A stacked lineup of sluggers has carried the Philadelphia Phillies to three consecutive appearances in the MLB Playoffs. However, their boom or bust approach in the batter’s box at Citizens Bank Park has driven up the pressure to win the elusive World Series ring.
Bryce Harper leads a group of five lineup regulars with strikingly similar characteristics.
- Multiple MLB All-Star selections
- Age 32 or older
- Lucrative salary with Phillies after beginning MLB career with another organization
- Hunger to capitalize on a shrinking World Series window
Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm, and Brandon Marsh – who aren’t exactly young enough anymore for their collective DayCare nickname – have more to prove about their big league futures as major (or minor) contributors in the franchise’s long-term outlook.
Newcomer Max Kepler rounds out a lineup that finished fifth in the majors in runs scored last season before a disappointing National League Division Series performance against the New York Mets.
Around The Diamond
Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski regularly keeps his scorebook when he attends MLB games. Read the list of lineup regulars in an old school baseball man’s scorebook order instead of performance projections entering the 2025 season.
J.T. Realmuto: Catcher (2)
The 2025 season will answer crucial questions about the future of Phillies catchers. Rafael Marchan will likely overtake Garrett Stubbs as the backup behind J.T. Realmuto.
The shuffle during the final season of Realmuto’s contract will clear up the picture for a greater organizational plan behind the plate.
Related Content: Why Backup Catcher Question Is More Than A Position Battle
The Phillies enter the 2025 season with a more favorable outlook on their starter than most MLB teams.
Realmuto has caught more regular-season innings than anyone in the majors since 2022 despite playing only 99 games last season. His workload has also extended into three consecutive Red Octobers. He owns a commanding lead in innings caught since the Phillies acquired him in 2019.
While Realmuto’s offensive numbers slipped last season, he still finished sixth in batting average and eighth in OPS among catchers with at least 300 plate appearances.
Rob Thomson believes managing Realmuto’s workload as the backstop will help avoid the wear and tear on his knees that affects him at the plate. The plan hinges on health and solid production from Marchan, however.
Realmuto finished with his lowest OPS in six seasons with the Phillies in 2024. Thomson will likely count on him as the fourth right-handed bat in the lineup behind Bohm, Trea Turner, and Nick Castellanos.
Caleb Cotham will conversely trust the 34-year-old with as much game preparation and responsibility with the pitching staff as any MLB catcher.
The future of the position is unquestionably in the air, but the Phillies still have one more season with a catcher in the top tier of the majors.
Photo by Harry How/Getty ImagesANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MAY 01: J.T. Realmuto #10 of the Philadelphia Phillies before the game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on May 01, 2024 in Anaheim, California.
Bryce Harper: First Base (3)
The Showman will pass the midway point of his 13-year contract with the Phillies this season at age 32.
He’ll likely climb into the top 10 in franchise history in home runs in 2025 while trying to maintain an outrageous 149 OPS+ in his first six seasons in red pinstripes.
Competitive edge and intensity define Bryce Harper as much as any athlete in modern sports. Phillies fans must live with the frustrated emotion when the star slugger doesn’t run out a ball because they know a star performance will follow it up on the biggest stage.
Harper (somehow quietly?) performed well in the NLDS against the Mets, hitting 4/12 with three extra-base hits and five walks. His dramatic home run in Game 2 upheld his reputation as a playoff catalyst.
Perhaps his most important stat in 2024 was 145 games played. It was his second highest total with the Phillies, and it came during his first full season at a new position.
Harper’s athleticism helped him transition to first base with above average defensive metrics. FanGraphs credited him with five defensive runs saved (DRS), but he still has adjustments to make in the field.
His tendency to over pursue groundballs to his right doesn’t allow talented second baseman Bryson Stott to maximize his ability, but Harper has plenty of runway to improve on the fundamentals of a less familiar position in the coming seasons.
Rob Thomson will likely pencil in Harper as a designated hitter for a few extra games this season. Additional rest could slow the aging curve that’s appeared in slight dips in advanced stats like average exit velocity and hard hit rate.
Every teammate, coach, executive, or fan who steps into Citizens Bank Park knows to expect excellent power production in the heart of the order from Harper.
However, they will also inevitably (for better or for worse) tie his legacy with a bottom-line judgment of success or failure to bring a World Series back to Philadelphia.
He’s willingly drawn the attention of superstardom that heightens the pressure to a level beyond any of his high-priced teammates.
Will he wear a World Series ring when he retires as one of the best Phillies in history?
Photo by Heather Barry/Getty ImagesBryson Stott: Second Base (4)
Stott led the Phillies in stolen bases last season with 32. Only two of the 12 major leaguers who stole more bases in 2024 were thrown out fewer times. He also shared the team lead in DRS with seven and led the team in sacrifices.
