Phillies Mailbag: Batting Order, RH Production, Infield Power

We are back once again with the 97.3 ESPN Phillies Mailbag. Each week we take your questions and answer them on The Sports Bash with Mike Gill. Tune in to hear your quesitons answered on the air.

I have one concern and that would be that the Phillies would have Kyle Schwarber bat lead off. Also, will they bat Bryce Harper in front of Schwarber?
~Glenn

I think that we have long pined that the Phillies lineup is missing something important: a right-handed cleanup hitter. The Phillies tried (and thought they had) Bo Bichette in the fold for that role. But so far there is talk of Alec Bohm trying to fill that role once again.

So far, Phillies manager Rob Thomson has said that the triumvarate of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper will bat in the top three spots. But what order? He is not ready to commit to that just yet.

I do think we saw the benefits last year of Turner batting leadoff. Turner is one of the fastest players in all of baseball with an average sprint speed of 30.3 feet per second in 2025. Turner scored 94 runs in 2025 after he won the batting title, getting on base at a .355 clip and stealing 36 bases.

Schwarber drove in 132 runs in 2025, a career high. with Turner ahead of him.

I think getting Harper to see more strikes is the priority. Or, if he is going to see that few strikes with Schwarber behind him, I think then a change in approach that gets Harper another 30 walks will pay some dividends.

But I think the opposition is happy to get through Schwarber and Harper and have some lefties ready for them in the bullpen. I still want to see that right-handed bat behind whatever combination of them they use. That might have to come at the trade deadline.

What do you think about this bold prediction? At some point in 2026 Justin Crawford will move to batting 1st or 2nd.
~Kevin

I think your bold prediction could be right in that Justin Crawford might have a fine rookie season that could have other teams bat him first or second. However, considering the above, I do not think that he will find his way into that spot on this roster.

Crawford is likely going to bat ninth. Over the years in the American League many have referred to this spot as a "second leadoff hitter" of sorts.

The question for everyone is whether Crawford's high ground ball rate at Triple-A would translate into more outs at the major league level. But if you watched Crawford's Spring Training debut, he almost hit a ball out to right field before taking a ball to the base of the outfield wall for a double.

So I am looking forward to seeing what he will do. I do not think he would displace the above three, but I can see the Phillies using him at the top of the lineup when there is a day off or as an injury replacement.

Do we expect more production from Adolis Garcia or Otto Kemp?
~Michael

The Phillies enter 2026 having signed Adolis Garcia to replace Nick Castellanos in right field. And, Phillies president Dave Dombrowski spent a good amount of time praising Otto Kemp, who saw time in left field, third base, and left field. Of the two, I think they are looking for more from Garcia.

Garcia should have right field all to himself. Garcia was not an All-Star as he was in 2023, but he put together a decent 2025. In 135 games he put together 2.7 WAR. He hit 19 home runs and played solid defense in right field. A lot of that war was his defense.

Garcia ranked first among right fielders in 2025 with 16 defensive runs saved. By contract, Castellanos was third-worst of the 230 players who made an appearance in right field in 2025 with -11 defensive runs saved.

That's a 27-run difference in right field. I think that will be more "production" that the Phillies are used to in right field.

As for Kemp, I think that there is a lot for him to prove. Kemp is more of an infielder than an outfielder, in my opinion. But without a place to play in the infeld, he seems like he will be a swing man, perhaps getting some right-handed at bats in left field behind Brandon Marsh.

But the likes of Bryan de La Cruz could win a roster spot and get some at bats there. Dylan Moore could be a candidate for the infield-outfield role. Could that squeeze Kemp if both work out?

I think Kemp will be a very useful major league roster spot in 2026. But if you're looking at production as total numbers, I think we will see more out of Garcia.

Who will have more Home Runs this year, Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott?
~Tyler

This is a really interesting quesiton. The Phillies will head into 2026 with Alec Bohm the presumptive cleanup hitter. Bryson Stott is going to be maybe a sixth or seventh hitter who gets some days off against tough lefties. Yet, I think I am going to pick Stott here.

Looking down the stretch in 2025, Stott's best months were August and September. He finished the year with 13 home runs, though four of them came in September. I think he has figured out some things with his swing and so far this Spring he has already hit a couple home runs with it.

I think that with those improvements in his swing and the fact that he will sit against the tough lefties, I think this might be the best season at the plate yet for Stott. While I like Edmundo Sosa getting at bats against lefties, I wonder if Stott might start to get some of those at bats this year, too.

Bohm remains a talented contact hitter. I just personally wish he was in the ideal spot for him in the lineup. Sixth? Seventh on a good team?

Bohm has some strong stretches, but he also has some cold stretches. April was particularly cold last year.

I think that Stott will be good for 15 or 16 home runs this season. I'll say Bohm comes in a tick behind him at 13 or 14.