Philadelphia Phillies: Grading Every Player so Far This Season

Jason AmareldJul 8, 2011

As the Philadelphia Phillies approach the final series of the first half the 2011 Major League Baseball season, the Phillies find themselves with the best record in all of baseball at 55-33.

This weekend's series with the Atlanta Braves may be turn out to be one of the most important series of the entire season.

Lucky for the Phillies, they will throw all three of their All-Star pitchers; Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels.

The 2011 season has been filled with searing highs and lonely lows, but the Phightin' Phils have persevered holding a 2.5 lead in the NL East over the Atlanta Braves.

Here are the grades for the core Phillies players so far this season.

Danys Baez

1 of 23

Danys Baez has had one of the worst seasons of any Phillies pitcher, and every single Phillies fan will be glad to see the end of his tenure here in Philadelphia. Signing Baez may turn out to one of the worst free-agent signing in the teams history.

Baez poses a 2-4 record with a 5.40 ERA, 4 HR, 21 ER in 35 IP.

Let the young pitchers develop and send Mr. Baez packing.

Overall Grade: F

Michael Martinez

2 of 23

Michael Martinez is an eye sore on the Phillies 25-man roster. He has brought absolutely nothing to this ball club and will never contribute for the Phillies major league club.

In 42 games, Martinez has only three extra-base hits, zero HR, zero SB and only eight RBI.

His batting average is even worse at .182 and has a pathetic .220 OBP

Let him go already.

Overall Grade: F

Joe Blanton

3 of 23

2011 has been an injury plagued season for Joe Blanton. In limited action, Joe has a 1-2 record with a 5.50 ERA. Not so good, and it got to the point where Phillies fans would not watch his starts.

Blanton is another overpaid player the Phillies are looking to trade or relieve some of his contract from the payroll.

It doesn't look like many Phan will miss Joe, at all.

Who would have thought Joe Blanton and Wilson Valdez would have the same amount of wins at the All-Star Break?

Overall Grade: D-

Raul Ibanez

4 of 23

Raul Ibanez had one of the worst April's in the history of the game, an above-average May and began to fade away again in June.

Raul's age had caught up with him, he can't run, throw or play with any range in the field. His struggles at the plate have frustrated all of the Phillies Nation and hopefully Ruben Amaro Jr. can bring in a player like Michael Cuddyer to replace Ibanez.

Ibanez is batting and embarrassing .236 for a player who is making as much money as he is. He also has only 10 HR, 40 RBI and a terrible .285 OBP.

Luckily his contract is up at the end of the 2011 season.

Overall Grade: D

Roy Oswalt

5 of 23

Unfortunately, Roy Oswalt seems he has lost any motivation to play the game. His back continues to be a problem, and no one really knows if he will pitch again this season, or ever.

Roy is 4-6 with 3.79 ERA in 71.1 IP so far this season.

Hopefully Roy can get healthy and return to the team sometime in August for a September playoff push.

Overall Grade: C-

Ben Francisco

6 of 23

The Phillies had hoped Ben Francisco could be the everyday right-fielder, but unfortunately, when got to play everyday he became exposed at the plate. He also plays terrible defense and has a below-average arm.

He lost his everyday job to 23-year-old rookie Domonic Brown.

Ben is batting .231 with 6 HR, 31 RBI, 8 2B and 34 K's in 199 AB.

He does have a quality OBP at .340 and had driven in big runs in big games for the Phillies.

Overall Grade: C

Jose Contreras

7 of 23

Jose Contreras started out the season on fire and was almost un-hittable. His splitter was outstanding and he was keeping hitters of balance.

Injuries have continued to sideline Jose, and after his initial return, it was obvious he was not the same pitcher.

Hopefully the Phillis can get him healthy in time for a playoff push.

Jose has a 3.86 ERA and is 5-for-5 in save opportunities.

Overall Grade: C

Kyle Kendrick

8 of 23

2011 is another average season for Kyle Kendrick, not so good and not so bad. He has a 4-4 record with a 3.64 ERA in 59.1 IP. Kyle enjoys starting, he just has to prove he deserves he can be more than just an average arm.

Every season Phillies nation hopes Kyle can live up to all the natural ability, but as soon as our hopes gets high, he brings us right back down to earth.

Maybe another season Kendrick can be as great as we all hoped he would be.

Overall Grade: C

Carlos Ruiz

9 of 23

Carlos Ruiz's numbers are down from last season, he is currently only batting .248 with three HR and 18 RBI in 69 games. The Phillies need him to step up his offensive game.

His importance to this team is handling the pitching staff, where he continues to call great games and keep his pitchers under control.

It's been just an average year for Chooch.

Overall Grade: C+

Wilson Valdez

10 of 23

Wilson Valdez continues to play a great utility infield, but he cannot hit at all. He hits into more double plays than anyone in baseball and has less power than my six-year-old nephew.

