have a nice mix of righties (Roy Halladay, Joe Blanton and Vance Worley) and lefties (Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels) in the starting rotation. Roy Halladay is still the horse of this pitching staff, as he expects to go nine innings every time he starts. Halladay has started 9 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 4-3 with a 3.22 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Cliff Lee has missed a couple of starts due to injury, but he has been outstanding this year for the Phillies. Lee has started 5 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 1.95 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP. Cole Hamels is in his free agent walk year and he’s looking to break the bank with the way he is pitching so far this year. Hamels has started 7 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 5-1 with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Vance Worley is the youngest member of the Phillies’ starting rotation and he’s looking good so far this year. Worley has started 7 games for the Phillies so far this year and he is 3-2 with a 3.07 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The biggest surprise for the Phillies has been Joe Blanton, who is healthy and pitching well. Blanton has pitched in 8 games (7 starts) so far this year for the Phillies and he is 4-3 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. If the Phillies ever start scoring some runs, they could go on a very nice run in 2012.

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 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.