So it should be noted that as of yesterday, three of the top four strikeout pitchers in all of minor league baseball were Phillies prospects.

Righthander Drew Naylor, who struck out 12 in a complete game Saturday, is No. 1 with 62 at low-Class A Lakewood. Lefthander Antonio Bastardo, recently promoted from advanced-Class A Clearwater to Double A Reading, is No. 2 with 58. And lefthander J.A. Happ, with Triple A Lehigh Valley, is No. 4 with 55.

While it is still far too early to project how close any of them are to appearing on a big-league mound, there is a chance the organization could end up relying on one of their farmhands to make a transition similar to the one Kyle Kendrick made last season.

"A lot of it depends on timing, on how they are throwing at the time and how they are performing," assistant general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "A lot of the times when there are guys down below it's really time and circumstance. It's who's throwing the ball the best, who's performing the best . . . the same with all our position players."

A lot depends on Benson, who has suffered a couple of setbacks in his attempt to return from 2007 shoulder surgery.

Amaro said yesterday the Phillies are still hopeful that Benson will be able to help the team at some point this season. But Benson is well behind where the organization thought he would be at this point.

Toward the end of spring training, the Phillies said they thought Benson could be in a position to make his season debut in May. When the sides reworked the minor league deal he signed in February, they included two opt-out dates - including one that, according to a source, would have taken effect May 15 if Benson had pitched in at least 10 minor league innings. Since he threw his first bullpen session in 2 weeks on Saturday - he is recovering from a strained groin - that date will pass without any action.

Amaro said the Phillies still aren't sure when Benson, who also battled a bout with biceps tendinitis, might be ready to make his first minor league appearance.

"We're hopeful," Amaro said. "Things have been very slow with him. Obviously, he's had a couple of setbacks, which hurt us. But we still have to let it play out and see how it's going. He's back throwing off the mound again, which is a good sign, but he still has some fatigue in his groin and he's got to get himself healthy before we even really consider him being an option for us."

Which brings us back to the minor leaguers.

Although Phillies starters have logged the second-most innings (225) of any National League staff, they hardly have been dominant. Opponents are hitting .282 against them, the second-worst mark in the league. Their 4.76 ERA is ninth in the league, and the 1.43 walks/hits per innings pitched ranks eighth. Their 10 wins are tied for the fifth-fewest among all NL starting staffs.

Add in normal wear and tear - the last time the Phillies didn't have more than five players finish the season with at least eight starts was 1993 - and there's a good chance the need for pitching help will present itself at some point in the next 4 1/2 months.

One option could be long reliever Chad Durbin, who entered yesterday tied for fifth among NL relievers with 23 innings and whose 1.57 ERA ranked fifth among those with at least 20 innings.

But so could prospects Happ, who pitched in one game for the Phillies last season, and Carlos Carrasco, who is 3-3, with a 3.77 ERA and averaging 9.21 strikeouts per nine innings at Reading.

Asked if Happ's big-league experience - he started and allowed five runs on seven hits in four innings against the Mets - would help his cause, Amaro said, "He's certainly on the radar screen."

Of course, in a perfect world, the starters dominate the final three-quarters of the season, Benson works his way back to big-league form, and the organization's prospects are able to marinate in the minors.

But as recent years have shown, things rarely have been perfect when it comes to pitching.

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