Phillies Power Move: Team Addresses Critical Flaw From 2024 with Massive Improvement
While the Phillies have several patient hitters like Kyle Schwarber (last year’s NL walks leader) and Bryce Harper, much of their star-studded lineup has an aggressive approach in the batter’s box. That can be beneficial sometimes, but it can also backfire if they become too chase-happy and get themselves out by swinging at bad pitches.
Philadelphia finished eighth in MLB in walk rate last season at 8.4%, but the team’s plate discipline eroded in the second half as several hitters fell into bad habits and started pressing.
Before the All-Star Break, the Phillies had a 9.1% walk rate and a 21.9% strikeout rate. After the All-Star Break, those numbers slipped to 7.3% and 22.7%.
Not surprisingly, Philadelphia’s record suffered as well. The Phillies went 54-27 in the first half but were just one game over .500 (41-40) in the second half.
That trend carried over into the playoffs, where they won just one game before getting knocked out by a Mets team that finished six games behind them in the NL East standings.
While most of Philadelphia’s stars are older veterans who are somewhat set in their ways, one player who’s shown much better plate discipline in spring training is Bryson Stott. After improving his walk rate from 6.1% in 2023 to 9.3% last year, he’s continued to build on that with a remarkable 13/6 BB/K ratio in spring training.
If the 27-year-old maintains that during the regular season, he has a chance to greatly improve on last year’s underwhelming .245/.315/.356 batting line.
Spring training stats don’t mean much, but it’s a good sign that the Phillies might be a more disciplined offensive team this season. If they keep it up once the real games start, they have a chance to be one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball this year.