Larry Bowa spoke on The Best Show Ever about his expectation that Stott competes for a Gold Glove at second base in 2025.
However, the Phillies have higher expectations at the plate for their former first-round pick.
Most 27-year-olds with two and a half seasons as a lineup regular have clearer offensive profiles.
Stott reached the All-Star Break with a .301 batting average in 2023, his first year as an everyday major leaguer. An underwhelming second half clouded the expectations of his MLB future.
His career monthly splits are all over the map. He made a significant jump in his walk rate last season, but also struck out more. Conversations persisted about how Stott struggled to replicate the same solid approach with two strikes that he showed earlier in his career.
Stott battled through an elbow injury suffered in May 2024. His already underwhelming batting average didn’t change much, but his OPS plummeted in the final four months of the season.
The value that Stott provided in the field, on the basepaths, and at the bottom of the lineup last season have him locked in as a contributing starter.
However, the Phillies need one of their younger regulars to develop into an offensive centerpiece if they hope to extend their window of World Series contention.
They can’t yet say that Stott is the player to do that.
Photo by Heather Barry/Getty ImagesAlec Bohm: Third Base (5)
Bohm’s mental makeup will impact his 2025 season as much as his physical tools.
It speaks volumes when the notoriously patient Thomson sits a productive lineup regular for a career utility player and publicly admits the idea of better energy with Bohm out of the NLDS lineup.
Trade rumors swirled throughout the offseason after Bohm’s disappointing late-season and playoff performance.
A hand injury factored into Bohm’s poorly-timed slump. The embattled third baseman spent the first half of September on the injured list. He hit .170 in the final 12 regular-season games after his return.
He followed up his 1/13 performance in the NLDS with pushback against postgame questions about his tendency to swing early in counts.
How then can Phillies fans reasonably expect good things from him this season?
Bohm reached the height of his career in the first half of 2024. His ability to hit to all fields helped him become a reliable RBI man in a stacked lineup. He finished the season tied for third in the majors with 44 doubles.
The splits are necessary for proper context in any conversation about the 28-year-old, and the dropoff impacted his reportedly underwhelming value on the offseason trade market.
Larry Bowa pointed out that Bohm’s participation in the Home Run Derby might’ve impacted his swing during the second half. While the idea is essentially impossible to prove or disprove, Bohm did pull almost all of his home runs to left field last season. The characteristic lends itself to a home run contest.
Dombrowski and Thomson have every incentive to compliment Bohm’s attitude in spring training and attempt to help the trade rumors stay in the past. All reports from Clearwater have been positive.
“He’s grown up so much since we first brought him to the big leagues, and now he looks like he’s taken another step. So, I’m really excited to see what he can do.” -Rob Thomson
Could tweaks to his swing help him improve? Yes. Is it possible he sustains his All-Star production from early last season for a full season? Yes.
However, the 2025 season for Alec Bohm is more about proving he has the proper competitive spirit at age 28 with any benefit of patience and understanding for a young player behind him. Thomson’s more revealing quotes from Clearwater had to do with how Bohm can prove that.
“Just the consistency making those lows not as low. Everybody’s going to go through tough times, making sure those tough times don’t last as long as they have (in past seasons).” -Rob Thomson
Photo by Elsa/Getty ImagesTrea Turner: Shortstop (6)
Philadelphia’s high-priced shortstop enters the season with similarly high scrutiny. The grace period and standing ovations are over, and the Phillies need to see the $300 million version of Trea Turner if they expect to win a World Series.
Turner finished with the highest batting average of any Phillies regular in 2024 and the third highest on-base percentage. However, his numbers have slipped in most offensive categories since he joined the Phillies, except for home runs.
The organization hopes that a (likely) move to the leadoff spot changes his attitude. He could use some of the same medicine that brought Kyle Schwarber’s batting average from .197 to .248 in one season.
Turner finished in the 16th percentile of MLB hitters in 2024 chasing 33.9% of pitches outside StatCast’s estimated strike zone. He’s slipped into the free-swinging approach a little too frequently in his two seasons with the Phillies and his only full season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022.
Turner also pulled the ball at a drastically higher rate than the MLB average and his career average last season.
The changes in approach have reduced his walk numbers significantly, and his overall numbers have dipped since the earlier years of his career with the Washington Nationals.
The three-time All-Star also has room for improvement in the field. He grades with -26 defensive runs saved the past two seasons. JJ Bleday of the Sacramento Athletics is the only one of the 2994 fielders who have stepped on a big league diamond who has racked up more negative defensive impact.
Turner shows the unusual tendency to make spectacularly athletic plays despite his frequent difficulty with easier groundballs.
