May 05, 2024
John Jones/USA TODAY Sports
Alec Bohm has easily been the Phillies' best bat in 2024 so far.
Alec Bohm went for 1-for-2 with an early run driven in on a bases-loaded hit by pitch in Saturday night's rain-soaked blowout of the visiting San Francisco Giants.
He was pulled in the third for Whit Merrifield out of an injury precaution that neither he nor the Phillies seemed all too concerned about afterward, but nevertheless, the homegrown third baseman's scorching start to the season continued on.
On a club that isn't left wanting for star power between Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, and Trea Turner (though Turner will be out for a bit now), it's been Bohm who has not only been the Phillies' best bat, but flat out one of the best in baseball in the early part of the season.
And numbers racked up so far put together quite an impressive picture. Here's a quick rundown of them...
With his second-inning single into left Saturday night, Bohm extended his hit streak to 17 games, matching the one that second baseman Bryson Stott jumped out to from the start of last season.
Bohm's complete line during his streak, which started on April 16: a .477 batting average with a 1.283 OPS, 3 home runs, 10 doubles, 22 RBIs, 5 walks, and only 8 strikeouts and 2 double plays grounded into across 72 plate appearances. Moreover...
The number of multi-hit games Bohm has had during his hitting streak, which included a 4-for-4 night in a 7-4 loss at Cincinnati on April 24 and his two-homer, six-RBI game in a 7-0 thrashing of the White Sox at home on April 19.
Bohm's batting average on the year so far, which leads the majors over the Dodgers' Mookie Betts in second (.360) and Cleveland's Steven Kwan in third (.353).
Bohm's RBI count so far, which is also in the major-league lead in a tie with Atlanta's Marcell Ozuna as of Sunday afternoon. Now, runs batted in can be a finicky stat, but when it comes to the Phillies specifically, producing with runners on has been a strange weakness for the club at numerous points going back the past several years. So that Bohm can step up and make those situations count in the (still) early going is a good sign for a group that runs heavily through its offense.
Here's your daily Alec Bohm RBI pic.twitter.com/0vF6kJvAuO
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 3, 2024
Bohm's batting average with runners in scoring position, a much more telling number, along with...
His OPS with runners in scoring position, the sum of a .535 on-base percentage and a .743 slugging percentage.
Situationally...
Bohm's OPS with runners in scoring position and two outs. In 23 plate appearances under this scenario, he's slashing .500/.565/.950 with two homers, three doubles, 10 total hits, and 18 runs driven in.
Bohm's strikeouts on the season, which are the third-fewest among the regular Phillies lineup behind Stott (17) and Johan Rojas (15). Bohm struck out only 94 times in 2023, but that was another touchy stat since it could be countered with a less-than-stellar walk rate and debate over his quality of contact.
He's kept the Ks to a minimum as his offensive output has spiked though, which leads into...
Bohm's strikeout percentage through 2024 so far – currently a career low, and...
His walk rate through 2024 so far – currently a career high.
Last...
The Phillies' record throughout Bohm's hit streak, which you can debate the quality of opponents during that stretch, sure. But take the wins however they come over a 162-game schedule. You need every last one you can get when you're chasing after the division title, and right now it's all helped the Phils to an, as-of-Sunday, MLB-best 23-11 record.
Stat credits: Baseball-Reference, FanGraphs, Baseball Savant
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