New-Look Phillies Lineup Proves Rob Thomson Won't Be Stagnant This Season

Coming into the season, a lot conversation during spring training was about who would be the leadoff hitter for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Kyle Schwarber had operated in that role the past two years, providing some showstopping highlights to start the game while also getting on base at a high clip that supported manager Rob Thomson's decision to put him in the one hole.

However, the conversation this spring shifted to moving the star slugger into a more traditional spot in the order, providing Bryce Harper with more protection and giving the team a chance to make those towering home runs count for more than just one run.

Trea Turner became the player who many people expected to take on the leadoff role, and after tinkering with some things throughout spring training, Thomson decided to have Schwarber lead off against right-handed pitchers with Turner doing so against lefties.

That's how the Phillies operated to start the season, but things changed the past two games.

Bryson Stott, who had been towards the bottom of the order, led off in the first two contests against the St. Louis Cardinals.

"Just trying to protect Harper as best as we can and not get into a situation where they're intentionally walking him, where you've got to pitch to him," Thomson said as his reasoning, per Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

That makes sense.

Alec Bohm, who had been behind Harper, has struggled to start the year. So much so that he was moved into the seventh and eighth spot during their two games against the Cardinals.

Stubbornly keeping things the same would have been the easy thing to do, and it was something that Thomson had done for much of the 2024 campaign.

Things are different this year, though.

Philadelphia understands they all need to do more if they're going to win the World Series, and that includes the skipper who can manufacture better results based on the lineup he puts together.

Thomson could have remained committed to how things have operated in the past, but these adjustments to the batting order proves that he is going to do whatever he can to give his team the best possible chance to succeed.

How long Stott remains the choice to hit leadoff against righties will be seen.

If he performs well in that role, then this could be how the lineup looks for the rest of the season, keeping Schwarber behind Harper to offer him the maximum amount of protection.