He does however come to ball park every day wanting to win just as much as anyone. He is a true gamer.

Valdez is batting .232 with zero HR, 14 RBI and eight 2B in 62 games.

Wilson also has just as many wins as Joe Blanton, go figure.

Overall Grade: C+

Domonic Brown

11 of 23

Domonic Brown is still trying to find his wings as an everyday player. He has put up solid numbers since being called up and should continue to improve as the season progresses.

Brown is batting .239 with five HR, 14 RBI and 17 BB in 40 games. Despite his low average he has a .332 OBP, which means he is seeing the ball well and having quality at-bats.

Overall Grade: B-

Jimmy Rollins

12 of 23

Jimmy Rollins is putting together a quality season for the Phillies, probably not as good as he hoped he would be playing considering he is in a contract year.

The surprising part of Jimmy's game this season, is his ability to steal bases. He is 19-for-20 in stolen base attempts this season.

Rollins is batting .264 with eight HR and 35 RBI in 84 games. Jimmy needs to improve his .338 OBP if he wishes to stay atop the Phillies lineup.

Rollins needs to step it up, or he will not receive the money he thinks he deserves.

Overall Grade B-

Placido Polanco

13 of 23

Placido Polanco plays one of the best 3B is all of baseball, and it is amazing to watch him play defense.

Polanco took off this season with his batting average at a steady .320 over the first two months of the season.

Analysts say Polanco is playing hurt and this could be the reason for his terrible month of June.

Polanco will be starting at 3B for the National League All-Star team. He is currently batting .274 with 39 RBI.

Look for Polanco to get some rest, so he can return to hitting like he did the first two months.

Overall Grade: B

Chase Utley

14 of 23

Chase Utley had only played in 38 games this season, but having him back in the lineup has brought a jolt of life into the Phillies stagnate offense. So it's hard to really grade his performance.

Utley in batting .287 with four HR, seven 2B, three 3B and 18 RBI in only 143 AB. He also has .380 OBP.

Look for Chase to continue to climb the team leader board in all offensive categories during the second half.

Overall Grade: B+

Vance Worley

15 of 23

Probably the biggest surprise of the 2011 season has been the rise of starting pitcher Vance Worley.

Vance has great deception and has even better movement on his pitches.

The best part is he is only 23. Vance is 4-1 with a 2.20 ERA in 49 IP.

Overall Grade B+

Ryan Howard

16 of 23

Ryan Howard continues to be one of the biggest run producers in all of baseball.

If Howard could limit his strike outs, he could develop into one of the greatest hitters in all of the game.

Ryan's power numbers are probably not where he'd like to be, but hopefully he can get into a grove in the late summer months.

Ryan is batting .258, with 18 HR and 71 RBI. He also has 95 K's.

Overall Grade: B+

Ryan Madson

17 of 23

Ryan Madson has proved to everyone he can handle the pressure of the closer role. He is 15-for-16 in save opportunities with a 2.03 ERA.

Ryan consistently throws in the mid 90's and has 34 strikes in 31 innings, which are great numbers for a closer.

Madson has been great for the Phillies this season, and hopefully, he can return to closing after the recent injury to his hand.

Overall Grade: A-

Cliff Lee

18 of 23

After a few shaky starts, Cliff Lee is back to his old tricks and dominating opposing hitters. He has earned himself a spot on the 2011 NL All-Star team and had pitched three consecutive shutouts.

Lee is 9-6 with 2.92 ERA with 128 K's in 129.1 IP.

Cliff will have well over 200 K's this season.

Overall Grade: A-

Michael Stutes

19 of 23

Michael Stutes is been great coming out of the bullpen this season, he is 3-0 with 2.54 ERA in 28.1 IP so far this season.

Without him, the Phillies would have had a lot of trouble in the seventh and eighth inning this season.

Stutes is plays a very important role for the Phillies, and they need him to continue to pitch well if they want to win another NL East title.

Overall Grade: A-

Shane Victorino

20 of 23

Shane Victorino is the only Phillies position player who is worthy of a nod to the 2011 All-Star game. He is a four-tool player. He plays great defense, has a great arm, power and speed.

Shane is the leader of the Phillies offense and has been the most consistent hitter so far in 2011.

Victorino is batting .303 with 14 2B, nine 3B, nine HR, 13 SB and 34 RBI. Shane has a .379 OBP and a .900 OBS.

Overall Grade A-

Cole Hamels

21 of 23

Cole Hamels is off to the best start of his career. He is 10-4 with a 2.40 ERA, Cole could easily have 12 or 13 wins if the Phillies would have brought their bats to the ballpark.

Hamels has 115 K's, with a 0.95 WHIP in 124 IP and has been the most consistant starter to far this season for the Philles.

Cole has become on of the best left-handed pitchers in all of baseball, if not the best.

Overall Grade: A