PHILADELPHIA — He recorded a leadoff Monday night for the sixth time in his major league career, but had no basers with two outs when Bryson Stott came in in the third inning. He trailed the current National League Cy Young Award winner, 0-2.
Sandy Alcantara flushed several inside sinkers against Stott in the first inning. I raised the book and caught up with the tie. Stott made Alcantara work. This is what good hitters do, and sometimes it’s easy to forget. This was Stott’s 504th at-bat in a regular season game.
Trea Turner, who fell second in the order, watched from the on-deck circle as Stott matched pitch by pitch on Alcantara.
“It doesn’t seem to matter who’s on the mound,” Turner said after the Phillies’ 15-3 win over the Marlins. “He keeps hitting good plate appearances and that’s why he got the leadoff spot today. Let’s go.”
Stott was rewarded for his fight. Alcantara threw something over the plate and achieved a 93 mph changeup on the outer rim. “I’m glad I kept the changeup after those two fastballs,” Stott said. He served it to left center field on a single.
Stott steals second base. He scored on a Turner Bloop single from right. It was not hard to imagine that this would be the official line-up in the future. The Phillies scored three more runs to make it a five-run inning. (Jake Cave led off the third inning with a solo home run.) They scored four in the fifth and four more in the sixth.
Bryson Stott stole second base in the third inning. (Eric Hartline/USA Today)
Left-handed hitter Stott may be hitting top again on Tuesday night. he may not. There will be lefties on the mound. But the Phillies believed they could achieve higher expectations this spring if Stott, Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh each stepped forward.
Stott has a 10-game hitting streak. He has multiple hits in his seven of those games.
“He swings the bat really well,” Turner said. “Even when he’s out, I feel like he’s making a good swing on the pitch.”
The night before, Rob Thomson texted Stott that he would be fighting Alcantara in the leadoff. The manager knew to rest catcher JT Realmuth. Rather than move multiple people, he put Stott on top and Turner and Kyle Schwarber one down. This was the least confusing method.
But there were other reasons as well. Last summer, Thomson gushed about Stott’s potential as a leadoff hitter. In the winter, the Phillies signed a man with all the typical leadoff characteristics for $300 million. So Turner was that man.
What if he hits second instead? This moves Schwarber to third, a more traditional power spot in the lineup. “The lineup gets really long, and you have two guys at the top who can run, steal, and wreak havoc,” Thomson said. But even if the Phillies decide it’s best to stick with the plan they brought into the season, Stott will look to the top later if circumstances dictate it. I know it’s worth it.
“I’m just watching Bryson at bat,” Thomson said before the big win. He’s on base. He’s doing what Bryson can do. Put him on top and put some sluggers behind him. ”
It’s a testament to the effort the 25-year-old Stott puts into his approach at bat. A year ago Monday, his big league career was two games ahead of him. He was learning what it takes to handle the best pitchers in the sport.In less than three weeks, he was back in the minors.
He has 17 hits in his first 40 at-bats this season. He recorded his 17th hit in 2022 on his June 8th, or his 95th at-bat. He’s been another hitter since June, earning a shortstop job on a team within two games of winning the World Series.
“I always thought he fit the mold of a leadoff player,” Thomson said. “He sees a lot of pitches. He knows the strike zone. He uses the whole field. He can hit. He gets to base.”
Bryson Stott has hit in all of his first 10 games. (Gregory Fisher/USA Today)
Monday’s second at-bat against Alcantara showed his progress. Stott scored the strike by robbing Alcantara of his first fastball at 97 mph. He fouled a knee slider for strike two. He fouled another fastball at 98 mph. He then took his two fastballs up and in. He didn’t try to pull his next changeup.
“He’ll throw strikes,” Stott said of Alcantara. “He has some of the best, if not the best, in the game. I think you’re just trying to make a
This is Stott’s theme for the first 10 games. He has enough confidence and comfort to wait out the pitch. He was exposed to a steady diet of fastballs in the postseason last season.
He’s hit a fastball in the first 10 games of the season.
“I feel good about it,” Stott said. “I’m still missing something here and there. But I feel I’m more on time now than I was before, so that’s always a plus.”
When he connected on Alcantara’s changeup, it marked Stott’s fifth hit of the season after starting the at-bat on an 0–2 count. He picked up his sixth such hit late in the game, tying for most in MLB. He had 12 overall last season. He’s doing what the Phillies envisioned when they selected him with the 14th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft.
At UNLV, Stott hit the leadoff. He did it even as a minor. “I don’t care,” said Stott. “Just hitting the same plate. I don’t think it really matters to me.” Maybe that’s the beauty of Stott’s work now. Batting at the bottom of the lineup, his honed approach allows him to stick wherever Thomson wants him. He looks like a hitter who can take a meaningful step in his second year in the big leagues.
“It doesn’t mean he will lead tomorrow,” Thomson said. “Let’s talk about that after the game.”
After the game, Thomson had something to think about, and it was fascinating.
(Top photo: Andy Lewis / Icon Sportswire / Associated Press)
