The Ideal Philadelphia Phillies Lineup For 2023
I know, I know, it’s still so early on in spring training that there are still positions on the 26-man opening day roster that have yet to be locked down. There’s still plenty to be figured out, but with a team as loaded as the Phillies, one that is returning 8 of their 9 starters from a NL Pennant winning team, I think we have enough of an idea to take a shot at creating the ideal lineup for the Phils. It won’t look like last year’s team, not totally at least. The addition of Trea Turner, and the subtraction of Bryce Harper, at least for a couple months of the season, will lead to some very important changes this season. Here’s how I would build the ideal lineup for the START (without Harper) of the Phillies season. You can feel free to disagree, if you enjoy being wrong.
1.) Trea Turner – SS
Turner is a lock for the leadoff spot. Manager Rob Thomson has already pretty much said as much.
2.) Kyle Schwarber – LF
Schwarber just seems to make sense as a follow up to Turner considering the amount of times Turner should be on base and the number of pitches Schwarber sees. Those solo shots to lead off games now become 2 run homers, and his long at bats give Turner more chances to steal 2nd.
3.) JT Realmuto – C
With Bryce Harper out, the idea is to have your best overall hitter bat 3rd. Turner is locked into the leadoff spot, so your next best overall hitter is Realmuto, who is a better average option than Rhys Hoskins. You can do worse to replace Bryce Harper in this spot.
4.) Rhys Hoskins – 1B
Hoskins is the only true power hitter remaining with those top 3 players already accounted for, and in a contract year, putting perhaps your most motivated player in a huge RBI spot in the lineup seems to make sense. I like Hoskins in the cleanup spot.
5.) Whoever the DH is
The DH is a weird spot for the Phillies this year, so I’m cheating a bit. With this lineup, I’d really like another lefty power bat in this position, which means Darick Hall would probably fit best, at least against righty starters.
6.) Nick Castellanos – RF
Castellanos looks set for a bounce back year, and having him comfortably in the middle of this lineup where the pressure isn’t too high on him should help. A pure doubles hitter, I think he fits perfectly here as a guy who can create RBI opportunities for the bottom of the lineup.
7.) Alec Bohm – 3B
Bohm is probably batting lower on this team than he would on 80% of the teams in baseball, but this lineup is loaded even without Harper. The 7 hole should give him plenty of fastballs to work with though, and in a year that could see a jump in power numbers, that’s a good thing.
8.) Bryson Stott – 2B
Stott is not quite ready to move up in this lineup yet, but he’s still a guy who can put together good at bats near the bottom of the lineup. This is another growth year for Stott, and anything he gives you out of the 8 hole is a positive.
9.) Brandon Marsh – CF
Marsh has a big year ahead of him, as the Kevin Long experiment is going to be judged big time based on the young CF’s performance at the dish. His speed, compact swing, and left-handed bat fit perfectly as a 2nd leadoff hitter and to round out this lineup.
When Harper comes back, obviously this all changes as he most likely slots into the 3rd spot, but for now, this is what I think of as the ideal lineup for the Phillies in 2023.
