Phillies have a deeper lineup heading into this year’s postseason
As the Phillies prepare for a fourth straight postseason appearance, the club boasts a deeper lineup than it did a season ago.
The Phillies had one of the best lineups in baseball throughout and to end the 2025 regular season. The team ranked second in batting average (.267), second in OPS (.798) and fifth in runs scored (274) between Aug. 1 and the end of the regular season. Last year, the Phillies landed fifth in all those categories in the same time period; they hit .261 with a .755 OPS and scored 257 runs.
The production and rankings are similar. But how the Phillies arrived at those numbers is different.
In 2024, the Phillies received league-average or better production from five hitters, minimum 75 plate appearances, over the regular season’s final two months, according to FanGraphs’ weight runs created plus metric, where 100 signals a league-average hitter.
Bryce Harper (142), Kyle Schwarber (136), Nick Castellanos (129), J.T. Realmuto (128) and Brandon Marsh (109) were the Phillies’ best hitters in the final two months last year, per wRC+.
This year, 10 hitters posted a wRC+ of at least 100 between August and September for the Phillies: Trea Turner (156), Marsh (144), Bryson Stott (142), Schwarber (136), Harrison Bader (129), Edmundo Sosa (128), Alec Bohm (126), Harper (120), Max Kepler (116) and Otto Kemp (104).
In previous postseasons, the Phillies needed to lean on the stars at the top of their lineup to lead the way. This year, there’s a different vibe.
Stott and Bohm elevated their production down the stretch. Stott struggled heavily throughout 2024. This season, his 142 wRC+ ranked 27th among qualified hitters during the final two months; it ranked 13th in the National League.
After an All-Star first half in 2024, Bohm dealt with a hand injury in September and finished cold. His reactions to failure and mistakes resulted in a Game 2 benching in the NLDS. A year later, Bohm finished his season swinging a hot stick.
After returning from the injured list on Sept. 19, Bohm closed 2025 with a .459 average and 223 wRC+ in 40 plate appearances. He drove the ball more. Bohm posted a 57.1% hard-hit rate in his final nine games, higher than his 45.5% mark before landing on the IL with a shoulder issue in early September.
Perhaps the biggest reason for the longer lineup comes from the resurgent post-trade-deadline outfield. Kepler found his stroke as a platoon guy against right-handed pitching. The addition of Bader at the deadline provided a spark. Marsh capped off a strong season with an even stronger finish. Castellanos, the worst qualified hitter (58 wRC+) in the majors since the calendar flipped to July, played less.
Sosa and Kemp had their moments as role players in August and September, too. Sosa slugged a career-high three home runs against the Marlins on Sept. 24. Kemp recorded at least one hit in nine of 16 games played in September. He also hit four home runs.
Contributions came from all over.
The Phillies’ offensive depth is helpful for manager Rob Thomson. Filling out the lineup card, whether it’s to face a right-handed or left-hander starting pitcher, comes with better options than a season ago.
Last year, the bottom of the Phillies’ lineup in the NLDS against the Mets consisted of unproductive and cold versions of Stott, Bohm, Marsh, Sosa and Johan Rojas. Austin Hays played left field and batted seventh in Game 3 against left-handed starter Sean Manaea. Weston Wilson played left in Game 4 against lefty David Peterson.
This year, Bohm and Bader are likely to play no matter the opposing starting pitcher. Stott, Marsh and Kepler will help fill out the batting order against righties. The right-handed hitting Kemp had better results against righties than lefties down the stretch. Against lefties, Sosa’s a reliable option. Wilson might be, too. He slugged .500 in 46 plate appearances against southpaws in August and September.
Offensively, a deep lineup helped the 2025 Phillies surge during the final months of regular-season play. There’s more to the lineup than the top three of Turner, Schwarber and Harper. Continuing to get contributions up and down the batting order in October would be a difference maker.