Bryson Stott began the spring as the Phillies' top position player prospect and will end it as a big-leaguer.
Stott will make the Phillies' opening day roster. He earned his way aboard by hitting .429 entering Tuesday with an on-base percentage over .500 and acquitting himself well in the field, playing shortstop, third base and second base.
"His at-bats have been good against everybody, whether they've been right-handed or left-handed," manager Joe Girardi said of the lefty-hitting Stott. "You can see he does not chase a lot, he's got a really good eye. And half the battle for lefties against lefties is swinging at strikes and he's really good at that."
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Stott is not on the Phillies’ 40-man roster so a corresponding move will come to fit him in.
It looks like Stott will be the starting third baseman in Game 1 Friday as he's outperformed Alec Bohm, who will also be on the opening day roster. Initially, it looked like the Phillies would carry only one to give the other everyday playing time at Triple A. But they are dealing with enough injury and uncertainty in their bullpen that carrying another position player on the opening day roster became the move. Teams will have 28-man rosters until May 1, when they revert to 26.
Stott started at second base Tuesday in the Phillies' final home game of spring training. Bohm played third.
"He's learning to drop step a lot better, he's had a couple of plays in games where he saw the hop out in front and he's come and charged it," Phillies infield coach Bobby Dickerson said of Bohm Tuesday during the broadcast. "I'd like to see that in the games because on the half-field, he does all the drills fine. ... It's just a fine line. You've got to be able to play fast but under control."
MLB
Bohm was the NL Rookie of the Year runner-up to Brewers reliever Devin Williams in 2020, when he hit .338/.400/.481 in 180 plate appearances during the shortened season. He hit just .247/.305/.342 last season in 417 plate appearances and struggled in the field with 15 errors in 103 games at third base. Given the Phillies' defensive mediocrity elsewhere, they need their third baseman to be more sure-handed in 2022.
In terms of playing time, the Phillies have just one day off between the season opener April 8 and May 2. Between opening day and June 1, they play 51 games in 54 days.
There's also the designated hitter, which could give Bohm some more chances to get regular at-bats. Having him sit around would not be conducive to helping him develop but Girardi has maintained there should be enough playing time to keep both Stott and Bohm sharp. We shall see.
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