Philadelphia Philliees How top prospect Alec Bohm will impact team
Philadelphia Phillies top prospect Alec Bohm made his debut Thursday.
The Philadelphia Phillies called up its highly touted prospect, Alec Bohm, Thursday to play against the Baltimore Orioles. He is first on the Phillies’ prospect list and is the 31st ranked prospect across all teams.
During this shortened season, we have already seen various top prospects getting called up for their first taste of the “bigs.” Examples include the White Sox’s Nick Madrigal, Kris Bubic from the Royals, and the Blue Jay’s Nate Pearson to name a few.
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So who is Alec Bohm?
He was born in Omaha, NE, and attended Wichita State University. The 24-year-old was drafted in the 2018 MLB Draft at the third pick in the first round.
Bohm caught the eyes of scouts during his outstanding Cape Cod League season and his Junior year at Wichita. After being drafted by the Phillies, he dominated in the minor leagues.
The 6’5″ third baseman in 614 minor league at-bats has hit .293, slugged .474, hit 21 home runs and 97 RBIs. He additionally stole 9 bases and struck out only 96 times with 69 walks.
Just from looking at his 2-year minor league career, you can tell what type of player Bohm is.
In the MLB Prospect list, he is given a scouting grade of:
- Hit: 60/80
- Power: 55/80
- Run: 35/80
- Arm: 50/80
- Field: 45/80
- Overall: 55/80
Bohm is a quality hitter and the Phillies think he is ready to make the leap from Double-A to the MLB, so they must trust his hitting ability. From the scout report, his defense is lacking.
He is not a great runner which will affect his lateral quickness and ability to range out to make tough plays at the hot corner.
According to Manny Randhawa, “Bohm doesn’t offer much when he’s outside of the batters’ box, however. Though he has worked diligently to improve at third base.” Randhawa thinks Bohm can be compared to Nicholas Castellanos of the Reds.
I watched his swing online and is very reminiscent of a Christian Yelich load. Yelich is listed at 6’3″ so he has sort of a similar body build as Bohm, who is an inch taller and weighs a little more.
Bohm does have a decent size leg kick where he loads on his backside well sort of like Yelich does. Although Yelich does have a slightly smaller leg kick and lowers his body as he strides, while Bohm stays a little more upright.
I think you could also compare Bohm’s swing to his teammate, Rhys Hoskins, who also has a high leg kick and gains some ground in his stride. But, Hoskins is much more of a power hitter than Bohm is at the moment.
Some also compared Bohm to Kris Bryant, which I partially see. But the main area where I see similarities in how Bohm gets his arms extended very well like Bryant does when they make great contact. And after contact, both Bohm and Bryant are very straight up, as opposed to some players who attempt to lift the ball and are slightly leaning back after contact.
Now looking back at Bohm’s stats from the minor leagues, he did not have very many home runs. But, he is a savvy hitter who knows the strike zone and will not strike out often.
I think he can grow into his body a little more and could see some more home runs in the next few years. He is only 24 and has proven himself to be a great hitter, and the power might be extra credit.
As far as his defense, the numbers do not look amazing during his time in the minors. When playing third, which he did for the majority of the games, he had a .920 fielding percentage. While at first base, where he totaled 23 starts, he had a .989 fielding percentage.
His fielding will most definitely need to improve for him to be an everyday starter in the big leagues at third, but luckily for the Phillies, there is a league-wide designated hitter that Joe Girardi could take advantage of with Bohm.
So, how did top prospect Alec Bohm fare in his Philadelphia Phillies debut?
Despite his defensive woes like I had mentioned, the Phillies were comfortable enough and confident that he could handle third base duties Thursday against the Orioles. He was in the lineup card starting third base and hitting 6th.
In his first at-bat against the Orioles, he was able to record his first MLB hit on a 2-1 curveball, which he hit down the third baseline for a double. He was able to get his first hit at home which must have been a cool moment for the young man.
Bohm finished the game one for four in the defeat. He squared up the ball twice in his four at bats and played good enough at third. This is a promising sight for Phillies fans.
The Struggling Phillies
Bohm’s call up comes at no surprise as the Phillies are currently struggling. The Phillies are currently in last place in the NL East, and I am one of the many in shock. I had the Phillies as one of the playoff contenders this year with a solid starting nine and good pitching rotation.
But, things have not gone according to what I had envisioned.
The Phillies rotation is filled with talent and has performed well like many originally thought. The bullpen has been one of the biggest letdowns for the Phillies and is a major contributor to its five wins and nine losses.
As far as the Phillies hitters, I had their lineup as one of the best in the National League before the season started with its star-studded roster.
They have one of the best hitting catchers in the league, J.T. Realmuto, Bryce Harper which is self-explanatory, Hoskins at first base, Didi Gregorius their newly signed shortstop, Jean Segura at third base, and Andrew McCutchen in the outfield.
But of course, the success of the team relies on the players’ performances and assuming that they can perform like they have in the past.
Harper, Realmuto, and Didi have been the most consistent hitters for the Phillies. But they cannot carry the team as much as they want to.
McCutchen has been hitting from the leadoff spot often, but his OBP is .234. He is hitting .167 and slugging .190.
Girardi has slotted Hoskins in the 2nd spot most games and is hitting .190 and struck out 10 times in 42 at-bats. But, Hoskins has drawn 14 walks so he is getting on base, with a .404 OBP, but not doing it with his bat and power that he holds.
Segura who has been playing a lot of third this season has hit anywhere from two to five or 6 in the lineup. Guess his batting average… it is .209 and his OBP is .346. All three of the players I mentioned above have not hit a home run yet, which is very shocking to me.
Alec Bohm could provide the Philadelphia Phillies with the spark they need.
So, it is clear the Phillies needed a spark and Bohm could be what the team needs. Although Segura has been playing 3rd this season, he started his career as a shortstop and has also played second base.
In Bohm’s debut, they moved Segura to second base and he hit second in the order, and Hoskins was out of the lineup.
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Scott Kingery, the young 23-year-old who was also a top prospect once for the Phillies, was the top option for playing second base this year. Veteran Neil Walker was also in the conversation as a second baseman, third basemen, or designated hitter.
But neither of these players have proven themselves as the everyday starter, which would explain the need for another infielder.
With Bohm’s call up, I expect him to play a lot of third base assuming his glove is steady enough at the hot corner. Which would then move Segura to play second base, who is the best option out of the struggling three.
I would also not be surprised if Phil Gosselin takes on an expanded role in the infield somewhere. The utility player could play either second or third base for the Phillies in the infield.
Despite his small sample size of 21 at-bats, he is hitting .429 and an OPS of 1.330.
The hope for the Phillies is that Hoskins and Segura will figure things out so Bohm can just man third base. But if Hoskins continues to struggle, I would not be surprised if Bohm takes over at first base.
This would then open up a spot for Gosselin to play second or third, and Segura would play wherever Gosselin is not at.
This is a great opportunity for Bohm to say the least because so many players are struggling. Not only is it a time for Bohm to prove his worthiness in the big leagues, but he could also get a lot of consistent playing time and help the Phillies turn this ship around.
Let’s hope the Phillies as a whole can turn it around because I thought they would be a contender in the NL East.
Next. Mets: Wilpon Era mercifully closer to an end. dark
For fantasy baseball owners, if Alec Bohm is available in your league, I would recommend adding him, or at least adding him to your watchlist ASAP. He could be a nice stash player in the meantime until he proves himself as a worthy fantasy player.