Despite Previous Struggles Philadelphia Phillies Infielder Emerging as a Star

The Philadelphia Phillies have seen a star emerge in their infield this season

Aug 17, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies infielder Alec Bohm (28) tosses his bat after hitting a fly ball against the Washington Nationals in the second inning at Citizens Bank Park. / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies got off to a hot start in 2024, as they quickly became a favorite in the National League this season. 

However, despite the hot start, the Phillies have cooled off since the All-Star Break, and haven’t been playing good baseball as a team. Injuries have certainly been an issue for Philadelphia this season, as they are trying to get healthy for the playoffs.

Despite the struggles of late, the Phillies are still in first place in the NL East by a comfortable margin and are just 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the National League. 

While Philadelphia is struggling to get wins as a team, they have had one of their players take a massive leap this season into a star. Third Baseman, Alec Bohm has had a career year for the Phillies thus far, as he has found himself as a middle of the order hitter this season. 

Even though MLB doesn’t have a Most Improved Player Award, Joel Rueter of Bleacher Report recently said that Bohm would be in hypothetical consideration if they did. 

"He leads the majors with 43 doubles this season, and he has come through with clutch hits time and again, batting .317/.393/.567 over 145 plate appearances with runners in scoring position."

"Bohm has also made significant strides defensively, posting roughly league-average defensive metrics (0 DRS, 2.7 UZR/150) after dragging down his overall value with an ugly minus-40 DRS over the previous three seasons."

This season, Bohm it hitting .295, with 13 homeruns, 85 RBIs, and a league-leading 43 doubles. Compared to last season, Bohm has already hit 12 more doubles, and by the end of the season should reach the 100-RBI mark. Even though Bohm doesn’t hit a ton of homeruns, he has proven to have good power in the gaps. 

Where the Phillies will want to see the real improvement from Bohm is in the playoffs. Last season, Bohm hit just .239 in 13 postseason games, as it was a significant drop in production compared to the regular season. 

While Bohm has certainly improved this season, there are a lot of other big names on the list that have also had excellent seasons, like Gunner Henderson and Bobby Witt Jr. For Philadelphia, they will hope that Bohm can continue his strong play throughout the rest of the season and into October, as they try to secure the best record in the National League.