Alec Bohm Is Still Not Living Up To His Potential
Expectations were high for Alec Bohm when he came up to the big leagues. Bohm was the 3rd overall pick by the Phillies in 2018. He got as high as the 30th-ranked prospect in baseball. And with his big frame and his natural hitting skills, scouts saw big things in store for him.
His rookie year did not disappoint. He hit .338 in 44 games and even slugged .481. Enough for him to finish 2nd in the NL Rookie of the Year race. The second season was a letdown. To the point, it was a question if he would start year 3 on the big league roster. But he managed to earn a spot and remained the Phillies starting 3rd basemen for pretty much all of last season. And it was a bounce back for him.
He did not get back to hitting in the .300s. But he did hit .280, making him a reliable hitter for the Phillies. The only problem was the power was still not there. He slugged under .400, with just 40 extra-base hits in the regular season.
This was supposed to be the year he developed into more than just a singles hitter though. When he came into camp with more muscle, hopes were high he would find his power stroke. He began the season with a bang, hitting a 2 run shot off of a Jacob Degrom fastball.
But since then, we have not seen that power swing. After hitting 3 HRs in his first 10 games of the season, he has hit just 3 more over the next 44. His slugging percentage is back under .400. And to make it worse, his batting average is just .260. Once again he has settled into a guy who only hits singles. And if all you are going to hit is singles, you need to hit way more of them than Alec Bohm is doing.
There is no reason a guy who is 6ft5 and 218 lbs should have so little power. But we are now in his 4th season, and we have seen no progress toward him adding any power to his game. His career slugging percentage now is just .391. In 365 games, he has hit just 30 career home runs and 59 doubles.
One thing he deserves credit for is becoming a better third-baseman. I don’t know if he will ever be a great defender. But he is no longer the liability he once was. And if he was hitting like a guy with his talent and size should be, it would be good enough on defense. But that is not the case. With the level of production Bohm gives them, he would need to be a gold glove-type defender to make up for it.
Bohm is 26 now and in his 4th season. He is almost arbitration eligible. The excuse of being young is gone. It is either time for Alec Bohm to figure it out, or it could eventually be time for the Phillies to find a new 3rd baseman.
He has become a guy beloved by fans after the “I hate it here” incident. He owned up to it, and fans loved him for it. But if he doesn’t find a way to be more impactful with his bat, that love may not last for long. As much as we all like Bohm as a guy in the clubhouse. They can’t keep getting so little production from their 3rd baseman.
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Alec Bohm
Hopes were high for Alec Bohm coming into the year. We were told he added a lot of muscle, and would finally unlock his power. Turns out he is still the same exact hitter. His slugging % is just .403. It’s finally time to say he just has no power. How does a 6ft 5 guy have no pop? Great question. But we have seen enough of him to acknowledge it might never come. He has some skill as a pure hitter. But the .265 batting average is not good enough to make up for him not hitting many HRs. If you take away the one game he played in March, his batting average is under .260 and his Slg is under .400. Bohm to this point in his career is no better than the average replacement player.
Grade- D
Alec Bohm #28 of the Philadelphia Phillies rounds bases and reacts after hitting a three run home run during the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park on April 10, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
