He’s been much better in May.
It’s an undisputed fact that Alec Bohm had a dreadful April. He hit just .221 and had an OPS of .526. Bohm struck out 21 times in 28 games and walked just three times. Naturally, the Phillies and manager Rob Thomson decided to move Bohm down in the lineup outside of the cleanup spot or middle of the order. Ever since, Bohm has regularly occupied the seventh or eighth spot in the batting order.
But since the start of May, Bohm is beginning to look more like the player he was to begin 2024. In 18 games since the calendar flipped to May entering play on Thursday, Bohm is hitting .333 with an .884 OPS. He’s sprayed the ball to all fields as he’s raised his season average to .263. Bohm’s also found a power stroke, as he finally broke through with his first home run and added two more in May, along with two doubles. He’s collected 10 RBIs and has struck out just 11 times in 18 games to go with five walks.
In 20 games batting eighth this season, Bohm is hitting .315 with an .828 OPS. Two of his three home runs have come when batting eighth, as well as nine of his 18 RBIs. He’s thrived since moving lower in the order.
But that’s not really where you want Bohm. The Phillies succeeded last year when he was batting fourth or fifth, serving as protection for Bryce Harper as well as being best suited to exploit his tendency for hitting well with runners in scoring position. This season, Kyle Schwarber has mostly been the one hitting behind Harper, either being third or fourth. That experiment has been a rousing success so far, as Schwarber is off to arguably the best start to a season he’s had in his career.
Behind the two lefties has usually been Nick Castellanos, who’s had a solid if unspectacular start to the season. Castellanos entered Thursday hitting .286 with a .736 OPS. He’s hitting .308 in May but only sports an OPS of .715 thanks to 5 extra-base hits and just one walk. In 31 games batting fifth, Castellanos is hitting .308 with a .797 OPS.
Ideally, you would want to move Bohm up as he continues to hit better. But that would likely mean moving Castellanos down a spot or two as well as pushing J.T. Realmuto to seventh or eighth. It would also mean that the Phillies would be having two lefties and then two righties hitting back-to-back when they usually like to break them up.
So, is it time to move Alec Bohm up in the lineup? If so, where would you put him? Or do you think he should be left where he is as to not tweak the offense while the team is winning? Should Castellanos stay where he is?