August 07, 2025
Name a feared hitter in the Phillies lineup.
Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are playing like MVPs, and Trea Turner, though he's been slumping a little of late, has the talent to win a batting title — he leads the Phillies hitting .280.
But after that? Pick a hitter you'd feel good about in a clutch situation. It's a stockpile of inconsistent, platoon or average hitters.
At the trade deadline the Phillies decided against adding a true All-Star bat like Eugenio Suárez, who the Mariners traded for instead. Other big-time hitters changing teams last week included Carlos Correa and Ryan McMahon while even more available impact bats (like Stephen Kwan) remained with their old teams.
There is really no protection for Schwarber and Harper in the 4-spot in the batting order. The Phillies options there – J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos and Alec Bohm – aren't exactly players to beware of, though each has had stints of hitting well this season.
In comparison to the rest of the majors, and the rest of the batting order, the cleanup spot has been brutal.
| Order | OPS | MLB rank |
| 1 | .707 | 20th |
| 2 | .872 | 3rd |
| 3 | .837 | 9th |
| 4 | .715* | 21st |
| 5 | .720 | 15th |
| 6 | .768 | 2nd |
| 7 | .704 | 13th |
| 8 | .697 | 5th |
| 9 | .643 | 13th |
*There's an asterisk on that OPS for the 4-hole. Schwarber, who leads the majors with 40 home runs and 94 RBI, has hit out of the 2-hole for every game except for one (when he led off) since June 8th, and has not hit cleanup since June 5.
Take away Schwarber's cleanup hitting earlier in the year, and the 4-hole has produced a .628 OPS (through Tuesday), the worst in the majors.
Is that an argument in favor of moving him back in the order?
Clearly, Rob Thomson prefers to give Schwarber the opportunity for more at bats. He also likes having Schwarber's elite on base percentage, 5th best in the NL, in front of Harper, who hits almost exclusively out of the 3-spot.
Schwarber's 37 games hitting cleanup saw him hit .277 with a .401 on base percentage, 10 homers and 26 RBI. Here's how everyone else has fared this year:
| Hitter | PA | Slash, HR, RBI |
| Nick Castellanos | 200 | .242/.285/.392, 5 HR, 27 RBI |
| Alec Bohm | 74 | .179/.243/.269, 2 HR, 6 RBI |
| J.T. Realmuto | 36 | .206/.250/.265, 2 RBI |
| Max Kepler | 9 | .143/.333/.143 |
There really aren't any viable solutions out there — besides the guys listed above simply hitting better. Bohm is nearing a return from a rib injury and perhaps when he's right he can return to form as a career .271 hitter from the 4-spot. He has 96 RBI from there in 151 career at bats, roughly one full regular season's worth.
In Philadelphia's most recent loss Wednesday, Castellanos got the nod with Realmuto sitting out. He went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.
Newly acquired outfielder Harrison Bader isn't really cleanup material either. In nine Major League seasons he's only started in the lineup there six times (and not since 2023, when he hit .105 in five games).
The only other player in the organization who could help is, theoretically, outfield prospect Justin Crawford. Crawford doesn't have enough power to hit fourth, but his inclusion in the lineup could give them an excuse to move Schwarber back to 4th in the order. Crawford is slashing .322/.406/.420 in Triple-A, with just three homers and 31 RBI. Maybe that could slot him in the 2 spot. However he hits from the left side, and it doesn't seem like Thomson would hit three lefties in a row.
The Phillies are in first place in the NL East and a fourth straight playoff berth seems extremely likely. In each of the prior three Octobers, starting with their World Series loss in 2022, Philly has exited the postseason a round earlier. With an elite starting pitching staff, and with a bullpen revamped and in the strength column, the middle portion of the Phils' offense could be the most likely failure point in a postseason series.
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