The Phillies lost two out of three to the St. Louis Cardinals but that shouldn’t take away from a solid stretch of baseball over the past couple of weeks. They’re 12-5 since their slow 13-13 start to the season. It’s not perfect but they’ve looked the part of a contending team for a few weeks now.

Alec Bohm’s May

Alec Bohm still has plenty of work to overcome his slow April but the first two weeks of May have looked strong. He is hitting .357 with a .973 OPS through 47 plate appearances. Bohm is hitting more line drives and has two home runs to right field.

After walking just three times in his first 119 plate appearances, he has four in May.

If he keeps this up, then it’s probably time to discuss using him again in the middle of the order. Nick Castellanos and JT Realmuto have looked fine but not great and Max Kepler has looked like Max Kepler. There is a place in the middle of the lineup for a good Alec Bohm.

Bohm hit fourth in 102 games last season and was the cleanup hitter in the 2023 postseason. It has never been a set-and-forget-it spot with Rob Thomson but Bohm settled under there in a Kyle Schwarber leadoff world.

Now, with Schwarber hitting cleanup and no signs of change, is Bohm going to hit fifth? Could he hit sixth? Does any of that matter? Not really, but it’s still fun to discuss.

How is Bryson Stott working in the leadoff spot? (And top of the order in general)

In games Bryson Stott has started, he has not left the leadoff spot since April 10. They are 17-14 (including games he hasn’t started) since Rob Thomson made the change.

Stott hasn’t produced like a modern-day leadoff hitter, however. His on-base percentage is just .308 with a .682 OPS overall. It hasn’t been a resounding success despite the games they’ve won.

Stott and Trea Turner have been more unspectacular than dynamic as the one-two combination at the top of the order. The Phillies’ overall leadoff spot ranks 16th in wRC+, 14th in OBP, and 12th in batting average. They have stolen more bases but in a game where the best teams have their star players hitting high in the order, the Phillies might be lagging a little behind.

The club’s one-two combination ranks 19th in slugging percentage, which is not good in today’s game.

When looking at other contending teams, the New York Mets have Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto at the top, both slug. The Chicago Cubs have Kyle Tucker hitting two. The Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. The Padres have Fernando Tatis Jr. The Yankees have the best right-handed hitter in baseball history hitting in the two-hole.

A lot of this is not on Bryson Stott. Trea Turner has hit for average but needs to slug more for the lineup to work long term. His slugging percentage has dropped 92 points from 2024 to 2025.

The Phillies may end up tinkering with the lineup multiple times this year because that’s what teams do. It is still a point worth acknowledging.