May 26, 2025
Dennis Lee/Imagn Images
Can the Phillies can count on Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh moving forward?
After a lengthy road trip across the country, the Phillies have a day off on Monday before they prepare for six games at home against the Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers. To pass the time until then, let's highlight some key contributors to the team's stellar month of May in 5 Phillies thoughts:
At the beginning of May, Bohm was slashing .221/.252/.274. After three weeks and change, that line now looks a whole lot better: .272/.308/.385. Bohm dug such a deep hole for himself with his horrid start to the year that he still has a ways to go for his overall offensive production to reflect what the Phillies have come to expect from him. But after a chaotic offseason filled with trade rumors and a brutal opening month to the season, it has to be a relief for the organization to see Bohm spraying baseballs all over the field.
Bohm has gone .341/.382/.537 in May (22 games, 89 plate appearances), tallying four homers in the process after failing to leave the yard at any point in March or April. He has nine multi-hit games so far this month -- something he only did five times across March and April -- and the power finally starting to come along in limited doses is a good sign. It is clear at this point that Bohm is not a slugger, and while that undoubtedly puts a hard ceiling on his offensive production, it does not prevent him from being a productive bat.
Most would likely have struggled to imagine just a few weeks ago that Bohm could lead Bryson Stott in season-long OPS at any point in the near future, but that is exactly where things stand now. Bohm is up to .693, while Stott's prolonged struggles have sunk him to .690. The Phillies spent most of 2024 with Bohm hitting near the top of the order and Kyle Schwarber in the leadoff spot; if Bohm continues to surge and Stott continues to have issues in the leadoff spot, perhaps that arrangement could be used again.
Marsh had such a difficult April that it would make Bohm look like an All-Star in comparison. Marsh was in the midst of an 0-for-31 slump before an injury sidelined him for two weeks. Marsh returned on May 3 and expressed confidence that the time off and rehab assignment would enable him to find a groove at the plate again -- and Johan Rojas thriving during Marsh's time on the shelf put the pressure on.
So far, Marsh has done just that. In 18 games (42 plate appearances) as a strong-side platoon player in center field, the 27-year-old has slashed .340/.404/.447, is routinely making very hard contact and is even striking out less than he typically has (23.0 K%).
The Phillies will never be the best version of themselves in the field when Marsh mans center -- Rojas is the far superior defender there -- but Marsh did save Saturday's game, an eventual 11-inning victory, with an absolutely brilliant throw to nail a runner at home:
Are you not entertained?! pic.twitter.com/uaM54YjRuz
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 25, 2025
Marsh's stellar throw was incredibly helpful for a pitcher who has earned some backing of late:
Alvarado's 80-game suspension and ensuing postseason ineligibility is a gut punch for the Phillies, whose weakest unit was the bullpen even with Alvarado available and mowing down opposing hitters. One of the reasons for that was Kerkering and Jordan Romano, the pair of relief pitchers slated to be manager Rob Thomson's high-leverage right-handers, sputtering out of the gate.
Romano's start to 2025 was particularly brutal -- and almost uncomfortable -- to watch, but some mechanical tweaks unlocked a pitcher that looks much more like the one to become a two-time All-Star with the Toronto Blue Jays. Kerkering, who has been remarkably steady in the regular season since being called up to the major leagues at the end of 2023, was not as bad as Romano early on but did take a bit longer to find his way.
Kerkering became the first Phillies pitcher since the day before his own major-league debut in September of 2023 to pitch on three consecutive days, getting out of tight jams quickly on Thursday and Friday before tossing a scoreless inning despite having the bases loaded with no outs on Saturday thanks to Marsh's outfield assist.
Entering May, Kerkering had a 5.56 ERA in 13 appearances (11.1 innings). But in 10 outings this month, he has only allowed one run and four hits across 8.0 innings of work. His command is not quite there yet, but it is improving -- and his slider/sweeper remains a devastating pitch.
While Kerkering, Romano and Matt Strahm are trying to pick up the slack for Alvarado at the back end of the bullpen, the suspension forced Banks into a more prominent role as the team's second left-handed reliever. Banks' arrow was clearly pointing upwards before Alvarado was suspended, and the 33-year-old is continuing to earn more trust -- culminating in a save on Friday, his first since joining the Phillies last summer and just the fourth of his major-league career.
Banks has retired the last 12 batters he has faced; he has not permitted a baserunner of any kind since May 17. He has been punching tickets all year, striking out 10.5 batters per nine innings -- his 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings was a career-best in 2024 -- thanks to a slider and sweeper which have been effective so far. Banks does not possess particularly good velocity with his fastball, but his command has been excellent and he is finding ways to induce weak contact.
While Banks has been more effective against right-handed hitters than expected this season, he is naturally far better against left-handed bats -- his splits against lefties were part of the calculus to acquire him last summer, and Banks has continued to post strong left-on-left numbers in 2025. 38 lefty hitters have stepped into the box against Banks, and they are slashing a collective .147/.194/.265.
However, a higher-profile role in the bullpen means less optimal conditions and pockets of lineups for Banks. The next several weeks figure to be a significant test for his viability as a trusted arm for the remainder of the season.
Abel had an electric major-league debut on May 18, dominating the Pittsburgh Pirates to the tune of nine strikeouts and zero walks across six shutout innings. But, as was going to be the case no matter what, Abel was promptly optioned back to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, despite having what Romano called "the best debut I've ever seen."
After a disastrous 2024 campaign which had him falling off the high-caliber prospect radar, Abel returned in 2025 and used a revamped mentality to trust his ability and find himself on the mound again. He earned so much faith in eight starts that when the Phillies needed a spot starter, they viewed the 23-year-old as up for the task. He delivered beyond anything they could have anticipated.
Abel returned to Triple-A competition on Saturday, and after a shaky first inning, he buckled down and found a way to be effective, even without the adrenaline-induced velocity jump he experienced at Citizens Bank Park:
Mick Abel with his third strikeout to finish off a clean third inning, this one coming on a good 97 mph fastball pic.twitter.com/itvMyHvxSr
— Mitch Rupert (@Mitch_Rupert) May 24, 2025
The final line for Abel on Saturday: 6.0 innings, three hits, one earned run, eight strikeouts and four walks on 98 pitches (63 strikes). He certainly still looks capable of making major-league starts whenever the Phillies decide they need him.
MORE: Phils take two out of three vs. A's, but winning streak snaps at nine games
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