While Kyle Schwarber’s 19 home runs and strong performances from superstars Trea Turner and Bryce Harper have kept the Philadelphia Phillies offense afloat, the struggles of second baseman Bryson Stott have been thrown in the spotlight during the club’s cold stretch.
Just two years ago, Stott seemed poised to join the aforementioned Big 3 to form a fearsome top of the lineup in Philadelphia. At only 25 years old and in his first full Major League Baseball season, Stott hit a robust .280 and displayed surprising pop with 15 home runs. Yet even though Stott increased his walk rate in his second year, his overall production dipped, with his OPS falling from .747 to .671.
Many attributed his struggles to a nerve elbow in his elbow that sapped his power, but his 2025 performance has been even more concerning. After a strong April, Stott has slashed just .196/.250/.268 with four extra-base hits since May 1. Stott’s struggles have seemed to mirror the Phillies as a whole, as he has gone just 3-for-27 during the club’s recent 1-6 stretch that dropped them to second place in the National League East.
Despite this, Stott has continued to get the lion’s share of the leadoff plate appearances and, according to manager Rob Thomson’s comments to Phillies Nation’s Destiny Lugardo, it doesn’t seem like Stott will be demoted from the role anytime soon.
“I’m pretty committed, you know,” Thomson said. “The length of the at-bats are good. When we first put him in there, he was really productive. He’s kind of cooled off a little bit. There’s a trust factor there that as long as the at-bats look good and they’re long, I’m good with it.”
At a certain point, however, long at-bats only count for so much when you are not getting on base or impacting the baseball. If the Phillies keep struggling, Thomson will be forced to shake things up one way or the other. A reasonable first step would be to limit Stott’s exposure against left-handed pitchers, who he has a .492 OPS against this season, and give more opportunities to reserve infielder Edmundo Sosa, who is batting .357 against southpaws this season.
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