Kyle Schwarber, leadoff hitter, may now be a thing of the past.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson had hinted at it all winter, but ahead of Monday’s washed-out spring training contest against Pittsburgh, the Phils posted their lineup for the game and it looked for all the world like the one we will see on Opening Day in the nation’s capital.
Yep, that’s Trea Turner sitting there at the top of the lineup, with Schwarber hitting second and Bryce Harper batting third, a lineup shuffle that many fans have been demanding for years.
It makes sense. When he’s going well, Turner is an on-base machine capable of hitting over .300, getting on-base at a .350+ clip, and he runs like the wind. It also makes more sense for Schwarber to move down the lineup in the hopes of him hitting more home runs with runners on base.
Last season, Schwarber set a Major League record by smashing 15 leadoff bombs, not including this moon shot in Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Mets that seemed like it would propel the Phillies to an easy victory.
Narrator: “It did not.”
And that is part of the calculus with this change. Sure, the Schwarber leadoff homers are great, and last season, the Phils had a very good record when Schwarber led off a game with a dinger (14-3), although they started 13-1 and lost the last two, including that Game 1 against New York in the playoffs. The thinking is that if a few more Schwarber homers are hit with runners on base, three runs is better than one, even if it doesn’t lead off a game.
Of course, hitting Schwarber second in the order doesn’t do a whole lot to add runners in front of him in the first inning, but it could come into play in the latter innings, especially if the middle and end of the lineup is getting on base by the time he hits second. The Phillies, it seems, are more interested in taking advantage of Schwarber’s on-base percentage (.366) than his power by hitting him second, rather than cleanup, but Monday’s lineup could also be just the first of what will likely be many different lines this spring.
On the latest edition of Hittin’ Season, we talked all about the lineup shuffle, what it could mean for the offense, and whether switching players around one or two spots actually makes a difference over a 162-game schedule. We also discussed prospects who are opening eyes in these early spring games, and who could replace Weston Wilson as the final bench player following his oblique injury last week.
