Phillies Week 1 Recap- Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down

We are a week plus into the Phillies season. 3 series, 9 games, and a 7-2 record. Most recently they hosted the Dodgers and sent them back to LA with their first 2 losses of the season. Before that, they swept the Rockies at home and took 2 of 3 from the nationals in DC.

All in all, a good start to the season. They now have the day off before they head down to Atlanta to take on a Braves team that is already taking on water and in danger of sinking. But before we get there, let's look back on these 1st 9 games and see who deserves some credit, and who has a whole lot more to prove.

Historically, April has usually been Schwarber's worst month. he tends to start slow, and then get better as the season goes along. But he is wasting no time in 2025. In just 9 games Schwarber has already hit 4 long balls, drove in 8 runs, and crossed home play 9 times. he has also walked 5 times.

Schwarber has been the Phillies most consistent hitter since he got to Philly. If he is now compiling stats in April, he could be in for a special season.

I am not going to put too much into the .200/.222/.229/.451. 1 good series could turn those stats around, it is too early to overreact to poor numbers. The more concerning thing is that all the problems with his approach.

Bohm has always been aggressive at the plate. Not in the way Castellanos is where he swings at stuff in the dirt, but in the sense that he is up there swinging at the first pitch a lot of the time. Being that aggressive is fine when it works. But we saw it go very poorly for Bohm last year in the playoffs. And despite being benched in the playoffs, he has clearly not learned his lesson.

Bohm has seen the 3rd fewest pitches per at-bat this season, seeing just 3.03 per at bat. In Saturday's loss, he saw 5 pitches and produced 4 outs. That can't happen. He can't keep swinging at the first pitch if all he is going to do is slam the ball into the dirt for an easy out or double play.

There was a lot of talk through the Winter about the Phillies not doing anything in the off-season. I did not understand it seeing that they added Jesus Luzardo. He was coming off a down year due to injury, but he has some of the best stuff from the left side of the plate in the league, and we have seen that play out so far.

First, he went 5 innings, 2ERs, with 11ks (over 2 per inning) vs the Nationals. But he followed that up by shutting out the Dodgers over 7 innings with 8 Ks, and only 4 baserunners. His 19 total Ks currently leads the league. And this is the guy, despite being in that 2nd spot, who the Phillies are relying on to be their 4th best starter.

Another member of the daycare is off to a bad start. And like Bohm, it is more than just the stats, it is a continuation of a reoccurring problem. His at-bats vs lefties are not even competitive. He has faced lefties 9 times and struck out in 5 of them. There have also been a couple of miscues in the field.

This is his last chance to prove he is more than just a platoon player. But he might not be capable of more than that, and with Justin Crawford in the wings, his time in Philly may be coming to an end.

Related: The Biggest Reason Why Beating the Dodgers Mattered

We talked about two daycare members who are struggling, but what about the 1 who has stepped up? His slash line is .286/.355/.464/.819. He drove in the game-tying run vs the Dodgers on Sunday. He has continued to play Gold Glove Defense. but more than any of that,m and unlike Bohm and Marsh, he just looks more comfortable at the plate.

Stott may never have the greatest bat. But he has an approach that works at this level. Take pitches, stretch out the at-bat, and put the ball in play. With his glove, they dont need him to be a star at the plate. he just can't be an automatic out like he was at times last season.

Stott has the speed and base running skills to make some noise just because he gets on base.

Luzardo was their big addition to the rotation, but Romano was the guy in the bullpen. Like Luzardo, he was coming off a down year ruined by an injury. Unlike Luzardo, he has not bounced back from it early in 2025.

he has taken the mound 5 times now, and all 5 have been a struggle. He has 2 scoreless innings, but gave up 2 runs on Opening Day, blew a lead to the Dodgers on Sunday, and may have only avoided blowing another lead because of JT Realmuto throwing out Shoehei Ohtani at 2nd.

It is still early, but more concerning than the results, is how he has looked. The stuff just is not there, and his velocity is way down from when he was one of the top closers in the league.