The Phillies passed on making major offseason additions hoping for internal improvement from their own players with All-Star track records. Turner applies to the concept offensively and defensively as much as anyone on the roster.
Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty ImagesMax Kepler: Left Field (7)
Signing the best German-born player in MLB history didn’t reverse much frustration within the fan base.
Dombrowski surprisingly added another lefty without a long track record as an everyday player to stand next to Brandon Marsh in the outfield grass at Citizens Bank Park.
Kepler has averaged 22 home runs and 71 RBI per 162 games since the start of the 2020 season, but he struggled in 2024. His .302 OBP and .380 SLG% fell solidly below league average even during a slow offensive season around baseball.
When Dombrowski spoke to the Philadelphia media after the signing, he pointed to a core injury that Kepler played through last season as a major restrictor.
Jayson Stark spoke on 97.5 The Fanatic about how one MLB executive suspects the Phillies were able to afford offseason additions Kepler, Jesus Luzardo, and Jordan Romano because of legitimate injury questions.
Max Kepler ranked in the 34th percentile of qualified MLB hitters chasing 30.5% of the pitches he saw outside the unofficial strike zone in 2024. The Phillies finished 25th in the majors with a 30.3% chase rate.
His career numbers paint a different picture. Kepler finished in the top quarter in chase rate the previous three seasons, even finishing at a steady 20.4% in 121 games in 2021.
Former Twins executive Terry Ryan, who works in the organization as an advisor to Dombrowski, gave the go-ahead for a position switch from right to left field after watching Kepler play left years ago in the minor leagues.
Kepler has ranked toward the top of the majors in fielding run value among right fielders for most of his MLB career.
While his ceiling makes practical sense for the Phillies, it’s hard to envision a scenario where Max Kepler drastically shifts the direction of the World Series window.
Photo by Elsa/Getty ImagesBrandon Marsh: Center Field (8)
Marsh has become an important part of the clubhouse culture at Citizens Bank Park that’s received praise throughout MLB circles. He’s also brought strengths as an above average outfielder and a good baserunner.
Like his contemporaries Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm, he’s never proven himself as an offensive centerpiece who will extend Philadelphia’s window of World Series contention past the prime seasons of their current stars.
A .192 average against lefties and a .262 average against righties indicates a player better served in a platoon role than his WAR, DRS, and OPS might indicate.
He also ranked in the bottom third percentile among qualified MLB hitters with a 32.4% strikeout rate last season.
Marsh helps the Phillies stay loose and sexy. The Georgia native has hilariously admitted a change of heart after growing up as an Atlanta Braves fan.
However, the subjective idea of clubhouse chemistry has worn on Phillies fans regardless of whether it still matters to the players. The real determination of Brandon Marsh’s value is his ability to contribute when he’s in the batter’s box.
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesNick Castellanos: Right Field (9)
The unbuttoned jersey and the frank postgame comments create a curious perception of Nick Castellanos in Philadelphia.
However, the 33-year-old’s relentless work in batting practice last season was anything but nonchalant. He rebounded from a brutal start with an .817 OPS after June 1.
Castellanos belted his astounding fifth walk-off hit of 2024 in Game 2 of the NLDS. While the Phillies went down with a whimper, he hit .412 (7/17) in the playoffs. His flare for the dramatic helped offset regular season offensive production that doesn’t justify a $20 million salary.
Castellanos won’t solve the lineup’s problematic tendency to chase pitches outside the zone. He’ll probably continue some of his overaggressive habits for the remaining two years under contract with the Phillies, but he’ll also provide some impressive power from the right side.
If the notorious boom or bust lineup can boom at the right time again, Castellanos could play a major part a World Series run.
Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty ImagesKyle Schwarber: Designated Hitter
The stats paint a superb picture of Kyle Schwarber. He led the Phillies in home runs and RBI last season. His batting average took a drastic jump.
Only Aaron Judge and Juan Soto walked more than Schwarber in 2024.
StatCast clocked the unconventionally-sized leadoff hitter with the second-highest bat speed among qualified MLB hitters. Schwarber also finished seventh in average exit velocity, sixth in barrel rate, and fourth in hard hit percentage.
It’s safe to say that short, efficient swing still works for Schwarber at age 32. Expect him to produce as much as any lineup regular, and he might help out a little more with the glove this season in left field or first base if Thomson needs flexibility for other veterans to sit more frequently.
Schwarber has earned the reputation as the pulse of the clubhouse, and his charity efforts have become an important part of the Philadelphia community.
The Phillies aren’t likely to let Kyle Schwarber walk away in free agency after the final year of his contract in 2025.
However, lump him with teammates Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Trea Turner, and Nick Castellanos as high-priced veterans with their chance for a World Series slipping out of their fingers with every Red October that passes them by.
Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images
