Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Bohm Has Quietly Been One of the Phillies Best Defenders
On April 12, Alec Bohm put on what was perhaps one of the more dreadful defensive displays the Philadelphia Phillies had ever seen. The events that followed are a well-worn tale at this point.
Yet, eighteen days later, it seems as though that grim, three-error night, evolved into a rallying point for Bohm. The big third baseman's defensive metrics are not as bad as one would have expected heading into the 2022 season.
It just so happens that Alec Bohm currently ranks in the top thirty-third percentile for all third basemen in Outs Above Average–Baseball Savant's catch-all defensive evaluation metric.
For anyone who's watched Bohm's defense over the last two weeks, this should hardly come as a surprise. He has looked exceptionally comfortable at the hot corner of late, and hasn't made a single error since that embarrassing bout against the New York Mets.
However, it's worth acknowledging that OAA isn't the only defensive metric out there–so what do the other big metrics have to say about Bohm?
Currently, User Zone Rating (UZR) and Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) aren't big Bohm fans–but they don't hate him either!
Both UZR and DRS factor fielding errors heavier than OAA, so it makes sense that Bohm would be liked less by these particular metrics. But sample size is also a major influence in the stability of these metrics, so this early in the season, they should be taken with a grain of salt.
Bohm currently sits at -1 DRS, tying him with the likes of Jose Ramirez, Eduardo Escobar, and Austin Riley, while placing him above names like Alex Bregman, and even Toronto's Platinum Glove, Matt Chapman.
Overall, Fangraphs has Bohm listed as a net-positive defender, and he boasts the third-highest fWAR among all Phillies, just below JT Realmuto and Bryce Harper.
It's still early on in the season, but for Bohm to grade out as anything other than an abhorrently bad defender is a major win for the Phillies, especially when he's swinging the bat the way he is.
Bohm is currently in the first-percentile of Major Leaguers in xBA (expected batting average) and in the top fifth-percentile in all other major predictive stats (xSLG, xwOBA, etc.) He has probably been, in all seriousness, the Phillies best hitter thus far in the year.
The goal for Bohm was to reach a point defensively where his bat could make up for what his defense lacked, and he has almost certainly done that.
It is too early on in the season to be drawing significant conclusions, but if Alec Bohm can be below average or better at the hot corner, the Phillies could have a special player on their hands.
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