Team officials met yesterday to discuss the future of pitcher Cole Hamels, and there were strong indications they have decided that the prized lefthander will make his next start in the major leagues.
"We’re close," assistant general manager Mike Arbuckle said. "It’s not going to be much longer, but there are a few moving pieces we have to figure out and people we would have to talk to."
Initial reports suggest that Hamels could pitch as early as Friday in Cincinnati. This would coincide with his next scheduled start for Scranton and would imply that Ryan Madson would be bumped from the rotation. Despite a 3-1 record, Madson has struggled with a 6.82 ERA and a .371 AVG-against in just 30.3 innings. The Phillies would certainly bolster the bullpen if they moved him back into the setup role in which he excelled at for first 3/4 of the past two seasons.
As we all have undoubtedly heard, Cole Hamels is tearing up the AAA International League. Here are his overall numbers thus far this year:
| Team | From | To | W | L | ERA | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO |
| Clearwater Threshers | 04/06- | 04/25 | 1 | 1 | 1.77 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20.1 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 29 |
| S-WB Red Barons | 04/25- | 05/08 | 2 | 0 | 0.39 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 23.0 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 36 |
Check out that ERA, and of course those strikeouts! The lefty would reestablish a dimension to the Phillies rotation left void by Randy Wolf’s injury. Be warned though, nothing about this callup is definite yet; and since the Phillies are riding a nine-game winning streak, it’s not as if they’re dying for an injection of new blood. But for that same reason, the Phillies management may feel that this is the opportune time to give Hamels a tryout in the majors.
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