Philadelphia Phillies to call up Cole Hamels

Phillies left-handed pitching prospect Cole Hamels will have his contract purchased on Friday and will make his major league debut that night in Cincinnati, Vice President & General Manager Pat Gillick announced today.

To make room for Hamels in the Phillies' starting rotation, RHP Ryan Madson will return to the bullpen, where he went 15-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 130 appearances from 2003-05. The Phillies will make a roster move prior to Friday's game to make room for Hamels on the 25-man roster.

Hamels, 22, is 3-1 with a 1.04 ERA this season in seven combined starts between Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA) and Clearwater (A). He has 65 strikeouts in 43.1 innings and has held opposing hitters to a .168 average (26-for-155).

He began the season with Clearwater and went 1-1 with a 1.77 ERA in four starts before being promoted to Scranton. Hamels pitched 7.0 scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts in his Triple-A debut and followed that up with his first professional 9.0-inning shutout, May 2 at Richmond. In his 23.0 Triple-A innings, he struck out 36 batters, posting double-digit strikeouts in each of his three starts.

Hamels was originally selected by the Phillies in the first round of the 2002 draft (17th overall). In 35 minor league starts, he was 14-4 with a 1.43 ERA (31 ER, 195.1 IP). In his 195.1 innings, he allowed only two home runs and amassed 273 strikeouts, an average of 12.6 strikeouts/9.0 innings. Hamels pitched shutout baseball in 16 of his 35 professional starts and held minor league hitters to a .174 average (114-for-654).